Interview:2007-Punk77

Here are some titbits from a communication about The Roxy Club that took place in April, 2006. I don't believe this group has seen this before. I also don't know if it was ever officially printed anywhere:

"Dear Paul, If it's a question of what memories I have of that time and place:

I/Crisis started going to The Roxy in about mid-1977 after its main period of fame and the release of the Live At The Roxy album. They did audition nights and we managed to get a slot on one such evening which also resulted in the then club manager Kevin St. John offering to become our booking agent which guaranteed us so many shows at the club itself and maybe a few others around London and the South East. He also booked Sham 69 and Menace at the time who we did later support at Woking Centre Halls in early 1978.

To seal the deal he said we could all have a drink on the house and probably because none of us had ever had a cocktail before we all ordered Tequila Sunrises. I remember the look on Kevin St. John's face when we did as I think he thought we were going to order 5 lager and limes! We were a pricey group who really knew our worth!

Phrazer our lead singer was then asked to go into his office alone and rumours have abounded ever since about what actually happened in there. I liked Kevin St. John.

Besides the toilets where girls regularly stood and peed in the men's urinals, the gay gangster party and an impromptu performance by some of The Damned on the night of the day that Marc Bolan died - all of which you can ask Alex more about - my only other real memories of the place consist of the night we couldn't get a van so caught a train to Waterloo station with all our equipment and walked from there across whatever bridge it is over The Thames to Covent Garden humping our guitars, drums and amplifiers etc. And that was also the night of the gay gangster party, some of whom later came downstairs when Raped (later Cuddly Toys) were playing and tried to pull down their pretty lead singer's (Shaun?) pants and molest him. I enjoyed that.

When the magazine called 'Honey' did a feature on Punk they decided to shoot photos outside The Roxy on a night Crisis were advertised as performing so that was strange to see our name featured in this glossy woman's magazine when someone or other later showed it to us.

Hearing a couple of skinheads dressed top to toe in Belgium camouflage fatigues talking about "kicking a Pakis 'ead in until it looked like a football" after they'd come out of an Arsenal match also made an unsettling impression on me one evening. It was all so matter of fact and deadpan.

The Furs, later to become The Pychedelic Furs, supporting Crisis one night.

Other than that - it was 29 years ago.

Perhaps this is what you were looking for and has been of some help? Douglas P./Death In June"