28 years after the Pistols played Ivanhoe's - just weeks before their bitter break-up during their first American tour - their (in)famous gig in Huddersfield is still a talking-point for the (now grown-up) kids who were at the club for this very special concert.

It's their memories of a once-in-a-lifetime Christmas present from the Punk legends that West Yorkshire filmmaker Peter Spence is now wanting to capture on film for posterity - as a time capsule to mark one of THE major rock-'n'roll events ever to hit West Yorkshire - even if no-one taking part actually realised it at the time!

Peter Spence: "I'm just a massive fan"

Peter says the reason he's wanting to commit these Huddersfield memories to celluloid is quite simple: "I'm just a massive fan of the band! This is my favourite band. God Save The Queen [one of a string of controversial Sex Pistols hits in 1977] still has the ability to turn me to jelly 25 or so years later."


But it was 2000's Sex Pistols documentary The Filth And The Fury which sparked Peter's interest in making sure this gig - which the band put on free-of-charge specially for the children of striking firemen in Huddersfield - was marked properly. He says: "Through that film I discovered that this gig had taken place in Huddersfield and I felt there was a lot more mileage in that story. The other thing is that I'm originally from East Anglia and to come up here and and find that I'm living just down the road from Ivanhoe's, where this gig took place, is really exciting. It's like living near to a little bit of Mecca for me. I just thought that I couldn't NOT do it! I couldn't NOT tell this story."

As a fan of the band, Peter says his interest in this biggest-of-the-big Punk bands goes back a long way: "I just think the whole Sex Pistols story is just rock'n'roll poetry! They just burst onto the scene, they produced their one phenomenal album (Never Mind The B******s, Here's The Sex Pistols) and then they imploded. They lived so fast, were so passionate that internal tensions in the band and drugs and stuff just split them up. It's just so beautifully poetic...What's more, the album was created by four individuals who were just London ruffians!"

The building formerly known as Ivanhoe's in 2005

Like the BBC West Yorkshire webteam, Peter's already spoken to a number of the 'kids' who were there. Now in their 30s, he says they've got some great memories of a great event: "It was really just a kids' party with cake, presents and competitions. One person particularly remembers winning a talent contest where she did a Pam Ayers poem [Pam was top-of-the-poetry-pops in 1977]. They didn't know the music particularly, but one of them has really good memories of really getting into it and doing kiddy-pogo-ing! That's why I'm wanting to research this and round-up some more of the kids who were there."

One thing Peter says that really comes across is the fact that despite the Sex Pistols having a reputation for being loud, brash, sweary and frankly rude, their Christmas bash in Huddersfield was a real family event: "So many people I've talked to said, 'Yeah, I was there with my father' or, 'My parents took me down there.' I also just love the fact that the parents I've talked to were very unfazed by it. They said, 'We took our kids down to Ivanhoe's then just picked them up afterwards! We saw this Never Mind The B******s poster outside and were a bit concerned about that, but in the end it was fine.' So there's this family-oriented Huddersfield location, then there's this band of badass, mean London scallywags coming to town! It was potentially a recipe for disaster, but it was a great success."

Never Mind The Spelling, Here's The Graffiti Outside Ivanhoe's

And Peter says one of the main players in this story is Huddersfield itself, acting as a weird and wonderful backdrop: "The thing about Huddersfield is that it seems very quiet and unassuming and unflappable. I couldn't imagine the Sex Pistols coming to town and doing a gig for the kids anywhere else!"


The only problem for the filmmaker now is finding the funding and support for his film. But he says that whatever happens his film WILL hit the silver screen: "I'm doing it for love. I WOULD like it to be shown, though. There are a number of local film festivals in and around West Yorkshire and I'd like it to be seen at one of those. But I'm doing it from a local point of view for local people, so I'm happy that local people will be able to see it at local film festivals. Unfortunately, there's not a great deal of money around for independent documentary makers, it seems to me...There might be funding from a private source - or I can just go and DO the thing! I think that's the route I'm going to take..."

The Sex Pistols' Johnny rotten in action in '77

Way back in 1977, Punks were well-known for what became known as their 'DIY' approach to the world. From music to magazines, from art to films, people across the UK - and eventually across the globe - just got up and DID things their own way. And, with Pistols fan and West Yorkshire filmmaker Peter Spence, it's clear that the spirit of '77 lives on!

Were YOU there? If you were at this legendary gig in Huddersfield, we'd like to hear from you! Why not e-mail us: westyorkshire@bbc.co.uk