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1978, Hernando's Hideaway - my first
"punk" gig. We'd all heard and read the stories coming mainly from the UK and
mostly about the Sex Pistols.
It was mad, crazy, violent and definitely a little bit scary. Nonetheless, there
I was looking like I'd just come out of the surf. I didn't look like a punk at
all. Would I survive?
Well, the first guy I saw had a raw lamb chop pinned to his shirt and was
obviously a very bohemian type, so I thought "this will be fun", and it was.
The band I'd gone to see that night were The Orphans. They played a very good
set of catchy, fast, furious and very angry songs - everything you would expect
from a punk band. I was hooked.
Venues like Hernando's, the Orient in Fremantle and Adrians in Northbridge were
where I saw such bands as The Victims (the most popular of the punk bands in
Perth) [Ed. note: Hassa's chronology is
astray here. The Victims played their last gig before The Orphans ever gigged
at Hernando's, although The Victims did play a reunion gig at Adrians,
notoriously invaded by rampaging skinheads - see
Kim Williams' interview];
The Manikins, with their songs about the soaps on tv and their singer reading
the words spontaneously from a newspaper or magazine long before we'd heard of
Nick Cave; Rip Torn and The Stockings playing a fine set of up-tempo power pop
songs.
I recall The Scientists' first gig in the lounge of a house in Osborne Park,
with the band wearing the classic 60s uniform of white shirt and thin black tie.
There were many more bands that I haven't mentioned or have forgotten in that
very brief period, though the above-mentioned bands were the seminal Perth punk
bands and some of their members went on to bigger and better things.
All in all, a great time was had by musicians and fans alike and it's just a bit
of a pity that no one comprehensively recorded or documented the moment.
Nonetheless, some dusty old recordings, photos and memories have been unearthed
to amuse, delight and inform both old and young alike.
So to all the people involved back then and in this current Perth punk project -
well done and thanks.
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