Spitting And Gobbing
Arguably the worst thing about punk was the gobbing (spitting) at bands.. This exchange of fluids at bands which this exchange of was supposed to be a mark of approbation from the crowd. I remember seeing The Clash take to the stage in a hail of spit that looked like a snowstorm and even as late as the early Eighties people spitting at the Gun Club at the Electric Ballroom London and it hanging from poor Patricia Morrisons hair!
Who started these shenanigans then? Apparently, the origin of spitting at gigs came from an early Damned gig at which somebody threw a can of beer at Rat Scabies and he just went up to the bloke, pulled him up by the scruff of the neck and spat in his face. From then on everyone decided spitting or gobbing was a good idea.
Severin of the Banshees (The Damned’s nemesis) seems to concur
“I don’t know who started it, but it was probably that arsehole Rat Scabies from the Damned.”
Ooh you bitch Severin !!!
Johnny Rotten disagrees though
“I think the audiences gobbing on stage came from me. Because of my sinuses, I do gob a lot on stage, but never out toward the crowd…But the press will jump on that, and the next week you get an audience thinking that’s its part of the fashion and everybody has to be in on it. There’s not much you can do to stop it after that.”
Very phlegmatic if you’ll excuse the pun John.
Says Julien Temple (Rock’N’ Roll Swindle director)
“When Rotten finally came out on stage, it was like Agincourt. There were these massed volleys of gob flying through the air that just hung John like a Medusa.”
David Byrne of Talking Heads talks about UK audience spitting at them and The Ramones.
‘Gob On You’ Parody by the satirical comedy Not The 9 O’Clock News 1979
Siouxsie caught conjunctivitis after gob landed in her eye. Strummer got glandular fever after he swallowed it. Bands like The Clash, Sex Pistols, well every band really, would be playing with huge big gobs landing on their strings; instruments, hair and clothes would be caked with it. No wonder punk bands played fast and wanted to fight their audiences!
That said gob wasn’t the worst. Stories from bands recount heavy beer glasses being thrown and smashing, darts and even an axe being found embedded in the stage and equipment but that’s another story.
If you’re in a band now just thank god this died out unless it’s Ed Sheeran!
TalkPunk
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