The only known footage from two hugely influential Sex Pistols gigs has sold at auction for £15,000.
John Lydon
The concerts took place at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976 and despite limited capacity both were still attended by a number of people who went on to become some of the biggest stars of the Manchester music scene.
A spokesman for Omega Auctions who sold the footage, shot by music fan Mark Roberts, said there is no question about its historical significance as it's the "only known footage of the gigs" in existence.
Famous faces in attendance included 17-year-old singer Steven Morrissey, who would go on to become better known as The Smiths frontman Morrissey.
He was so inspired by what he saw that night that he wrote to music magazine NME afterwards and said he would “love to see the Pistols make it”.
Other notable names in the crowd included Joy Division and New Order bandmates Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, with the latter even suggesting previously that the evening had such an impact on him he’d gone out and bought a base guitar almost immediately afterwards.
Also at one of the gigs was late Factory Records and Hacienda nightclub supremo Tony Wilson.
Earlier this month Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon called some of his former bandmates "greedy" and "nasty".
The punk band's former drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones were locked in a High Court battle with Lydon - who performed in the group under the name Johnny Rotten - to be allowed to use their songs in TV drama 'Pistol', which is being directed by Danny Boyle and made by Disney.
The 65-year-old rocker had claimed that they could not use the tracks without his consent, however, Cook and Jones argued that an agreement formed in 1998 - a band member agreement (BMA) - means that a majority basis settles any decisions regarding licensing of The Sex Pistols music.
And in a ruling last week, it was decided that the pair were entitled to invoke majority voting rules against the singer in relation to the use of Sex Pistols material in the series, under the terms of that band member agreement.
And now, Lydon, who had branded the outcome of his lost court battle as "destructive" and "disingenuous", has slammed his ex-bandmates and claimed he's been "fleeced of £2 million".
Speaking on the opening night of his extensive 'I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right' spoken-word tour this week, he ranted: “They’ve turned themselves into really greedy, selfish, nasty f****. But c’est la vie."
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