VARIOUS ARTISTS – “THE ROXY, LONDON, WC2: JAN-APR 1977″ (1977)
So much has been hashed and rehashed about the original English punk scene
Here’s a great live compilation featuring most of the important players who participated at the ground zero of the London scene, The Roxy, a cramped dingy club that only existed for about two years (from ’76-’78). This disc features groups like Wire, The Buzzcocks, X-Ray Spex and Slaughter & The Dogs.
Last time I was in London, I had to pull a queasy all-nighter, as I had nowhere in particular to go during an eighteen-hour layover inbetween a flight from Frankfurt and a flight back to Los Angeles; I was carted around the bustling (and retardedly touristy) Covent Garden district by a friend of a friend, who at one point mentioned to me that the generic boutique we’d just speedwalked past had in the late ’70s been The Roxy. There may or may not have been some dinky commemorative plaque — or maybe not. It was a long night.
Various Artists – “The Roxy, London, WC2: Jan-Apr 1977″ (ZIP file)
Awesome.
Been wanting to stumble across this one for a looooong time!
You don’t happen to have the full Roxy set from Wire, do you?
I think they released it a couple of years ago…
Thanks, never thought to find it in the web. A really historical document.
Thanks so much for share my vinyl copy long gone now!
Trainspotter’s point: The Roxy only existed for four months(not two years!),like it says on the front cover of this historical document, January to April 1977. This is a nevertheless amazing fact. As amazing as the fact that it got to number 24 in the UK national charts.
I had never taken an interest in this album before, because I presumed that the sound quality would be crap, like so many of thoses dubious Sex Pistols live records that came out in the 80′s. The cover somehow reinforces this misconception. But to my surprise the recording is really sharp – this was obviously a serious release at the time. A really interesting document, and, in places, good enough to really get into.
Thanks, man! BTW, a great US equal is Live at CBGB’s (recorded 1 to 2 years earlier).