Punk memories

[Julie]

One of my most vivid memories was of the infamous party that everyone in East London gatecrashed!
I had gone to the Bridge House with my friend Carole, and we made some new friends there that night, including Minnie, Sue Scott and Lee. I was having a party, so thought I'd invite my new chums and told them to bring a couple of mates. So far so good.
What I hadn't counted on was someone clocking them buying cans to bring to the party, putting the word round and then about four busloads of people crashing into my tiny one bedroomed flat in Bow!!! I opened the door and it was like a deluge, I thought the people were never going to stop coming in!
However, once we squeezed everyone in, the party was brilliant, people were in every room, and out on the balcony and stairs, but I don't think any of the neighbours complained.
Everything was fine until most of the people had left at various points during the night, and I found that two horrible girls had stolen a load of my new singles; other stuff was gone as well and it sort of put the mockers on an otherwise great evening. I made some great mates that night, and got to know so many people (pictures all on the website of that night).
One bit that was brilliant: my three year old nephew was living at the flat with my sister, and he was a mini punk; his favourite record was "Oh bondage, up yours" and his hero was Sid Vicious. As a joke, we told him that Sid was coming to the party, as Lee looked like him at that time.  When we spotted Lee's silhouette at the door, we told Marc to see who was there. He ran to open the door, and then came charging back into the living room, absolutely beside himself, going "It's SIIIIIIIIID!!!! He's HERE!!!!!!!!!"
From that minute on, he attached himself and was Lee's sidekick all evening! That's when I took the photo of them on the balcony.

[Lee Drury]

I think our old bassist, Paul Spicer had been round to your place previously with your sister Fiona. He was more than annoyed when I turned up the next day with a giant poster of Marlon Brando that you had given to me. He wanted it too!
Paul was tragically killed by a hit and run driver in late 79.
Me and Paul had much earlier gone to the Lyceum to try and jump Mensi from the Angelic Upstarts, as he had upset us when he did his first gig at the bridge. We didnt want to waste our money on a Lyceum ticket so decided to hang around untill he came out of the stage doors later on. We were in some pub round the corner and there was a crazy old black man in a funny hat who kept looking at me and waving some stick with feathers and god knows what else on it, at me. When he went to the toilet he left his hat and stick on the table. I went over, put the hat on and took his stick feather thing. As he came out of the loo I began to dance around and shake the stick. The old boy went crazy and caused so much fuss that Paul told me to give it back. In the end the guvnor came over and wanted to know what was going on. I sent the hat and stick back and the old boy put it on and started to put a curse on us. I laughed and said go on then, turn us into frogs! He got even more annoyed and we had to leave.
We went back for Mensi but he had about 20 skinheads with him so we called the mission off and went home.
I told my kids about this years later and said ''all that voodo is complete bollocks''. They said what happened to Paul then, and I must admit it shook me up a bit as I hadnt even thought about the possiblities of anything like that.
If you dont believe, it cant get you. Thats what I keep telling myself.
Paul was a good boy and had only just married one of the american girls. He was going to visit her family in the USA the day after he was killed.
I still miss him.

[Lee Drury]

I am stuck in a factory in Loughborough for a few days so may well be adding to this thread.
As I already mentioned our (Corvettes) first gig at the bridge I thought I would give my impressions of other bands debuts.
Pre punk days we would all go the the Hartley Centre in East Ham. One day Darren said that we should go to the pub (bridgehouse) as a band called Iron Maiden were playing. Apparently they were a bit over the top with sword swallowing and coffins etc.
We all made our debut at the bridge to be met by Terry asking if we were old enough to drink. Darren assured him that we were and we began to watch the band. It all seemed a bit like Screaming Lord Sutch taken too seriously too me. The show was interesting but I didnt like the music.
I must admit that even though Maiden were local lads and West Ham supporters I have never liked them and cant understand how they have got to where they are now. I must be out of step with millions of metal fans, or maybe they are all tone deaf and dont know a good tune when it bites them on the arse? Anyway good luck to Maiden as they must be doing something right.
When Cock Sparrer played we were punk regulars to the bridge. I went to school with some of the band and it was weird seeing them up there. Looking back they were the first real oi type band as they went for the terrace look more than the pistols punk stereotype. They were like a cross between AC/DC and british pub rock. Garry Lammin looked more like a bay city roller!
The Rezillos were good and dressed up like 60s pvc thunderbirds puppets!
I already mentioned the Angelic Upstarts. Mensi got on stage and began to run down the east end, saying that where he came from they were hard and the police killed people for fun. I was amazed no one had them there and then but we all respected the Murphys and any retribution would generally take place later, outside.
I am sure that Sham 69 and the Jam did secret gigs but I had already seen them when they were small so dont remember too much about thier bridge debuts.
When the Rejects did thier first gig Stinky was only about 14. He was wearing pyjamas and looked like someones little brother who had been given too much fizzy drink! He came on stage with a fat lip or a rapidly swelling black eye. I cant remember exactly where the damage was but little Terry had caught him mooching around upstairs and had told him to piss off as he didnt know he was in the band. Jeff (Stinky) had given him a mouthfull back and got a clump for his troubles. He dedicated ready to ruck to 'the fat bastard who just jobbed me'!
The Stray Cats supported Matchbox one night and it was weird as in the early days the Teds were public enemy no 1 for the punks. Darren, Martin and me would go down the Kings Road for the saturday afternoon punch up! Now the pub was filling up with them and it was all a bit uneasy at first. The Stray Cats came on and it was obvious that they were gonna be massive. They Blew Matchbox off the stage.
When U2 did thier first gig Darren told us that an Irish punk band were going to play on a week night. Only 7 people payed to get in that night! We watched the first 3 songs and they were the biggest load of rubbish that had ever played at the pub. We went off and played pool for the rest of the night. I guess it pays to keep on trying.
I can remember having my first legal pint at the bridge in march78 during the dinner time session.  Darren didnt drink or smoke back then. Terry came over and Darren said we were celebrating my birthday. Terry offered to buy me my drink and I raised my glass and said 'heres to my first legal pint'.
Terry did his nut and nearly took it back from me. 'You have been drinking here for the last two years you ~~~~@@~~~~!' he shouted. He then gave Darren all sorts of aggro as Dal had vouched for us all age wise, and he then tightened up on the old proof of age thing at the door.
It didnt matter to me by then bit it was a pain a year or so later when I met my wife to be Yvonne. She was only 17 and John the chin and Glen never wanted to let her in. I managed to get her in eventually only for Glen to bar her again for something stupid.
I think all the long haired hippy types despised us lot and thought we were all talentless idiots but looking back we kept the whole live music/pub rock thing going for a good few years longer than it would have done without us.
Lee.

[Lee Drury]

Still up north. Should be at an old biker friends funeral today but cannot make it. John McRae RIP.
Terry mentions in his book that the Hells Angels made a few appearances at the bridge back in the late 70s. We (Darren, me and the Corvettes) were heavily into the biker look and culture, and were equally terrified and fascinated by the Angels. One night in particular one of the HA had an argument with his old lady. She decided to get her own back by flirting with us lot. We all worked out what was going on apart from Paul Spicer. He started buying her drinks and they were getting a bit kissy cuddly! The inevitable happened and the Angel came back over and told Paul to sling his hook. Paul was going to protest but we managed to get his attention and drag him away. The guy dressed his old lady down and came back over to us. We thought he was gonna kill Paul on the spot but he apologised for her behaviour and went back to his party. Phew!
Darren, Martin and me had had a run in with the Road Rats in the Roebuck pub down the Kings Road in the early days and were lucky to escape with our lives. I guess we were expecting the same but the Angels were a different class on that night.
Dick Envy were a biker band that described themselves as Motorwave. They had a girl singer who didnt wear anything under her unzipped bikers jacket. We soon worked out where to stand to get the best view! They opened up with the bass player doing a version of Dixieland. This impressed me and that was one of the first things I learnt when I bought Darrens bass.
The drummer was the same guy who was in the UK Subs at that time. A right miserable so and so who nearly blinded Yvonne at the Crypt one night. It was at the end of a subs, tickets, corvettes gig and he threw his drumstick into the crowd. This was before I knew her and she still has a scar just below her eye.
I remember when Girlschool had just started and were going to make thier B/H debut. They said in thier press release that they liked playing to men in leather! Me and Darren did our best with the Mascot jackets, Levis and jack boots and stood right down the front. We didnt last long as we felt like little boys as all the real bikers began to turn up.
We would try our hardest to dress up as rockers on mod mondays to wind the mods up. Me and Andy Cook would go outside and pick up the scooters and hide them under the little bridge down the road! I wonder if they found them as they wouldnt have lasted long in Canning Town at that time.
I used to get smoke bombs at work to test peoples chimneys, so always had a pack or two on me as they were great fun. We would light a couple, throw them under the scooters and then run in the pub shouting scooter on fire! The mods would come running out and mill around in the smoke panicking untill the bombs stopped smoking. Great fun.
Lee.

[Lee Drury]

Back in the smoke with a shed load of wallpaper! Check out www.missprint.co.uk for details.
I have noticed some people are trying to get in touch with Lesley Kronie aka Minnie Ralores. I still see Lesley occasionally and will pass on the details needed.
If you dont know how Lesley became Minnie I will let you in.
Lesley went to Brampton Manor with one of my oldest friends, Mark Holdsworth aka olsy. Olsy was always cracking jokes and was one of those people who was fun to be with. In the mid 70s 10cc had a record called 'Minestrone'. At the end of the song they repeated it over and over again, mini,mini,mini,mini-strone etc.
As Lesley was very small, olsy changed the lyrics to mini,mini,mini,mini-kronie! The name stuck and she kept it, adding it to her bands name.
If you listen to the X-Ray Spex tracks from the 'live at the Roxy' album you can hear Lesley introduce herself onstage and say 'its MInnie actually'. She must have been doing backing vocals.
Minnie Ralores were one of the strangest and most original bands that played during the early punk era.
There must have been something in the water in the east end as nearly everyone from my generation who went to the bridge was already, or ended up in a band.
Being a spectator wasnt good enough but that was the whole punk philosophy.

[Lee Drury]

Back in Loughborough for the last time hopefully.
Ive been speaking to Dagenham Dave about bikes and it turns out that he is related to Jackie who is married to Erazerheads drummer Trigger! Small world.
When Erazerhead had our first gig at the bridge it was on the new, downstairs stage complete with changing room.
'No more weirdos wandering around upstairs' I remember Rita saying, as the old changing room was upstairs in the living quarters. The new set up was much better for the Murphy family as it meant the upstairs part of the pub could be kept for family and friends.
We were to support Tenpole Tudor who I had talked into taking the gig. I had been trying to get the Wasted Youth boys to come to the Tenpole gigs with no luck. They assumed that Tenpole would be some mental punk act for some reason but when they played everyone loved them. Eddie was a brilliant frontman and later went on to front the crystal maze tv show.
I had played a lot of gigs with the Corvettes and wasnt too worried about this one. Thing is it was Jims first time on stage and I have never been in such close proximity to someone who was in danger of exploding with nerves! He couldnt sit still, couldnt speak, couldnt even smoke a fag properly! Trigger asked me to take him somewhere as he was freaking the others out.
We went out onto the stage and he just got worse and worse. Somehow he projected the nervousness to me and I began to panic. It wasnt good at all and Eddie and Bob came over to us to see what was wrong. Jim wanted to go home and I almost wished he would as I didnt fancy it anymore.
In the end I went upstairs to see Darren, just to get away from the bundle of nerves that was Jim.
Trigger got Jim a chromed German helmet from a biker mate and we  told him to wear it onstage as we all agreed he actually looked cool in it. As soon as we walked out onstage Terry came charging over and told us that we couldnt go on if Jim was going to wear that as he was worried about the far right side of things.
Jim looked as much like a nazi racist as he looked like Betty Grable! but Terry wasnt having any of it.
We did the gig eventually and there were no problems.
Jim was never that bad again so just a bad case of first night nerves.
Lee.

[Lee Drury]

The Bridgehouse was a very old pub with lots of secret panels, old tunnels down to the river and many legends of ghosts and strange happenings. As I was an apprentice gasman Terry would always send me down to the cellar to re light the boiler when it frequently went out. The boiler was in a part of the cellar where three skeletons had been found behind a false brick wall back in the thirties. It still remains the most creepy, scariest place I have ever been. Terry would always give me a pint for my troubles but I would always try and get someone to go down with me. One night in 79 I got to the pub early and let myself in via the back metal staircase. Darren was washing his hair so they told me to go down to the bar and help myself. I went downstairs and found Colin, the barman standing at the far end of the long bar, washing glasses all by himself. He seemed very pleased to see me and gave me two bottles of Harp lager. I poured my pint and wandered down the bar to the pool table area where I was suprised to find the balls were all set up ready for a game! The pub was still locked and empty at this time so I thought sod it, ill play on my own. I put my beer on the bar, took my leather off and bent down to break with my back to the oak paneled walls. As I held the cue someone put their finger thru my Levis belt hoop and gave three sharp tugs. I knew  there was no one behind me and didnt really want to look around so I dropped the cue, walked as fast as I could to the bar and then looked back. As I was standing there Colin came over and asked what was wrong. I didnt want to say as I still wasnt sure about what had just happened. Colin then asked me if someone had pinched my bum. I started swearing and said whats going on? Colin told me that before I had got there he was supposed to be bottling up. As no one else was about he thought he would play some pool first. He had put his two bob in and set the balls up, then as he was about to break someone put a hand down the back pocket of his farrahs and squeezed his arse. He was so scared he ran to the opposite end of the bar and stayed there untill I showed up. He didnt tell me when I got there as he thought I wouldnt believe him. We then both stood there looking at the table and I said "if there is someone there, show yourself " Nothing happened.
I finished off the game, with Colin watching for anything untoward and then it was time to open up. That was my only experience with the bridge house ghost but I know the family and cleaners had many more weird experiences.
Lee.

[Lee Drury]

It was hard getting people to come to the bridge if they werent from the local area. Darren, Martin and me would meet there on a friday night and then head off to the lacy lady. There were another crowd there who were way ahead of us in the punk stakes. I only found out a few years ago that it was Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, Jah Wobble etc. As soon as the Bill Grundy episode happened they stopped going.
We would head off to the Roxy on a saturday night, all the time trying to get some new people and bands to come to the bridge. Darren met Glen Matlock at the marquee at a Rich Kids gig and asked them to play at the B/H. He replied that you needed to be 6'6" with a baseball bat to go to canning town!
One night we were at the electric ballroom and Steve Jones came over to us. He was always trying to get someone to buy him a drink. I went to the bar leaving him talking to my then girlfriend Val. When I came back Val was standing there with a face like thunder. I asked "wheres Jonesy?" Val said hes got a fu**ing cheek. She was a bit star struck when she met him and as soon as I went to the bar he asked her to go outside. Why are we going outside she said to him? So you can give me a blow job he replied!
I couldnt stop laughing when she told me  and then Val got the hump with me too!
One night after a Skrewdriver gig at the Roxy we all got into the bands van as we never wanted to go home. The drummer that night was the guy from X-Ray Spex and we were all told to keep it quiet as he was using all thier gear to moonlight with Skrewdriver, who were still a punk band at that time. We went to some posh hippy type party at a part of london that I didnt know. The house had about four floors and we could only find one punk record and that was the Stranglers peaches. We bunged on the B side, Go Buddy Go and began getting into it when things started falling off shelves etc. The floor was moving up and down so much that the hippy types asked us all to go up onto the roof terrace. This all seemed very glamourous to me and we started to have our own party on the roof. It must have been at least 3.30am by now and a bloke came out of the house next door and began shouting up at us. Someone told him to f*ck off and he started threatening to phone the police. Then it began. At first it was the odd small flower pot or ashtray but gradually we threw everything off of the roof at this bloke. We had him pinned at the end of his garden for ages untill we eventually ran out of ammo. After all this abuse he was livid and was screaming like a mad man. I will have you all locked up for this you scum he said. By now all that was left on the roof was a giant big old beer barrel full of dirt with a big plant in it. One of our Roxy mates was called Vince and he decided that we had to throw that at him too otherwise he would get back to his phone. Trouble was that it was so heavy it just went straight down between the houses and went thru his conservatory roof with the loudest noise ive ever heard.
I decided it was time to go and by the time we had got to the end of the road you could already hear the sirens in the distance. Me Darren and Donald hid in a graveyard. We lost Martin and couldnt risk looking for him so we stayed there untill the sun came up. We nearly froze to death but managed to get back home in the morning. Just another night out!
Lee.

[Lee Drury]

When the Tickets first played at the Bridge, Jeff Wilmott was thier roadie. He was only about 14 at the time and within a year would be the Corvettes drummer. Jeff could only do local evening gigs as he was still at school!
When I first got talking to Ken we realised that we lived very close to each other. I asked about the next gig and Ken said if you come round our house at three o clock tomorrow you can come with us to the Marquee.  They were supporting Zaine Griff. I got home from work early as usual and strolled round to the Scotts earlier than arranged. There was no one in so I popped back home for and hour then went back. The place was crawling with police. They had been burgled and the police were asking if anyone knew that the house was empty! I felt very worried and guilty as Ken and Andy didnt really know me well and could have thought I had something to do with it. I confessed this to Ken and he told me not to be silly.
We got to the Marquee ok and began setting up the gear. Me and Andy were messing around on the stage and knocked the main bands keyboards over. No one noticed so we put it back quickly and didnt say anything. Needless to say it packed up that night and I was worried again!
Another time the Tickets were to play in walthamstow in what looked like the town hall building. For some reason there were quite a few greaser, ted types in the hall and they were giving us some bad vibes. There were about 6 of us with the band this time including Martin and Darren. Martin was wearing a drape jacket and a pair of crepes that we had knicked from a ted a few weeks earlier. To top all this off he had a type of Brando biker cap as well. The rest of us had leathers on and this seemed to wind up this other crowd. Eventually as the Tickets were doing the soundcheck Martin was doing silly skank dancing and waving at the other gang. One of them couldnt take it anymore and ran over and punched him. Martin began fighting back. Ken jumped off the stage to help and about three of them began to have a go at him as well. John and Andy didnt move so I ran across to help Ken. I managed to send all three of them flying and then the rest of them came. It was a bit like a western brawl but we came out on top and the other crowd left with shouted threats.
I dont think the band played that night as Ken had hurt his hand in the punch up and the others didnt fancy it anymore, but we stayed there for a beer. As the night wore on more and more bikers turned up and they all sat on the floor around the outside of the hall. In the end there were about thirty of them and we decided that we needed reinforcements so went out to find a phone. We rang the Bridge and called the I.C.F cavalry!
We went back in and stood at the bar. The main biker geezer came over to us and I thought here we go. He told me that we had bashed up some of his boys and after the show of strength by them he had expected us to leave. I told him that we were waiting for backup.
He seemed amazed that we werent worried and he began to ask about who we were and where we came from. After about 5 mins he had bought me a beer and we were having a laugh! Then the cavalry arrived. We had to go outside and tell all the I.C.F/pre Rejects firm that they werent needed anymore! They were all geed up and ready for it and it wasnt easy getting them to go back in peace. We got a real dressing down from the two van loads of herberts as we had wasted some valuable drinking time! The rest of our crowd went back in the vans leaving me, Martin and Darren there. We walked back in to be greeted by the other crowd and were bought drinks all night! As we all walked out together, coming down the big steps outside the hall a car load of soul boys pulled up, and they all started to shout abuse at us. Martin ran down and began to have it so I thought here we go again and ran to his rescue. We drove them back into the car and then set about the car. I gave the driver a good few, thru the open window as he was trying to get the keys in the ignition. He eventually started the car and screeched off. The fat biker said thats a dead end down there, we can have them again and he and Martin began chasing the car. We joined in and as we ran round the back of the building I had overtaken everyone. The car stopped at the far end of the car park. As it began turning round I realised that I was going to be run over. He came straight at us and all I could hear was the screaming engine as he went thru the gears. I managed to overtake everyone again as we all ran for our lives. He nearly caught us down the narrow side road but we all managed to dive into a hedge as he went past. Then we heard an enormous bang. In the drivers determination to run us down he hadnt noticed the metal bollards in the middle of the road. The back of the car went up in the air and the driver went thru the windscreen. His so called mates got out and ran leaving him there. Then the sirens started. This was always our cue to get out. We managed to get on a bus and could see the police and ambulance there as we went past on our way back to the bridge. When we got back we told them all what had happened and we got another slagging for sending them all away and making them miss all the fun!

[Steve Fisher]

I remember that night in Walthamstow, I'd had the plaster taken off my broken hand that day and in the fight for reasons I'll never know led with my withered left instead of my favoured right....and of coarse broke the bloody thing again, another 6 weeks in plaster oh joy. It still gives me jip in the cold to this day.

[Lee Drury]

Nice one Steve, all help on that day was greatly appreciated. A lot of punks back then seemed to roll over or run away but we couldnt be like that. We were not art school, we were eastenders!
Lee.

[Lee Drury]

We are just back from another show in Paris.
Watching all the freaks and weirdos walking around, with no one batting an eyelid made me realise how different and violent things were back in the 70s. I frequently came home with lumps on my head, split lips and black eyes and that was just from wandering round the east end in my punk gear! When I got home all my mum would say is "what do you expect looking like that".
One saturday night me and Metin left the bridge with Pat and June to get the 58 bus back to leyton. I waited outside the chinese looking for the bus while the others went in to get some chips. All of a sudden there was shouting, then the girls started screaming.
I ran in thru the door to be met by total confusion. Metin was on the floor and a man was hitting him with a chair. The girls were still screaming and holding their throats, which I thought had been cut as they had red all down their tops. I went to help and the man at the table in front of me stood up and took a lunge at me with his knife. I leaned back and he just missed my face. Then he threw it at me like a circus knife thrower. He got me perfectly on the edge of my eye socket and the force of the heavy knife knocked me back out of the doors and I ended up on the pavement.
I was laying there holding my face and hoping that I was not blinded. Loopy Lynn came running up to me laughing as she thought I was drunk and pulled my hands away from my face. She began screaming too! I opened my eyes and was terrified as I couldnt see out of my left eye.
Then the doors of the chinky opened and Metin was thrown out like a sack of potatoes. He was completely unconscious and three or four men came out and stood over us. One of them began kicking Metin and then the girls came running out screaming at me to stop them from killing Metin. I thought we were all being killed already!
I still couldnt see but tried to get the man to stop kicking Metin. Then one of the other blokes pulled a big blade on me, and asked me if I wanted some more. I really wanted to go the hospital and didnt want to be stabbed anymore so I just pleaded with them to stop and leave us alone. They kicked him for another couple of mins all the time taunting me with the knife. It was terrible. Then they just stopped, went back in the restuarant and carried on with their meals!
I then found out that the girls werent cut, just burned with hot sweet and sour sauce. In the dark it looked like blood. My eye socket was full of blood and thats why I couldnt see but as I stood there watching them kick Metin I began to get some vision back.
When it was over we hailed a cab, I put Metin in and we went round to Triggers flat in Plaistow where we tried to make sense of what had happened. The cab driver was so horrified by our wounds, and our account of what had happened he phoned the police and went back to the chinese. When the old bill turned up no one in the chinky had seen anything. Not even the proprietors, but that wasnt suprising as the blokes that had set about us were so called local gangsters.
 They were in their 30s or 40s. We were teenagers! Thinking about it now they were nothing but animals, but all the locals knew the score and it was the old see no evil routine.
Metin woke up eventually and couldnt remember anything. He looked like he had been run over. Pat and June had scalds to their necks and I had a half inch puncture wound on the edge of my eye socket. A fraction higher and it would have been a different story as the knife would have gone right into my eye. As it was I couldnt blink for over 24 hours as my eyelids didnt meet up anymore due to the swelling. Ive still got the scar.
The following monday me and Metin both turned up at the bridge for the punk gig and everyone was taking our photos as we both looked so bad.
It was all because June had said to one of the arseholes in the chinese "gis a chip mate'. She had taken a chip from his plate and he had told her to f@ck off. Metin had said dont swear at the girls mate when it all went off.
To them it was just another night out but it turned out to be the end of me and June. Both the girls gave up the punk thing soon after and so did Metin. It was like that pretty much ever since the Pistols had released God Save The Queen in 77. We became public enemy no 1. It became acceptable to abuse anyone who didnt meet the normal stereotype.
The bridge was a safe haven for weirdos and lost souls. It was our own CBGBs. The trouble began when it was time to go home.
Lee.

[Lee Drury]

When I first met Yvonne she was going around with a crowd of local punk girls, and I would see them out and about at places like the Music Machine etc. I knew the other girls including Loopy Lou and Zillah so would always go over and give them a kiss.
One night in late 79 they came to the bridge and I made my move on Yvonne. The bridge wasnt a safe place for Zillah as she would always end up going home in her stockings and suspenders because Metin and his little gang would rip her skirt off as she was going back to the bus stop.
This particular night I took Yvonne home, watched Zillah lose her skirt, and arranged to meet Yvonne at the Theatre Royal the next week to see Zillahs band Rubella Ballet, do their first gig. They were to support the poison girls.
We sat down the down the bottom in the middle and the show began. Zillah sang 'tomorrow belongs to me' just like the Cabaret version and I was thinking this is good when all of a sudden the doors of the theatre burst open and loads of skinheads came charging in causing mahem!
They invaded the stage, chased everyone from the hall and were even dancing on the piano. It was like a scene from Clockwork Orange.
By now there was only Yvonne and me sitting in the middle watching all this going on when she said "dont you think we should get out?" Just then one of the invaders was running across the seat tops when he looked at us and said "alright Lee!" The gang was made up of some old punk friends and some local West Ham boys who all gone skin.
Apparently they had come to disrupt the gig as the Poison Girls had said something in the press to wind them up. I assured them that Rubella Ballet had nothing to do with it and they left them alone. I didnt know one way or the other but felt I should do someting as the band were Yvonnes friends.
It was an unforgettable first date and we have been together ever since.
Lee.

[Dell]

Lee,
Would this be the same 'Metin' that used to go watch the Ants in ,77-,78?
I last saw him on the coach when Wasted Youth went to Rayleigh.

regards

Dell

[Lee Drury]

Hello Dell,
Yes it is/was. I was on the coach trip to Crocs as well and even tried to fix the coach when it wouldnt start. I was very drunk but was certain that there was a panel with a reset button somewhere!
It was a shame about the big fight as I had good friends on both sides and didnt want to get involved.
Metin and his crowd were big early ants fans and would give me stick as I was into the Lurkers.
He is now kind of my brother in law as Yvonnes sister married his brother, Chetin.
Metin got my band banned from nearly every poly in London and also from most of the coach companies that we would use when we went up north.
He was crazy as you will probably remember.
Lee.