LIVE RECORDINGS

Live Recordings Information Resource by Dino Everett 2002. Updated by Hervé Labyre and Phil Singleton
The guide was originally compiled during the era of cassette trading. Online digital sharing and YouTube have made many of these recordings easier to access

Part Three: 1978

Jan 5, 1978 - Great Southeast Music Hall, Atlanta, GA Trt - 49:05 (52:05) Number of Songs - 12 Format - CD Sound Quality - average to above average soundboard (decent audience) Rating - 8 (7.5) Official/Semi Official Release - Kill The Hippies CD, numerous LP's Video - entire "Anarchy" and bits of "Bodies" in DOA (w/ dubbed over audio), local Atlanta news showed clips of "Anarchy" & "Pretty Vacant", 1978 NBC news showed clips of "Seventeen", MSNBC showed a replay of the NBC news segment w/ slightly diff "Seventeen" footage and a brief "God Save The Queen" clip. Clips of "New York" in Rather Dead than Normal docu. Also of note the opening weird hippy band is featured in the workprint for DOA. REVIEW Well obviously this tour was the beginning of the end for the band, it was supposed to start a week earlier but didn't due to problems. The tour itself was plagued by problems and ultimately the band broke up two weeks later due to….problems. This gig is no different, as the band seems to be experiencing problems. Problems playing that is. Check out the "accident" in the beginning of "Seventeen". The gig is very loose from start to finish but a different loose than some of the earlier Pistols gigs. This is downright sloppy. When Steve is playing all right, Sid is fucking up, and vice versa, or they are both fucking up together, etc. It is an obviously historical gig since it is there first in the US but there are others from the tour that are more enjoyable to listen to. Johnny however does not seem to have reached the end of his rope yet and seems to be quite entertaining and antagonistic towards the crowd in spite of the mayhem that is being played around him. I always wondered if John knew what state they were in since before "Bodies" he smugly sings 'deep in the heart of Texas". It is easy to spot as John starts it with "My name John and this is the Sex Pistols" which can also be seen in the film DOA. It shouldn't be too hard to locate and is worth it for the historical nature of the show and the fact that it is soundboard. There is also a rarely circulated cassette only audience version of this show that goes from the opening where Johnny says, "where's my beer?" and then, "Now, We came to dance what have you come for?" then John and Steve each say a few more things and then finally John says "Well my name John…" and the show gets going and goes all the way to the end. The fun thing is when the show is over an announcer comes out and something like "We want to thank you for coming down to the Sex Pistols first US gig" and some other things. Overall it is a pretty great sounding audience tape since you get to hear some of the madness that was going on in the audience.. DRAWBACKS When this CD was released there was confusion as to whether it was the Pistols or not based solely on one of the pictures on the back but anyone who had one of the vinyl boots would recognize the gig especially from the in between song banter. The biggest drawback with the CD is that it clips the full opening comments and the last song from the show (inserting instead 3 tracks from Maasbree). Some of the LP's do however have the complete gig. The only real drawback of the audience version is there is some modulation from time to time in the beginning as the taper gets situated but then it is pretty solid from there on. There are a few more glitches here and there but nothing too bad. SETLIST God Save The Queen I Wanna Be Me Seventeen New York Bodies Submission Holidays In The Sun EMI No Feelings Problems Pretty Vacant Anarchy In The UK

Jan 6, 1978 - Taliesyn Ballroom. Memphis, Tennessee Trt - 48:40 Number of Songs - 13 Format - cassette, vinyl LP Sound Quality - average to below average audience recording Rating - 7 Official/Semi Official Release - Taking Civilisation To The Barbarians Vinyl LP Video - none known, but there is a picture in the DOA scrapbook of a news man with a camera outside the club so there may be some footage taken by local Memphis news. REVIEW This is the second gig of the tour and to find out more about the tour just read the excellent 12 Days On The Road book. The gig starts off OK but Johnny seems to be having some trouble hearing as he yells for the monitors to be turned up twice during "I Wanna Be Me". There is a lot of venom spewed during this show, from the band and the audience alike, w/ John slagging Elvis & Dolly Parton. Sid constantly yelling at people. DRAWBACKS Overall the quality of the tape sounds generated and a bit hissy unlike some of the other tapes from this tour. The major flaws include some volume fluctuation on "Submission" and a cut after that song which may have just been a tape flip but then again there is a cut after "Holidays In The Sun" which seems to clip the end of the song and apparently the song "Problems" was played this night which was probably right after Holidays. It is impossible for it to have been played after "No Feelings" as stated in the Day By Day book, since there is clearly no break in the tape. The worst break on the tape occurs after "Pretty Vacant" where there is the intrusion of what sounds like a radio call in interview that plays for a few seconds, so either some unscrupulous trader early on was clipping bits out, or it is possible I guess that the taper taped over a previously used tape. I have never found a complete recording w/ Problems or without the weird intrusion edit. There is also a break over the cheering while the crowd is waiting for the encore, but breaks like that are to be expected as tapers try to not use up the remaining tape on crowd noise. SETLIST God Save The Queen I Wanna be Me Seventeen New York EMI Bodies Belsen Was A Gas Submission Holidays in The Sun Problems (NOT ON THE TAPE) No Feelings Pretty Vacant Anarchy In The UK No Fun

Jan 8, 1978 - Randy's Rodeo, San Antonio, TX Trt - 50:01 Number of Songs - 13 Format - cassette Sound Quality - average audience recording Rating - 7 Official/Semi Official Release - Randys Rodeo 1978 LP. Anarchy In The USA LP incorrectly claims to be this gig. It is actually Atlanta, 5th January, with "Anarchy" moved to the start of the record (Australian LP). Video - almost the entire "New York" and most of "Bodies" are in DOA. The footage of Sid hitting the guy with his bass is featured on video in DOA, so perhaps somewhere the entire gig exists, or maybe it was filmed by Kowalski's people on their way out. Kowalski might know. REVIEW Well this is the infamous gig where Sid hit someone over the head with his bass and the taper clearly points that out on the tape. The crowd seem extremely hostile and a lot of it can be made out on the tape. It is pretty funny during "Seventeen", John yells "At least I ain't a fucking cowboy" then when the song completes Sid yells "Who threw that?", and John reprimands him "Oh shut up", then all hell breaks loose between the crowd and the band, both getting more and more wound up, until finally Sid boinks the guy with his bass after "New York", to which the taper narrates, then again you can tell the tensions within the band are rising as John says "Did you come to see us or that", I assume referring to Sid. I do have to admit that it is nicer to have this show as an audience recording since you can hear what the crowd is yelling at them. "You can throw everything you like" the band keeps yelling at the crowd. It is a pretty entertaining gig to listen to. DRAWBACKS While it is better than Memphis, it still lacks compared to Atlanta, Dallas, & San Francisco. Which is a shame since it was such a train wreck of a show. There is a fade out after "Holidays In The Sun" and then a break in the tape after "Belsen" but it doesn't sound like anything is missing or inserted. Some versions are floating around without "Bodies" and "Belsen". There is also a break after "Pretty Vacant". SETLIST God Save The Queen I Wanna Be Me Seventeen New York EMI Holidays In The Sun Bodies Belsen Was A Gas Submission No Feelings Problems Pretty Vacant Anarchy In The UK

Jan 9, 1978 - Kingfish Club, Baton Rouge, LA Trt - 60mins / 56:16 Number of Songs - 15 Format - cassette (60 mins version), CD Sound Quality - decent audience recording Rating - 7.5 Official/Semi Official Release - Spirit of '76 CD, Psychotic Reaction LP Video - very brief clips of "Liar" in DOA REVIEW This was one of those gigs that finally came to the surface in nice quality with a boot CD release a few years back. The quality is quite good and it is the longest set available from the US tour at 15 songs. Like the San Antonio gig you can hear quite a bit of the crowd's heckling. Sid sounds out of tune when he is bothering to hit notes, but Steve sounds pretty good throughout with the exception of the intro to "New York", and when his guitar cuts out on "Holidays", but with Sid's bass problems it never fully sounds like it should. DRAWBACKS Besides Sid's blatant interference through his playing there is some slight modulation on "I Wanna Be Me" and again on "Anarchy", which is probably just from crowd movement. There is a slight break in the tape after "Pretty Vacant" which is probably where the taper flipped sides and then again after "Anarchy" which is probably again the taper saving tape for the encores. There are probably still some old tape versions floating around, some of which are incomplete, missing "Liar" and definitely much worse quality. Update: A longer complete/uncut version of the same audience recording has since surfaced lasting 60 minutes. It includes more audience noise/chat including shouts for the Bay City Rollers! Good quality - get this version if you can! SETLIST God Save The Queen I Wanna Be Me Seventeen New York EMI Bodies Belsen Was A Gas Submission Holidays In The Sun No Feelings Problems Pretty Vacant Anarchy In The UK No Fun Liar

Jan 10, 1978 - Longhorn Ballroom, Dallas, TX Trt - 59:36 (60:36 w/ radio ad) Number of Songs - 13 Format - CD Sound Quality - very good soundboard Rating - 8 Official/Semi Official Release - Welcome To The Rodeo Video - last 9 songs on Live At Longhorns VHS/DVD REVIEW This was one of those gigs that finally came to the surface in nice quality with a boot CD release a few years back. It was available on vinyl for years in not quite as good quality. Thankfully you should have no problem locating this CD. The really nice thing is it starts with a radio ad for the gig, which is rare in itself since none of the other ads for the tour seem to be round. I also enjoy when Sid quite earnestly declares "We're the best band in the fucking world…yeah!". If only he threw his heart into that statement as much as he did his body. They were the best band but they no longer were proving it. In spite the gig overall is played fairly well by all members and you can hear the bands jibes at the audience crystal clear. Most people remember this gig more from the grisly photos of a bloodied Sid, in fact at one point the band admonishes him after "Seventeen" when Johnny states "If we could have Sid indulge us for a moment we'll get on with the set." Apparantly Sid was too preoccupied with Los Angeles punks Helen & Trudie (both now married to members of the old LA synth punk band The Screamers) who had driven out and were the ones responsible for Sid's bloody nose which seems to happen right before the video starts prior to the beginning of "EMI". Overall I have to say that I wind up watching this gig more than listening to it as it is not as depressing as watching Winterland. The show ends with Sid trying to recreate his San Antonio exploit by boinking someone on the head with his bass again. Sid was headed towards Gene Simmons territory with little gimmicks at each show. Just like he did at his NY solo shows where he threw out little white bags of fake dope to begin each gig. DRAWBACKS There is some definite fluttering of the sound on the first track. There is a clip after "Seventeen" but nothing seems to be missing. And it is too bad they didn't play "Submission" as that is the only song that we have no video of from this tour. A well known Punk Diary author swears he has a tape of this show with a soundcheck of "Problems" as opposed to "Sod In Heaven" as mentioned in the Day By Day book but he has described it as a 13 song tape which the gig is in fact, so it is probably not what he says it is. It is also interesting to listen to the track the CD calls "Sid Attacks A Member Of The Audience", there is a lot of tape noise as they have boosted the signal to try and hear what is going on. SETLIST Intro/Radio Ad God Save The Queen I Wanna Be Me Seventeen New York EMI Bodies Belsen Was A Gas Holidays in the Sun No Feelings Problems Pretty Vacant Anarchy In The UK No Fun

Jan 11, 1978 - Cains Ballroom, Tulsa OK Trt - ? Number of Songs - ? Format - ? Sound Quality - ? Rating - ? Official/Semi Official Release - none Video - clips from "Liar" and "Bodies"and almost the entire "I Wanna Be Me" exists w/ dubbed over audio in DOA. REVIEW None available. DRAWBACKS This gig may or may not exist so the drawback is that we don't know. I have run across a few people over the years that state they have this gig but it usually turns out to be fake or they mysteriously "have misplaced it". SETLIST Unknown.

Jan 14, 1978 - Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA - SOUNDCHECK Trt – 20:11 Number of Songs - 4 Format – Internet, CDR, vinyl EP Sound Quality - soundboard Rating – 9 Official/Semi Official Release - "Hello !!! Winterland – The lost 1978 soundcheck EP", "Winterland (soundcheck)" REVIEW Depending on which version you have, there are 4 songs only (vinyl releases) or the complete soundcheck (CDR) including Belsen Was A Gas false start, some Ramones and Heartbreakers tunes and the band jamming a little bit. This recording surfaced in September 2013 and is still online on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GX-PZNig70 It had never surfaced before in any form and is directly taken from the master, so the sound quality is close to perfect. I honestly prefer the versions of the soundcheck than theose of the concert, they are more powerful. At last, when you listen to the bass, you can't say Sid couldn't play. DRAWBACKS No real drawback on the complete version. The only drawback for the vinyl release is the missing of the jams; Ramones etc stuff. SETLIST Soundcheck/ Heartbreakers tune (Going Steady) – Not on vinyl EP Belsen Was A Gas (false start) – Not on vinyl EP Belsen Was Gas Pretty Vacant Soundcheck/jam – Not on vinyl EP Problems Ramones tune (I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement) – Not on vinyl EP No Feelings

Jan 14, 1978 - Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA Trt - 55:07 Number of Songs - 14 Format - CD Sound Quality - soundboard from radio broadcast Rating - 8 Official/Semi Official Release - Gun Control & 1 MILLION others Video - entire gig has been released on VHS/DVD (Live In Winterland) more than once REVIEW A review of this gig isn't really necessary since if you are looking at this list you probably have this gig 10 times over in various forms. It is worthy to note that an audience recording exists and is fun to listen to if only to hear some of the PA problems that have been written about. DRAWBACKS The overall mix on the radio broadcast isn't really that great, even though it is nice and clear. You also get the radio announcers talking over a bit, most notably when they come out and do the encore. Most versions have edited out the majority of the DJ talking in the beginning and end, but some purists may still seek out the cassette version that takes you from the beginning to the very end. The audience recording is missing "No Fun" and has a few cuts in between songs cutting out some of Johnny's talking bits. SETLIST God Save The Queen I Wanna Be Me Seventeen New York EMI Belsen Was A Gas Bodies Holidays In The Sun Liar No Feelings Problems Pretty Vacant Anarchy in the UK No Fun

1976 1977 1978 1996 2002/2003             SID VICIOUS 1978

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Original author Dino Everett 2022. Subsequent updates by Hervé Labyre and Phil Singleton. Additional thanks to Mark Taylor, Tony Fouweather, Andy Marshall.
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