The first time I ever seen a punk(s) was 1977 on Burley road near the park. It was a couple that were chained to each other with dog collars. Then my mate’s older sister patsy McGibbon’s became one and looked like Siouxsie Sioux.

Around this time there used to be a café down by the market I think called Terry’s pool bar café (I may be mistaken) where loads of Teddy boys used to hang out. The punks used to knock about around the corn exchange. So as a ten-year-old in 1978 I used to go to Kennedys toy/joke shop on Call Lane (this was after it was on lower Briggate near Watson and Cairns) to look at the stuff that was on offer that I would wish that I would get for my birthday or Christmas. As I was looking in the window a couple of older lads passed me and said have a look in here young un. It was X Clothes. This is when it was next door (before it moved over the road), so I went in for no reason to just see a load of teens hanging around a shop. This became my road into fashion and music. I was never a punk (how could you be at ten?) But I started to notice how people dressed and what sort of music was around. Jazz funk and reggae was popular around Burley before 2 tone came around.

When I read about everyone’s first experience of seeing a band on TOTPS its always Bowie Starman, Roxy music Virginia plain, or later years sex pistols.
Mine was x ray spex, Polly singing this in 1978. I thought she looked ace.

Bit of a shit nostalgia but there again it’s a Sunday morning and I’m a bit hung over.