The Punk

The Punk by Gideon Sams was first published in 1977 by Jay Landesman’s Polytantric Press (500 copies) and then Corgi Books. The first edition has an actual safety pin through Johnny Rottens’ nose which is a nice touch.

When I read it, which took about 25 minutes, I was in stitches with laughter. That said it has its moments though and is at least entertaining. It has all the punk themes at the time…alienation, teds, punk music, clothes, squalor, violence and no future.

To be honest the blurb on the back cover and inside is priceless. Classic pulp fiction description. Still not bad for a fourteen-year-old pizza maker who wants to become a brain surgeon while designing a skateboard he can pogo on!

Where is he now… unfortunately he died young at 26. Sadly in later years, there’s been some laughable pseudo-intellectual twaddle written about the book by people such as Miriam Rivett in her chapter ‘Misfit Lit’ in the book Punk Rock: So What? where she sees the lifelong struggle between young and old etc etc. At least Gideon was young… what’s her excuse?

Ok while I’ve been a bit blase about the book, the email below from an school friend of Gideon is actually very touching and evocative. BTW the Holland Park school referred to is the one Ari Up went to in Camden and where The Slits did a gig and the Moors Murderers got up onstage and sang Free Hindley.

Here’s an example of the writing

Thelma and Adolph got off the train at Sloane Square and walked down the Kings Road towards the Roebuck and the Man In The Moon. The Roebuck was one of Adolph’s favourite pubs but the Man In The Moon had a lot of punk clientele.

It was a bright Saturday afternoon. The Kings Road was very crowded. By the time Adolph and Thelma got to the Kings Road Theatre, they were pretty tired. They’d seen a lot of Teds on the way but suprisingly they hadn’t been beaten up yet. As they passed the theatre a group of Teds across the street caught Adolph’s eye.

“Oi punk: I wanna a word with you, what are you doing ‘ere? Did I give you permission to walk on this street ?”

“Nah, I don’t need your permission, this is a free country.”

“You being cheeky son?”

Before Adolph could answer, Thelma stepped forward,

“Hi Alf. Remember me ? Ned’s old girl. Well, Ned wouldn’t like me to get hurt would he ? he wouldn’t like to se me upset, would he ?”

“Ned’s dead.” the Ted said sadly. “Anyway ‘e don’t care about you. You’re a traitor.”

With these words the Ted slapped Thelma round the face. She fell back in suprise. Adolph furiously punched the Ted in the mouth, but before he could blink again, all the Teds set onto him. The five Teddy girls started beating up Thelma. She grabbed one of them by the hair and banged her head into a window, the glass shattered around the girl’s head but Thelma had no chance against the other four girls. They soon formed a vicious circle around her and were battering her although she fought bravely. Adolph was doing no better. Eight Teds stood around him as he lay unconscious on the ground. A thin trickle of blood was running from his mouth. The fighting stopped. Thelma, bruised and cut, looked at Adolph, thinking he was dead. she pushed her way through the Teds and fell to her knees next to Adolph. She laid her head on his chest to see if he was alive. He as. Thelma breathed a sigh of relief and knelt next to Adolph, waiting for him to wake. The Teds stood around. They were not sure what had happened.

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My favourite bands were the Sex Pistols – still are – and The Clash, Buzzcocks etc. Some of the other bands were pretty faddish, and never likely to stand the test of time. Post 1977 I liked Ian Dury, and the pre-pop Adam and the Ants (sado masochistic/futuristic). I was friends w/some of the North London Ants crew; they evolved into Martian Dance, and Bow Wow Wow. I also liked the Pack, which eventually evolved into Theatre of Hate.

The Damned/Doomed were good to see live, as were the Banshees but I was not vy/attached to either. Slaughter and the Dogs was another one. Eater…..the list goes on. I still listen to this stuff – The Ruts, Menace, Chelsea, X Ray Spex The period 1976-1980 was a very productive period in regards to British Punk/New Wave music – I guess the eighties, and all of the economic optimism/greed signalled punk’s demise.

Good luck, Paul Rochford. 

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The last time that I saw Gideon Sams was outside the Kensington Tabernacle in Notting Hill Gate; I believe that it was in the spring of 1978. I was waiting at the number 52 bus stop, and he came ambling along. I hadn’t seen Gideon for a while, and we exchanged pleasantries. The conversation was mainly one sided; Gideon was full of humour pertaining to a recent menage a trois he had been involved in. He was wearing the same clothes as on the flyleaf of ‘The Punk’. Leather jacket festooned with badges, and blue jeans. We talked for about thirty minutes, and Gideon wandered off down Kensington Park Road. That was the last time that I ever saw Gideon.

In 1986 I moved to the United States, Texas specifically. I needed to re-invent myself. I was still stuck in a post-punk rut, and I needed a change. I had wasted any chance of a university education – not that I felt that it was necessary. And my American girlfriend assured me that there was plenty of opportunity in Texas.

My mother came to visit in 1987, and she mentioned that whilst she had being paying her respects to my grandmother at Kensal Green Cemetery she had noticed an unusual grave marker/headstone. It was in the shape of a pyramid. Being nosey by nature she read all the memorial details, and the name Gideon Sams struck a ‘chord’. She duly reported this to me when we met.

I had not thought about Gideon for nearly ten years, and here it was 1987 and he was dead. I wanted to find out all the details, but people who might have known some information had moved address, or changed phone numbers etc. and to be honest I was never very good at keeping in touch. I never called Gideon’s parents, because I did not want to open old wounds. The next time that I saw Gideon’s name was whilst ‘surfing’ on the Internet, which is why I am writing this impromptu memorial.

I met Gideon Sams for the first time in 1972 when I began attending St James Norlands primary school, located off of Holland Park Avenue in Kensington, West London. We lived fairly close to each other, and on occasion, we’d walk home together. Gideon was a year older than I was, which at that age denies compatibility.

Gideon left St James Norlands at the age of eleven, and began attending Westminster City School in 1974. One year later I followed Gideon to Westminster. We were re-acquainted and frequently traveled home together on the number 52 bus. It was a year later that Gideon began writing ‘The Punk’. I remember being very impressed that Gideon read the NME, and Melody Maker. Gideon seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge in regards to music news.

They were very exciting times. The Pistols et al provided an outlet for youth. Imagine the contrast between the droll Rubettes, and the unbridled anger of Anarchy in the UK. The excitement of the Kings Road on a Saturday afternoon: Acme Attractions (BOY), and SEX. Hanging out outside the Roebuck, or the Water Rat. Listening to ‘tunes’ at Beaufort market. Running for cover when the ‘Teds’ came looking for trouble, or the Chelsea supporters happened to call.

Curiously enough Gideon by definition was not a punk. Yes, he did have the de riguer spiky hairstyle and the bedraggled leather jacket, but he was not a fan of the music. Gideon’s first love was the Rolling Stones. His leather jacket was festooned with Rolling Stones badges. I remember Gideon telling me once that a protector of the public morals had accosted him. During the subsequent ‘pounding’ Gideon had asked that his badges be reviewed, in the hope that he would be absolved of ‘punk sin’, and therefore avoid the beating. I’m not sure, but I think that the ‘burly lout’ chose not to review Gideon’s badges, and summary justice was served.

Gideon’s parents ran/owned the Ceres health food store located in Portobello Road. If anything he aspired to the Hippy ethos, which ties in with Ceres roots in the Hippy counter culture of the 1960’s. I believe that he had a part time job in the store on Saturdays. Gideon’s life revolved around the group that hung out at the store. His/their primary pursuits were skateboarding, and smoking dope. Gideon’s group was also fairly advanced in regards to attaining ‘physical pleasures’ with the opposite sex. These were all pleasures that any self-respecting schoolboy aspired to.

Gideon left Westminster in the autumn of 1977 in order to attend Holland Park comprehensive. Holland Park was very trendy at the time, and most of his cohorts were in attendance. Apart from the chance meeting in Notting Hill Gate in 1978 I never saw him again.

Gideon was a free spirit. He would have been a free spirit even if punk rock had not come along. The combination of liberal/understanding parents, a prime geographic locale, and the appropriate time frame all combined to create the finished product. For the record, Gideon was extremely bright, not as measured by IQ tests etc. but rather by the less quantifiable measure of imagination. He excelled in regards to his storytelling perspective, and his joy for life. Unfortunately, the wealth of humour that he enjoyed, and shared will never be known. Gideon was a very sweet soul.

I miss him.

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