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My Amazing Adventures with the Sex Pistols
'The Sex Pistols played well, really well. It was down to the sound guy – it’s really the sound guy that’s responsible for me thinking I could start a band' - Peter Hook, Joy Division / New Order The Sex Pistols exploded onto the UK music scene in 1976, their album Never Mind the Bollocks precipitating the punk rock movement and inspiring countless acts which followed. The man who was there right from the beginning as their sound engineer was Dave Goodman. This is the story of the time he spent with the band - on the road, in the studio and behind the scenes as live sound engineer, tour manager, record producer and mate. A hilarious account of their chaotic, anarchic rise, capturing the personalities of each band member and the characters who surrounded them. With a foreword from manager Malcolm McLaren and an introduction by Phil Strongman, music journalist, editor and noted punk insider, this book brings the famous story to vivid life – a bulletin from right inside the tour bus.
Praise for My Amazing Adventures with the Sex Pistols :
‘Dave was always someone who absolutely believed in the Sex Pistols more or less from day one and soon became our engineer at every gig … even on the legendary Anarchy tour, seeing them play more times than I did’ – Malcolm McLaren 'It was Dave’s unique sense of humour that made him such great company, especially when he was recounting the bizarre early days of the Pistols. It was always a strange mix; Dave the ex mod, the 1960s veteran, the long-haired classical hippy in crushed velvet flares – and the four sharp protopunks whose sound and attitude was to change modern music. But he would tell those stories incredibly well; stories of ‘mad’ John Lydon, of tunesmith Glen Matlock, of Jonesy and Cookie, of Malcolm, of Northern tours, of UFOs, of real and cancelled gigs, of tumultuous studio sessions… and he’d do it with such amusing insight that everyone in the room would be transfixed’ - Phil Strongman, music journalist and author of Pretty a History of Punk and Metal Stories from John Lyndon’s Public Image Ltd Dave Goodman was born in London in 1951. He met the Sex Pistols when he provided a PA system and sound engineering for one of their early gigs and was blown away by their energy and attitude. He went on to work as their live sound engineer and also recorded and produced tracks which appeared on their first three records. He continued working as a producer and musician before moving to Malta in order to work on his own projects, including completing his memoir.
Praise for My Amazing Adventures with the Sex Pistols :
‘Dave was always someone who absolutely believed in the Sex Pistols more or less from day one and soon became our engineer at every gig … even on the legendary Anarchy tour, seeing them play more times than I did’ – Malcolm McLaren 'It was Dave’s unique sense of humour that made him such great company, especially when he was recounting the bizarre early days of the Pistols. It was always a strange mix; Dave the ex mod, the 1960s veteran, the long-haired classical hippy in crushed velvet flares – and the four sharp protopunks whose sound and attitude was to change modern music. But he would tell those stories incredibly well; stories of ‘mad’ John Lydon, of tunesmith Glen Matlock, of Jonesy and Cookie, of Malcolm, of Northern tours, of UFOs, of real and cancelled gigs, of tumultuous studio sessions… and he’d do it with such amusing insight that everyone in the room would be transfixed’ - Phil Strongman, music journalist and author of Pretty a History of Punk and Metal Stories from John Lyndon’s Public Image Ltd Dave Goodman was born in London in 1951. He met the Sex Pistols when he provided a PA system and sound engineering for one of their early gigs and was blown away by their energy and attitude. He went on to work as their live sound engineer and also recorded and produced tracks which appeared on their first three records. He continued working as a producer and musician before moving to Malta in order to work on his own projects, including completing his memoir.
- GenresMusic
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 17, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 27, 2020
I was aware of Dave Goodman and his production/soundman exploits with the Sex Pistols, especially the classic bootleg Spunk, arguably better than the Never Mind album. This tells you more about the late Dave Goodman, a bona fide geezer. A geezer with long hair and flared jeans. A geezer who loved music and never truly benefitted from his association with the Pistols. Some of the anecdotes may be taken with a pinch of salt, but there is no doubt he was a very interesting chap.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
June 20, 2024
Dave Goodman was there! At the 100 Club, on the Anarchy Tour, the “God Save the Queen” boat party on the Thames and every gig in between. He was the sound engineer, the mixer and producer that helped bring the Pistols to life. This book tells his story from that first gig where the unknown Sex Pistols opened for the 101ers to the implosion of the band after their American tour.
There is no shortage of books and memoirs about the Pistols including those from Lydon (twice), Matlock and Jones but Goodman’s book goes in another direction. He’s just telling it like it had just happened yesterday and there’s very little deep thinking or analysis about the meaning of all of this. He’s there with Malcom and the boys as they careen from one disaster to another while quickly becoming the most explosive and notorious band in the UK. But Goodman is no mere bystander- he produces the demos that get the Pistols signed and doesn’t get credit when his versions are used on the released singles.
Dave Goodman also starts his own record label and produces the band Eater so there are is some jumping back and forth between stories from chapter to chapter. His recordings are probably responsible for almost all of the Sex Pistols bootlegs (including Spunk), but he often complains that very little of the money flowing to the Pistols from EMI, A&M and Virgin made it into his pocket. The book could use some proofreading (Pete Shelley is always spelled as Shelly) but’s still an excellent view into the birth of the Sex Pistols and punk that many of us could only dream about.
A great addition to this book is Dave Goodman’s Sex Pistols Diary from March of 1976 through March of 1979. Every gig and venue is listed along with details about the show and any recording details. Two things stand out here: The word “CANCELLED” appears throughout and not only on the Anarchy tour. Goodman also made it a habit to record the Pistols (and other bands) but would up re-recording over the same tape as the tapes were very expensive. That would have been worth hearing!
There’s also a documentary about Dave Goodman that I need to find; unfortunately he passed away in 2005 shortly after finishing this book.
There is no shortage of books and memoirs about the Pistols including those from Lydon (twice), Matlock and Jones but Goodman’s book goes in another direction. He’s just telling it like it had just happened yesterday and there’s very little deep thinking or analysis about the meaning of all of this. He’s there with Malcom and the boys as they careen from one disaster to another while quickly becoming the most explosive and notorious band in the UK. But Goodman is no mere bystander- he produces the demos that get the Pistols signed and doesn’t get credit when his versions are used on the released singles.
Dave Goodman also starts his own record label and produces the band Eater so there are is some jumping back and forth between stories from chapter to chapter. His recordings are probably responsible for almost all of the Sex Pistols bootlegs (including Spunk), but he often complains that very little of the money flowing to the Pistols from EMI, A&M and Virgin made it into his pocket. The book could use some proofreading (Pete Shelley is always spelled as Shelly) but’s still an excellent view into the birth of the Sex Pistols and punk that many of us could only dream about.
A great addition to this book is Dave Goodman’s Sex Pistols Diary from March of 1976 through March of 1979. Every gig and venue is listed along with details about the show and any recording details. Two things stand out here: The word “CANCELLED” appears throughout and not only on the Anarchy tour. Goodman also made it a habit to record the Pistols (and other bands) but would up re-recording over the same tape as the tapes were very expensive. That would have been worth hearing!
There’s also a documentary about Dave Goodman that I need to find; unfortunately he passed away in 2005 shortly after finishing this book.
January 7, 2023
Really inciteful
Great story from someone who was there from the start, full of Great anecdotes and conspiracy theories I fully recommend
Great story from someone who was there from the start, full of Great anecdotes and conspiracy theories I fully recommend
January 2, 2022
A rag-tag collection of regurgitated, well-known anecdotes, ridiculous infantile boasts and flights of utter fantasy compiled in roughly chronological order. That's about the best I can say about it. Rubbish.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews