The city’s society has refused to honor The Clash’s infamous punk gig with an iconic blue plaque because the music event caused too much trouble at the time.
The 580 members of The Bury Society say it will not support calls to honor the band’s 1978 concert at The Corn Exchange in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
The infamous concert was part of the band’s On Parole tour and led to accusations of punks causing mayhem with property damage, spitting and drunkenness.
It also led to certain types of live music being banned from public buildings for two decades.
Now the demand is for the gig to be commemorated as part of the city’s history with a blue plaque in the Corn Exchange, which has been a Wetherspoons since 2012.
The 580 members of The Bury Society say it will not support requests for the band’s 1978 concert at The Corn Exchange in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, because it caused too many problems at the time. Pictured: The Clash on stage at the Rainbow, London, 1977
The Corn Exchange in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, where the Clash played their infamous gig in 1978. I’ve been a Wetherspoons since 2012.
But Martyn Taylor, chairman of Bury Society, said they could not support an event which had such a negative lasting impact on the town.
Taylor, 73, said: “The Clash didn’t cover themselves in glory during or after the event.
“You have to draw a fine line between what’s acceptable and what’s not by moral standards — and you have to be careful how you walk that line.
“Does Bury want to be remembered for this?”
The call for the blue plaque to be erected has been led by Paul Johnson, 55, who believes the event should receive more recognition.
Johnson, a champion of the Bury St Edmunds music scene, told the BBC he “won’t take no for an answer”.
Mr Taylor said the town already had eight plaques honoring different people and just one event – the first Zeppelin air raid in World War Two.
Plaques have been erected by Bury Society, which is registered as part of English Heritage’s blue plaque scheme and notifies English Heritage of new ones.
Mr Taylor, who has been chairman of the Bury Society since 2016, said: “We like to celebrate both people and events – people say The Clash performing was an event.
Martyn Taylor, chairman of The Bury Society, said they could not accept an event which had such a negative and lasting impact on the town.
Zeppelin plaque at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
“But the way people behaved at the time, the spitting and the destruction, might have meant it couldn’t go up even if we wanted to.
“English Heritage does not accept plaques for events that are considered offensive or malicious – they are intended to commemorate someone or something noteworthy.
“People are remembered for their actions, but if someone were to look at a plaque 20 or 30 years from now, what would it really mean?
‘You have to jump through a lot of hoops to get there, with permission from the building owner, the conservation authority.
‘The meaning of the black tile is easily lost because the word space is limited..’
He added that other musical events, such as Bob Marley’s performance, had also not been recognised.
The Clash were an English rock band formed in 1976 and considered to have operated in British punk rock.
They disbanded in 1986 after Topper Headon and Mick Jones were fired from the band.