1977: continued from our December issue:

Winter of 1977 - the punk revolution was by now well underway. In October the Stiffs Roadshow came to town. Elvis Costello, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Nick Lowe, Larry Wallis and Newhaven's Wreckless Eric appeared at the Top Rank in a great showcase for the new wave. Ian Dury stole the show, it was like the arrival of the Messiah when his band trooped on stage. There seemed to be an incredible electric connection between Dury and the audience and they played an absolute belter of a set.

Nationally, there were threats of power cuts for Christmas. The firemen were on strike over lousy pay and out came the Green Goddesses for the duration. "We'd be better off on the dole!" they said. There was also the craze for thieving badges off cars. Those big, round VW badges were most highly prized. Some were worn at gigs. Even police vehicles weren't immune. Car owners started to remove their own car badges for safekeeping - punk was certainly setting a lot of new and unusual trends.

Sussex was hit by floods, the Brighton Marina was finally opened at a cost of £40million and Status Quo played the Brighton Centre. The Stranglers were arrested (in Brighton Police station!) and the Argus headlines once again ran amok "Stranglers tried to browbeat me, claims sergeant" Great stuff.