On a rainy June evening in 1976, something remarkable happened at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall.
In a half-empty room with just around 40 people watching, punk history was written.
The Sex Pistols, then a fledgling band making waves with their raw energy and sneering anti-establishment lyrics, took to the stage and unwittingly set off a cultural chain reaction that would transform not only Manchester but the global music scene.
Recently voted one of the most influential gigs of all time, the Sex Pistols’ performance that night is etched into the annals of music history. Its significance lies not in the performance itself, which lead singer John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) later claimed he couldn’t even remember, but in the audience it drew and the ripple effects it created.
Despite the low turnout, the people in that room would go on to form some of the most groundbreaking bands and redefine music and culture for decades to come. Let’s revisit that historic night and the legacy it left behind.
The Sex Pistols in Manchester, 1974
The story begins with two young Mancunians, Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley, who had read about the Sex Pistols in NME. Inspired by what they’d heard, the pair, already dabbling in music themselves, drove to London to see the band perform. Blown away by the Pistols’ ferocity, they invited them to play a gig in Manchester.
The duo scraped together enough money to hire the Lesser Free Trade Hall for £32 and advertised the gig in the Manchester Evening News, where tickets were listed for just 50p each.
However, Manchester’s appetite for punk was still nascent, and the gig’s attendance was modest at best. But what it lacked in numbers, it made up for in future influence. The crowd that night included individuals who would go on to shape the very fabric of music, fashion, and culture.
Who was in the audience at the Sex pistol’s gig?
Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner
Two schoolmates from Salford, Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner, were in the audience that night. Hook recalled, “If they can do it, then so can we.” The next day, he purchased a bass guitar and began practicing.
Three weeks later, when the Pistols returned to Manchester, Hook and Sumner met Ian Curtis, and together with Stephen Morris, they formed Joy Division.
The band’s debut album, Unknown Pleasures, would later become a cornerstone of post-punk, influencing countless artists worldwide. After Curtis’s tragic death, Joy Division evolved into New Order, pioneering the fusion of post-punk and electronic music.
Morrissey
Seventeen-year-old Steven Patrick Morrissey, also attended the gig. At the time, he was writing for NME and penned a characteristically acerbic review of the Pistols’ performance. Despite his initial critique, the gig left its mark on him. Morrissey would go on to form The Smiths with Johnny Marr, creating a band whose introspective lyrics and jangly guitars became the blueprint for indie rock.
Without The Smiths, it’s hard to imagine the emergence of bands like The Stone Roses and Oasis.
Mark E. Smith
Mark E. Smith, the mercurial frontman of The Fall, was also there. Already experimenting with music, he left the gig inspired to push boundaries further. The Fall’s avant-garde approach to punk and their staggering output—over 30 albums—cemented them as one of the most prolific and innovative bands of the post-punk era.
Tony Wilson
Though his presence at the gig is debated, Tony Wilson’s role in amplifying the Pistols’ impact is undeniable. The Granada TV presenter was so inspired by the band that he invited them to perform on his show, So It Goes.
This TV appearance introduced punk to a wider audience and catalysed the genre’s spread. Wilson later co-founded Factory Records, home to Joy Division, New Order, and the Happy Mondays, and opened the iconic Hacienda nightclub, which birthed the Madchester rave scene.
The Buzzcocks
Ironically, Devoto and Shelley, the gig’s organisers, weren’t ready to perform as the Buzzcocks that night. Instead, they worked the door. When the Pistols returned three weeks later, the Buzzcocks took the stage, becoming one of punk’s most influential bands. Their melodic yet raw sound laid the groundwork for pop punk and indie music.
Dr John Cooper Clarke
Legendary “punk poet” John Cooper Clarke was also in the crowd that night, a fact he later immortalised in his memoir. Known for his razor-sharp wit and rapid-fire delivery, Clarke vividly described the electric atmosphere, calling it “a night where Manchester felt like the centre of the universe.” He reminisced about the raw energy of the performance and the crowd’s unrelenting passion, noting how the gig encapsulated everything that made the city’s music scene so special: gritty, groundbreaking, and unapologetically bold.
Mick Hucknall
Mick Hucknall, the future frontman of Simply Red, was among the select few who witnessed the Sex Pistols’ seminal performance at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall on the 4th of June, 1976. This gig, organised by Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley, who would later form the Buzzcocks, is often credited with igniting the punk movement in Manchester. Hucknall, then a teenager, was profoundly influenced by the raw energy and rebellious spirit of the performance. Reflecting on the experience, he noted that punk’s straightforward, impactful lyrics resonated with him in a way that the more elaborate compositions of bands like Genesis or Yes did not. This exposure played a pivotal role in shaping his musical sensibilities, eventually leading to the soulful yet edgy sound that defined Simply Red.
A view through the lens
Photographer Paul Welsh was one of the lucky few inside Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall on that now-mythologised night in June 1976. He was shooting for a Punk magazine called ‘Penetration Rock Magazine’. Armed with his camera and a ticket bought on a whim after receiving a flyer post-gig at the Palace Theatre, he arrived curious and excited, like many in the room—about this London band who were said to channel the spirit of Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls.
“The excitement started before we even got there,” he recalled. “A lot of people were fans of American punk, The Stooges, New York Dolls, Wayne County, and when we heard the Sex Pistols were covering those bands in their set, we were intrigued.”
That electric sense of anticipation only grew once inside the venue. “As we left the gig, I remember telling my girlfriend I felt like I was walking on air. I knew I’d seen something very special and very different.”
Though he only planned to take a couple of shots for Penetration Rock Magazine, he ended up shooting a full reel. “One of my friends had said before the gig, ‘I don’t want photos of those ugly bastards,’ after seeing the band in the bar. Needless to say, he’d changed his mind by the end.”
Despite some rough patches, “parts of the set were out of tune, and there was no production to speak of”, the band’s rawness and lack of polish were what made it so thrilling. “We felt like we were seeing something no one else really knew about. Even though the Pistols had played other gigs before, this felt underground, exciting—like we were in on a secret.”
Decades later, one of Paul’s photos from that night would become iconic: a grainy shot of the audience that perfectly captured punk’s birthplace. Ironically, it was the one image he’d initially been most disappointed with. “If I’d had a digital camera, I would’ve deleted it straight away,” he admits.
The negatives lay forgotten in lofts for years until a twist of fate brought them back to light.
“It wasn’t until David Nolan was producing a documentary on Granada entitled ‘I Swear I Was There’ and he was interviewed in a local magazine where he said: “It’s a pity there aren’t any photographs from that night so we could see what the audience looked like.
“I contacted him and the rest as they say, is history. Local photographer Kevin Cummins on realising that I had the photos contacted me once and offered me one thousand pounds for the negatives and the copyright I refused his ‘kind’ offer of course.
The cultural weight of the moment wasn’t immediately apparent.
“It just felt like another gig. I didn’t rush home and try to form a band. But I totally get why other people did. It showed you didn’t need to be a musical genius or have a slick stage act. You just needed attitude, and the Pistols had that in spades.”
Welsh also wades into the ongoing debate about who actually made it through the doors that night. “I had an exhibition at Central Library a couple of years ago with a visitor book. People gave their thoughts about who was or wasn’t there, and I still don’t know,” he laughed. “There were only 46 people. If you were there, you were seen.”
Some myths don’t quite hold up. “Tony Wilson? I saw him at the second gig, not the first. Paul Morley was a mate of mine, I gave him his first writing job in my magazine, but I didn’t see him there that night. And unless you’re wearing a cloak of invisibility, it’s hard to miss someone in a room that small.”
Welsh’s involvement with punk didn’t end at the Free Trade Hall.
He kept in touch with Malcolm McLaren and even helped book the Manchester date of the ill-fated Anarchy Tour. “I hired the Free Trade Hall again, but didn’t mention the Pistols were involved. As soon as the full tour list went out in the press, most venues pulled out, it was just after the Bill Grundy debacle.”
He even toyed with the idea of staging a punk festival in Manchester to rival the famous 100 Club event in London. “Malcolm gave me contact details for all the bands. They were up for it, except Bernard Rhodes, The Clash’s manager. He was so obnoxious I decided not to bother.”
Looking back now, Welsh admits the whole thing feels slightly surreal.
“Those photos sat in lofts for years. I never imagined they’d be seen as important, or that the gig itself would be remembered as such a turning point. But that’s the magic of it, really. None of us knew, at the time, we were standing on the edge of a cultural earthquake.”
Why was it so influential?
The Sex Pistols’ appeal lay in their rawness and relatability. John Lydon’s lyrics were steeped in working-class frustration, addressing the grim realities of post-war Britain. Punk wasn’t only a raucous thrash sound. It was a movement that gave voice to disaffected youth who felt alienated by mainstream society. As Dave Nolan, author of I Swear I Was There, observed, the audience that night thought, “That’s rubbish! We could do so much better than that.” And they did.
Caroline Coon, an early punk advocate, noted that it was “natural” for a group of deprived, working-class kids like the Sex Pistols to create anti-establishment music. The gig’s attendees didn’t just see a performance; they saw a blueprint for rebellion. The Pistols proved that you didn’t need to be a virtuoso to make impactful music, you just needed passion and grit, and probably a message.
The Sex Pistols gig that will be remembered forever
Years later, the impact of that night is still felt. The bands and individuals inspired by the Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall went on to redefine music, influencing genres from indie to electronic to dance.
Manchester itself became synonymous with musical innovation, earning its place as one of the world’s great music cities.
What the Sex Pistols demonstrated that night wasn’t technical brilliance but raw possibility. They inspired a generation to pick up guitars, write songs, and challenge the status quo. And in doing so, they ignited a cultural revolution. For anyone considering taking a leap into the unknown, whether in music, art, or life, the lesson of that gig is clear: don’t wait for permission.
Just start. You never know; you might just change the world.
The history of Manchester’s Free Trade Hall
You can find out more about the history of Manchester’s Free Trade Hall by clicking here
Header photo credit: Paul Welsh, for ‘Penetration Rock Magazine’
