New Plaque For Punk's London Birthplace

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By M@ Last edited 82 months ago

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New Plaque For Punk's London Birthplace
Image by Gerard McNamara

The ROXY club on Neal Street, Covent Garden is long gone, but its memory lives on thanks to a newly installed plaque from the Seven Dials Trust.

From 1976 to 1978, the ROXY was synonymous with the punk scene. The Clash, The Damned, Generation X, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Slits, Adam & the Ants... all played early gigs at the venue.

Gaye Black (The Adverts), Pauline Murray (Penetration), Jordan Mooney, Tessa Politt (The Slits). Image by Gerard McNamara

40 years on, and the venue has been honoured with its own plaque. A gathering of punk notables assembled on 25 April 2017 for the occasion.

Gaye Black, Pauline Murray, Susan Carrington & Andrew Czezowski (Roxy Creators), Jordon Mooney, Tessa Pollitt. Image by Gerard McNamara

The plaque unveiling coincides with a photographic exhibition on the early days of punk. Fear and Loathing at the ROXY, curated by Jane Palm-Gold, collects together some of the era-defining work of Derek Ridgers, Ray Stevenson, Jeremy Gibbs and Rebecca Hale.

The Damned - © Jeremy Gibbs 1977

The plaque can be seen on the former site of the ROXY at 41-43 Neal Street, Seven Dials, Covent Garden. The photographic exhibition is at 35 Neal Street and runs till 10 May 2017.

Last Updated 02 May 2017