The Flowers Of Romance

The Flowers Of Romance is one of the semi-legendary early bands of the punk era along with the London SS, Masters Of The Backsides and The Subterraneans.

The Flowers of Romance’s claim to fame (as they neither played any gigs or recorded) is arguably the number of people en route to or from more well-known bands. The origins of the band go back to an unnamed band in the summer of 1976 featuring Jo Faull (guitar) and Sarah Hall (bass) two faces on the early punk scene and girlfriends of Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols. They were rehearsing with Viv Albertine (guitar) and Palmolive (drums)

Viv Albertine …we spent all summer in this horrible squat, every day, we did have discipline. It was so hard because I could hardly play.” later on ” It was a bedroom band…We played Ramones songs, and couldn’t keep time. Sid went from singer to also playing sax. It was a bunch of interesting looking people so we’d get interviewed and we’d never done anything and could hardly play… England’s Dreaming, John Savage

Pete Frame in his New Wave Family Tree in Zigzag September 1977 remarks of the band “fast and monotonous…extremely monotonous. Their one innovation: the drum kit had no cymbals.”

Looking for a lead singer a certain Sid Vicious fancied himself fronting an all girl band after his stint on drums at the 100 Club for Siouxsie and The Banshees. Songs that Sid contributed were Belsen Was A Gas (later resurrected for the Pistols) Piece of Garbage and Brains on Vacation. The moniker Flowers Of Romance was suggested by Johnny Rotten and adopted (it appears as his intro to Anarchy In The UK on the program So It Goes and as a song and album title for PIL)

**Viv Albertine & Sid Vicious 100 Club**

Jo dropped out and Palmolive was sacked after she refused Sid’s amorous advances. Around the end of 1976 the band comprised Steve Walsh (later to become journalist and Zigzag contributor) another Steve (possibly Steve English who would become the Sex Pistols and Clash’s psychopathic minder) and Viv Albertine. Keith Levine (ex The Clash) joined the band and then Sid sacked Viv. The last to join was Kenny Morris who was taught drums by Sid Vicious (both saw Mo Tiucker as an influence) and would use that unique cymbaless sound with great effect in Siouxsie & The Banshees.

Kenny Morris A friend of mine Steve Walsh, already in the group, told me they were looking for a drummer. We met in a World’s End pub and then we started to rehearse at Rehearsal Rehearsals, The Clash’s base in Camden. Spitting & Screaming, Neil Saint

Kenny Morris – second left in the second Banshees lineup with Pete Fenton – February 1977

By February though that all changed on a number of fronts.

Sid was in a position where he had to decide whether or not to become a Sex Pistol so the Flowers of Romance broke up and essentially I was asked by Siouxsie to audition for The Banshees.

I was asked by Siouxsie & Steve to audition whilst I was in The Flowers of Romance and at that time Sid was being sounded out about joining The Sex Pistols. It was a dilemma as I didn’t think I could be in two bands at once. I remember Keith Levene, the guitarist in The Flowers of Romance that later played with The Clash and PIL, came up to me at The Roxy stating ‘you can’t possibly play in two bands as Sid will go nuts’. I remember thinking I’m going to have to somehow play in both bands but fortunately the gig was cancelled where The Flowers of Romance & The Banshees were on the same bill. Spitting & Screaming, Neil Saint

Sid joined the Pistols to fulfill his destiny and Keith Levine (left) via Cowboys International later worked with Johnny Rotten in PIL. Sarah Hall formed The Innocents in Spring 1978 with Marguerite Van Cook and toured with The Slits and Clash in late 1978). Viv and Palmolive worked together again in The Slits.

Here’s the pair of them on being sacked from their own band by Sid.

Palmolive “…the best thing that ever happened to me. Girls are usually treated all nice. But after I was chucked out of that group I really got my shit together.”

Viv “If Sid had been a girl we would have split up…. it’s not a personal thing. It would be stupid to take it that way…it was a matter of leaving and finding the right one (band). And now I have (The Slits) 1988 Punk Rock Explosion, Caroline Coon

Steve Walsh, Viv Albertine & Sid Vicious – The Flowers Of Romance – in Caroline Coon’s flat 1976 – Photo – Leee Black Childers

They also did an interview that appeared in the fanzine Skum No1 in early 1977. Read the interview below by clicking on the image to view a larger image.