“Power to the People!”
DOA/Sex Pistols Tour Chapter 33: January/February, 1978
Narrator: In our last episode, John Holmstrom visited CBGB after returning from the Sex Pistols tour, where Johnny Rotten was hanging out there with Cheetah Chrome while a film crew was shooting a feature film starring Richard Hell and the Voidoids onstage.
The first order of business when I got back to New York was to write the story about the Sex Pistols tour, select the best photos to run with the story, and get to the layout stage as soon as possible. This was the longest article I ever wrote up to that point, so that took a few weeks. Looking over the photos by Roberta Bayley, Bob Gruen and Joe Stevens (the three photographers that spent the most time on the tour and had the most access and the best images) was more fun than a barrel of drunken monkeys.
Joe Stevens, who spent most of the tour hanging out with Malcolm and who had Johnny Rotten stay at his apartment after the tour ended, was most helpful. He was in the room when Malcolm and Rotten had their final showdown: It was a “You can’t fire me, I quit!” kind of thing.
The first order of business for Tom Forcade? To fire the fuckheads who cut off the funding for his Sex Pistols film documentary. And he did it in grand style.
First, he distributed a memo to the staff (some 70+ people), summoning them to a staff meeting at the Diplomat Hotel. Next, he brought a box containing copies of Mao’s Little Red Book and little red star pins, which were distributed to every worker. A bus had been rented to bring the staff to the Diplomat, where Tom announced that Andy Kohl and Paul Tornetta (the two people most responsible for refusing to send blank checks to Forcade so he could pay for the Sex Pistols film expenses) had been summarily fired (reportedly he threw a typewriter at Kohl during his dismissal).
“The workers have been vindicated!” Tom announced. “Power to the people!” A Victory Party was held at the hotel that evening. Never a dull moment working at High Times magazine.
After I finished writing the article for PUNK Magazine, Tom Forcade contacted me: I was invited on another great adventure! He was flying to Jamaica to see if he could meet up with Johnny Rotten, who was there to check out the reggae music scene. So off we went.
I can’t remember how we got to Miami (I think we flew on a commercial airline), but we were there to get his best friend Jack Combs enough training hours time piloting a small plane (Jack needed 100 hours to qualify for a license), we went to an airport, where Tom rented a small plane. As I remember, we took off at night with five of us in the aircraft: Tom, Jack, Craig Copetas (High Times news editor (check title), a flight instructor (I think his name was also Jack), and me.
Hanging out with Craig was interesting, since he was the High Times journalist who covered Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign, a high prestige assignment that gave the magazine a lot of credibility, especially since Carter promised to decriminalize marijuana if elected. (Of course he didn’t, but that’s a long story). “Reefer Madness” was not a big thing in the late 1970s. It was decriminalized over most of the country, sold on street corners all over New York City, and going to the movies would often mean getting a lot of second-hand pot smoke. This was to change very soon.
After the plane took off, there was a problem with the landing gear. We were flying towards Jamaica, but the flight instructor couldn’t fix the problem, so after an hour or so we returned to Miami. If we hadn’t, the plane might have ended up in the ocean.
The next day, Tom rented a different plane and Craig took some photos of us before takeoff. I didn’t appreciate at the time what a rare occasion this would be. Tom usually refused to allow anyone to take his photograph.
We landed near Kingston and stayed at a nice hotel, but I was told not to attempt to leave the hotel because the ghetto areas were far too dangerous, so I hung out at the bar while the rest of the crew went on their assignments. The next day, Jack flew to Montego Bay, swooping down to navigate the lane while the rest of the crew tried to spot ganja farms. I was so hung over, and had a very difficult time trying not to barf—at times it was a wild ride! (No barf bags were available so I had to hold it in!)
We checked into a nice hotel in Montego Bay, and went to a strip club. Not my favorite form of entertainment, I have to admit, but it. was one of those silly “male bonding” experiences. I think Tom even had a few beers with us! Jack Combs was a Big Fun Guy! A real party animal! I could see why a reserved man like Tom Forcade would be good friends with him—he loosened up around Jack. They met up when they were both members of the White Panther Party, which is where their punk rock roots came from: The MC5 were the official rock band of the White Panthers back then, and there’s always too much debate about who “The First Punk Band” was, but they are on the short list. (R.I.P. Brother Wayne)
We never did manage to find Johnny Rotten in Jamaica, but it was a good time.
NEXT EPISODE: Putting together PUNK #14, while in the real world things went downhill very fast.
To read more about the amazing life of Tom Forcade, check out Sean Howe’s excellent biography (available at online booksellers everywhere):
That was the coat Tom Forcade bought for me in Memphis, during the tour!
My take-away from this post is that life is a dangerous and tumultuous place! Especially in the counter-culture! I also remember the coat, btw.