I Swear I Was There

So I went for a quick drink in Filthy McNasty’s after work last night, just to catch up with some friends and because it’s a great bar. It’s only a short walk from my office, and as I strolled along I realised the only things I had in my bag were a copy of the NME and a bottle of Veuve Cliquot. Feeling pretty rock and roll at this discovery, I got to the pub and waited for my friends to arrive.

The evening rolled on and we got progressively more merry (partly due to the discovery that a ‘BlackJack’ contains equal parts Black Sambuca and Jack Daniel’s, and tastes like Jaegermeister), until a woman got on the stage and announced that David Nolan would be launching his new book here tonight, with a couple of readings. Random. Turns out he’s written a book about the notorious 1976 Manchester Sex Pistols gigs, which everyone in modern British music seems to have been at. The reading is pretty interesting (most significantly for stating quite clearly that Mick Hucknall was definitively not there, despite rumours to the contrary…), and at the end we all go and buy a copy and get it signed.

Chatting to Nolan is a lot of fun – he seems surprised that there’s anyone there at all, so is happy to chat about what he thinks of modern music and Manchester, and the influence of that Sex Pistols gig. He’s the only person I’ve ever met who has ‘Punk Rock Consultant’ on his CV (from his time working on the set of 24 Hour Party People). At one point, James asks some question about what the Sex Pistols think about the book, and Nolan simply points behind us and says “Why don’t you ask him?”.

Stood at the bar in Filthy McNasty’s is Glen Matlock. We all feel a bit guilty for not having recognised him sooner (it might be the camel coloured long coat and generally smart demeanour), look awkwardly at our shoes, and then carry on talking to Nolan. The beers have taken affect though, so before I know what I’m doing I’ve had my photo with him, and got him to sign my book, apologising profusely the entire time for being so cheesy.

Seemed like a nice guy though, and merrily waved goodbye when he left about an hour later. The book, ‘I Swear I Was There: The Gig that Changed the World’ consists mainly of interviews with various Manchester scenesters from the time. The best bit about my copy though, is the title page, across which is scrawled ‘I Know I Was, Glen Matlock’.