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Not pretty, not vacant: Sex Pistols' London home given listed status Not pretty, not vacant: Sex Pistols' London home given listed status
(35 minutes later)
It is, officially, the 17th-century interiors and 18th century staircase that have secured 6 and 7 Denmark Street in central London listed building status. What makes the properties unique, however, are daubings in magic marker, made 40 years ago, when the walls had been freshly painted. Punks may have been the sworn enemies of government and all its institutions but that is not stopping the heritage body Historic England bestowing on them a rare privilege.
The graffiti – including caricatures of Steve Jones and Malcolm McLaren – were drawn by John Lydon, then Johnny Rotten, when the Sex Pistols used the property, in the heyday of punk. Denmark Street is one of the historic centres of the British music industry – as Tin Pan Alley it hosted scores of songwriters and publishers, and remains home to many musical instrument shops. It has announced Grade II* listing status for two 17th-century townhouses in Denmark Street, London, one of which was a base for the Sex Pistols in the mid-1970s.
Now the townhouse and silversmith shop have been awarded grade II status, the second highest form of listing, by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, on the advice of Historic England. The outbuilding of 6 Denmark Street also still has fascinating traces of the Pistols in the form of unflattering caricatures and graffiti made by John Lydon, cheery reflections such as: ”DEPRESSED MISERABLE TIRED ILL SICK BOOED & BORED.”
“These 17th century townhouses not only exhibit well-preserved architectural detail but helped nurture Soho’s influence on the global music industry during the 1960s and 1970s,” said heritage minister David Evennett. “As we celebrate 40 years of punk, I’m delighted to be granting further protection to these buildings which acted as a home and studio to the Sex Pistols.” He also drew his bandmates and manager, Malcolm McClaren, who is given the title Muggeridge, after Malcolm Muggeridge, and is shown with a fistful of cash.
The drawings too get extra protection as 6 and 7 Denmark Street are upgraded by the government from Grade II to Grade II*, the second highest category that only 5.5% of listed buildings are in.
The action may be freighted with irony but Posy Metz, the listings adviser who assessed the buildings, said she did not see a conflict between the Pistols’ anti-establishment stance and listing.
“The purpose of listing is to flag things which are of historical and cultural importance and I think punk is a really important part of our cultural history and including it in the listing is a way of recognising that.
“The alternative is saying: let’s forget all about punk because they don’t want to be remembered as part of our history.”
She said it was important that people not around during punk should be aware of it as an important cultural phenomenon.
“Punk can teach us a lot in our modern lives in terms of freedom of expression and not conforming ... it is really important these things are understood and valued.”
Metz also stressed that, while important, it was not the main reason for the listing. That was the remarkably well preserved architectural detail, fittings and character of the two buildings, she said. “Punk was not the clincher but it certainly adds a layer of interest.”
The buildings are two of eight original buildings, dating from 1686 to 1691, to survive on the street.
They would have been built for the middle classes but during the 18th and 19th century the area became a notorious slum which may, in heritage terms, have been a good thing in that there were no wealthy owners updating and upgrading them.
By the 19th century the houses began to be used commercially with shops and, in the outhouses, metal-working businesses.
In the 20th century music publishers began moving in – Melody Maker was founded there in 1926 – and by the 1960s and 70s Denmark street was at the heart of the British music industry.
Denmark Street, nicknamed Tin Pan Alley, has many musical claims to fame. It was where the Rolling stones recorded their first album; where David Bowie camped in a converted ambulance hoping to meet the right people; and where Elton John, on a roof, wrote Your Song.
And crucially between 1975-77 it was where Malcolm McClaren took a lease on the outbuilding of No 6, the downstairs used as a studio and the upstairs, for a time, as somewhere for Steve Jones and Glen Matlock to live.
Related: London's music scene rocked by the death of Denmark StreetRelated: London's music scene rocked by the death of Denmark Street
Lydon’s cartoons are not flattering: the one of Jones is captioned “Fatty Jones”. In 2011, writing in the journal Antiquity, the academics John Schofield and Paul Graves-Brown wrote of the graffiti: “The tabloid press once claimed that early Beatles recordings discovered at the BBC were the most important archaeological find since Tutankhamun’s tomb. The Sex Pistols’ graffiti in Denmark Street surely ranks alongside this and – to our minds – usurps it. The fact that the graffiti could be considered rude, offensive and uncomfortable merely enhances their status and significance.” They described the drawings as ““a direct and powerful representation of a radical and dramatic movement of rebellion”. The listing is announced in the 40th anniversary year of punk with a number of events and exhibitions organised under the umbrella of Punk London.
The Pistols lived at No 6 Denmark Street in 1975 and recorded early demos there. It is now a vintage guitar shop. The celebrations have horrified the son of McClaren, Joe Corrée, who last week vowed to burn his collection of punk memorabilia, worth an estimated £5m, on 26 November to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the release of Anarchy in the UK.
He said punk had been appropriated by the mainstream. “Rather than a movement for change, punk has become like a fucking museum piece or a tribute act.”