Photograph
Russell Club
1979

This picture captures a typical night at The Russell Club in Hulme during the punk explosion. This was The Damned playing. I was right at the front at the start but due to the frenzy of flying fists and the quaint habit of spitting at the bands I quickly retreated out of the Mosh. As soon as the bands kicked off the place was a mass of punks doing this thing where they careered into the each other whilst kicking hell out of one another.I remember seeing Iggy Pop there when New Values was released, Glen Matlock was playing bass with the band. There were people deliberately gouging their arms with the broken bottles that always littered the floor. It must have been about 45 degrees in there. I had to go outside 1/2 way through the gig to tend to my mate who had passed out in the heat. It was difficult to get back to Levenshulme from there when you couldn't afford a taxi but always worth the hassle because of the quality of the stuff they had on, Throbbing Gristle, Iggy Pop, The Damned all within a few days of each other....