Public Image Limited – Futurama Festival, Queens Hall, Leeds – 08/09/79
Chant / Anna Lisa / Memories / Low Life / Public Image / Attack / Death Disco / Another
Public Image showcase at the two day festival with an excellent line up of bands including Cabaret Voltaire, A Certain Ratio / Hawkwind / The Fall / The Only Ones / Echo And The Bunnymen / Joy Division / Teardrop Explodes / Spizz Energy / O.M.D. and a whole host of others. PIL don’t take the stage until 1am and by this time the natives are decidedly restless. Lydon spends the majority of the set with his back to the audience. He later claims he was trying to get Richard Dudanski to keep time, and comments, “We did a shit gig, to a shit audience in a shit place. We all had a horrible time”. This gig was later cited by Keith Levene as the reason PiL decided to play (even) less live shows…
This gig was Richard Dudanski’s (ex the 101er’s) last appearance on the drums for Public Image Limited. Reasonable quality mixing desk tape, indebted to Chris Low for the loan of the cassette.
February 2nd, 2008 at 8:51 am
Yeah Better Badges set up a stall at this show. Incredible line-up. Thing I remember most clearly is Leeds drug squad wandering through the seated crowd arresting people at will, a bit like seal-clubbing. Best band was the Only Ones, believe or not!
February 2nd, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I believe you joly. That was the impression I got from looking at the list of bands.
Hey joly – good to read you man!
Have you commented on the ‘road to KYPP1′ bit in this site? About Adam turning up at your place as the printing presses were churning out the Ants piece?
October 29th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
hello Tony, came across your web site by mistake while looking up articles on futurama festivals leeds in the 80′s. seems i recognised your name and fanzine. our paths once crossed before in 1980 when i was a punk living in Berlin. swapped a pair of combat trousers with you for some leather jeans. i had a friend called rocky who owned a punk music shop called schlitz, you stopped there for a few days. just also got back in contact with him. feel free to drop me a line if your not to busy. been up to a few things my self over the years (used to promote a few bands in london 1980-90′s) now living back in york area,wife and kids etc etc…..
regards Brian.
November 11th, 2008 at 9:30 am
I bought the above poster at the following year’s Festival (I still have it, its screen printed) the 80 fest was also magnificent (Banshees and U2) I remember talking to Spizz at the food stall, it was indoors and over 2 days in a grubby hall in Leeds. We slept in a disused Ice Cream van underneath some Victorian Arches (very Dickensian).. The following years t-shirt lasted me for ages and was very very hip.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
The Futurama Fstivals were all good , they were for me as I ran the security for all Johns Futuramas , all those people packed into an old railway shed and no trouble even with Garry Glitter and the Bay City Rollers playing , good times.
March 27th, 2009 at 7:58 am
I played at one of the festivals with my band Pleasure and the Beast; the same night Killing Joke were on as well as The Bay City Rollers; not sure what year that was? Would love a flyer/poster of that night. Thank you Robert Pereno.
March 29th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Hey excellent.
Thanks!
I had a great bootleg of these guys once upon a time called “Recorded Live when Nobody Was Looking”. Loved it. There was a version of “Problems” the Pistols song on there…
May 19th, 2009 at 12:12 am
I remember 3 young punks around 10 or 11 years old in bondage trousers and multi coloured Mohican’s sharing a large party can of tartan bitter, an image that will always stay with me, just wish I’d had a camera, an excellent weekend sleeping inside the queens hall under the fluorescent lighting
November 2nd, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Hey did any of you go in 1980??
November 4th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Duchess- I think some of the Puppy crew did go to Futurama in 1980. I didn’t so am a relying on vague memories.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I went in 1980 It was amazing! I still have the ticket sent to me personally by John Deehan, we met Vinnie Reilly in a service station on the way, he was coming back from a different gig. Those really were the days, I remember also the 4B2′s (John Lydons hooligan brother) threatening the audience. There was a brilliant perfomance by Soft Cell, but the Banshee’s were magnificent. I am thinking about reproducing the superb t-shirt it was a classic.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Great festival great memories sleeping in Leeds railway car park with mohicans under the car, my mates face when Bow Wow Wow came on n crowd went balistic.
February 19th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
I was there in 1980, Boots For Dancin’ were immense…….Altered Images surprisingly good, or was that due to my fixation with Claire Grogan at the time????
February 24th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
Pre commercial Altered Images were on from a request by Banshee Steve Severin who went onto produce their early work. Claire Grogan signed a flyer for me as Claire X as she was earlier known.
July 13th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Hi,
Does anyone still have photo’s posters or ticket stubs from Futurama 1980? Please contact me if you are willing to send me scans of them.
July 28th, 2012 at 10:36 am
I was in Porterhouse, Retford the night before talking to Claire Grogan and Wall of Voodoo.
The drummer asked me where I got my shinner Doc Martin’s from, so I told him the Australian boot stall in Lincoln.
The next day we met up with them at Futurama only to find he had bought monkey boots, when we pointed out they were what the girls wore he was a little upset.
Gigs were so much better in the days when the bands behave like normal people.
July 30th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
Great post. I’m sure there was a feature on the Futurma festival in the issue of ‘In The City’ zine that had the Poisons flexi. Remember it being accompanied by (amongst others) a photo of Frank Tovey of Fad Gadget with a bloody improvised bandage round his head. You might wanna scan those pages if you have a copy Mickey.
September 7th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Hi Penguin, long time! Any chance of a re-up on this one, much appreciated! Cheers, Dave Sez.
September 7th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Hey Dave. Hope things in Belgium are fine and dandy. Re uploaded the tape now.
January 3rd, 2013 at 5:56 pm
Ta muchly Penguin! Cheers, Dave Sez.