1976: Celebrating 50 Years at the 100 Club - Night One

The legendary 100 Club, one of the world’s iconic surviving independent music venues, hosts the first of two special evenings celebrating the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking 100 Club Punk Festival, September 1976 — the event that helped ignite the UK punk movement and changed music forever.

Kicking off the celebrations are Stinky Toys, widely recognised as France’s first punk band and one of the few non-UK acts to appear at the original 1976 festival. Their return to the UK stage — their first performance here since 1977 — is a rare and historic moment. Rising from the Paris underground, they fused art-school cool, glam flair and raw punk energy, becoming cult favourites across Europe and one of the era’s key pioneering groups.

Headlining the night is Mark Laff’s X Generation X, performing a set inspired by the energy and attitude of early Generation X. Capturing the spirit that defined the era, the band revisit the sound of late-’70s London punk in the very room where so much of that history was made.

Hosting the evening is Terry Chimes, founding drummer of The Clash, who will share memories and reflections from the formative days of punk’s emergence in London.

This first night offers a rare opportunity to experience the spirit, sound and atmosphere of punk’s original movement in the place where history was made.