Bury St Edmunds music fan on a mission to commemorate 1978 Clash gig – despite civic society snub

A music fan says he will not be giving up on his mission to make sure an infamous 1978 punk gig will always be remembered in Bury St Edmunds.

Paul Johnson said despite a request for a commemorative blue plaque being turned down by the town’s civic society, he still hopes the gig will be remembered ‘in some way’.

In 1978, The Clash played at the Corn Exchange, now Wetherspoons pub, in Abbeygate Street.

After the concert punk rockers were accused of damage to property, drunkenness and public urination.

It led to a council ban on all live ‘contemporary music’ in public buildings, for the next 20 years.

The music scene, however, was reborn when Mr Johnson, who worked at Rollerbury and Reflex nightclub in the early 1990s, went on to co-create well-known music competition BurySOUND in 1998. He is also credited with bringing Take That to the town in 1992.

Mr Johnson said: “The Clash gig was more than just a gig. It was a moment in history which provoked an extreme reaction to what was really just a minor kerfuffle.

“As a result of this gig, all live contemporary music was banned from public buildings until BurySound was launched and brought the scene alive again.

“For that reason, The Clash gig should be remembered.”

Mr Johnson had hoped the gig would be remembered with a blue plaque on the Corn Exchange building.

But The Bury Society, which runs the town’s blue plaque scheme, said it did not feel the event was a suitable choice.

There are currently eight plaques in the town, seven commemorating people including author Charles Dickens, artist Sybil Andrews and one event, the Zeppelin Air Raid of 1915.

Martyn Taylor, chairman, said: “There’s a fine line you must draw between something that is acceptable to moral standards and something that is not.

“Is this something that Bury wants to be remembered for?"

Mr Johnson said: “The gig needs to be remembered in some way. I won’t be giving up.”