Mogambo Disco Helsingborg Sweden Saturday July 16 1977
ANARCHY IN SWEDEN FLAG
This Helsingborg pre-soundcheck pic of Paul and
Steve taken from the SOUNDS July 30 1977 issue. 		PAUL AND STEVE BLACK AND WHITE PRE-SOUNDCHECK PIC FROM HELSINGBORG JULY 16 1977
JOHN COLOUR SOUNDCHECK PIC FROM HELSINGBORG JULY 16 1977 JOHN B/W SOUNDCHECK PIC FROM HELSINGBORG JULY 16 1977
The three pics of John were taken during the soundcheck in Helsingborg. The first two were issued as posters in the late 70's (both in colour, but the second one is up on my wall and it's too much of a hassle to take it down and scan it so this b/w version I took from SOUNDS). This Dennis Morris photo session have been much published, including the covers of ROLLING STONE magazine (# 250 October 20, 1977) and the TOUR OF SCANDINAVIAN bootleg LP . Other Dennis Morris pics from this day, including some great ones of the audience, are available in his books DESTROY (Creation Books 1998) and REBEL ROCK (Omnibus Press 1985). The ones in the MELODY MAKER July 23 1977 cutting are also taken this day.
JOHN B/W SOUNDCHECK PIC FROM HELSINGBORG JULY 16 1977 SONGS PLAYED THIS NIGHT:
  • Anarchy in the UK
  • I wanna be me
  • Seventeen
  • New York
  • EMI
  • Problems
  • No Feelings
  • Pretty vacant
  • God save the Queen

    • COLOUR LIVE PIC FROM HELSINGBORG JULY 16 1977
    This pic donated by Pete Dont Care of
    Nihilism On The Prowl.
    The MOGAMBO disco, located on the street Prästgatan, is now a club called Q. In 1977 it was owned and operated by Stig Ydestrand, who was the one who booked the Sex Pistols (or the Six Pistols as one of the club's ads said).

    This was their second gig in Sweden and also the biggest, with around a thousand in the crowd. Tickets were 25 SEK at the door and you had to be 18 years old to get in. It was recorded by a member of the audience, Jöran Nielsen, and copies of his recording have been circulating the bootleg market at least here in this country. Surprisingly it wasn't released on vinyl until 2005. The recording is pretty rough with mostly guitar, bass and Steve's backing vocals in the mix but it's still a lot better than some of the gigs that's been bootlegged a lot more. Nielsen went back to Landskrona after the gig to start his town's first punk band. He now works in the tourist industry. He has never recieved any money for the recording.

    Swedish radio were there on the night and possibly did a short thing about it, but I don't know any details.     		A single rope was used for security and the gig was interrupted by club staff telling people to move back and sit down. The audience called out for God Save The Queen all through the set. The song was in the top 10 (as an import) both in Sweden and Norway at the time.

    After the gig journalist Göran Holmquist tried to interview John, but was surprised by a sneak attack from Sid who pushed him up against the wall. Sid got an elbow in the groin and fell over and nothing much came out of the interview. The band got good reviews for the gig though, and years later the club owner would call this night the most exciting in the history of the Mogambo Club.

    On the morning of the 17th the band did a short photo session at the hotel, then went on to play the DISCO 42 in JÖNKÖPING the same night and then the CLUB ZEBRA in KRISTINEHAMN on the 19th. None of these gigs were recorded.
    HELSINGBORG CD BOOTLEG HELSINGBORG CD BOOTLEG
    The gig has now been released on a bootleg CD. It features the whole gig, with the
    old Nielsen tape as the source. The same Edinburgh label have released
    Budokan 1996 and Doncaster 1977 along with some other non-Pistols CDs.
    HELSINGBORG LP BOOTLEG HELSINGBORG LP BOOTLEG
    There's also this vinyl bootleg LP out. It uses the Trademark Of Quality label name, but has obviously nothing to do with the old label. It was made in Stockholm, Sweden in 2005. The cover photo of the band was taken in Copenhagen, Denmark. See Reviews section for more.
    More pics from Helsingborg July 16 1977!

    More SEX PISTOLS articles through out the SUMMER OF HATE.
    GO BACK TO SUMMER OF HATE PUNK ROCK ZINE INDEX PAGE GO BACK TO SEX PISTOLS - ANARCHY IN SWEDEN INDEX PAGE

    I'm always looking for good info on the SEX PISTOLS' gigs in Scandinavia. E-MAIL me if you've got it. Especially those of you who saw them in 1977 and/or have any old pictures, news cuttings or other things of interest.