Everything is Connected 14 February 2013
Welcome to Everything is Connected, the place where a few people come for pop culture knowledge and in ten years, five thousand will say they clicked on this link.
A while ago, we focused on what I deemed a Nexus Point; a point where there tons of connections that came from it, went through it and were around it. Last time it was a person in the form of Rick James, this week I’m looking at a specific place and time.
Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall, June 4, 1976.
It was an early Sex Pistols gig and much like Woodstock, it seems like everyone and their brother claims to have been there. Many a band was started due to this gig or claimed to have started due to this gig but I’m going to use the facts (as we know them) to spread out the connection chains.
Now I could start with the members of Joy Division and The Sex Pistols but I figured I’d look at a few others first.
We know for sure that Morrissey was in the audience and it it was in part responsible for Morrissey going into a music career. Morrissey eventually formed The Smiths with Johnny Marr. Marr once had a backing band called The Healers which featured Zak Starkey on drums. Zak’s father is a guy named Richard Starkey who is better known as Ringo Star.
Lesser Free Trade Hall – Morrissey – Marr – Starkey – Ringo
Ian Moss was there. Yeah I know, “Who?” but Ian went on to start a band called The Frantic Elevators which also had a member by the name of Mick Huchnall who went on to fame with a band called Simply Red (there is a bit of confusion on whether Hucknall was also in attendance at the June 4th gig or one that was in July so we’ll say for the sake of argument he did not attend June 4th). Simply Red had a guitarist named Aziz Ibrahim from 1987 – 1988. Ibrahim has played with dozens of bands but most interestingly, he was the last live guitarist for The Stone Roses (before their recent formation).
Lesser Free Trade Hall – Moss – Hucknall – Ibrahim – Stone Roses
Howard Devoto was also in the crowd. Howard is often noted as being one of the founders of the band The Buzzcocks but he eventually left that to start the band Magazine. Magazine’s bass player was a guy named Barry Adamson. When Magazine ground to a halt in 1981, Adamson went to work with a weird band out of Australia called The Birthday Party which featured a guy named Nick Cave.
Lesser Free Trade Hall – Devoto – Adamson – Nick Cave
Now think of how big the chains get when you involved those chains. Ringo was a Beatle with Paul McCartney which means it’s only a hop skip and a jump to connect Morrissey with Nirvana. Nick Cave has also written a film that starred Shia LaBeouf (Lawless) which means it’s only one more step until Michael Bay.
The Lesser Free Trade Hall; Everything is Connected Nexus Point #2.
Do you have a connection we should know about? If so, please leave it underneath in the comment section!
