"But We Thought Debbie Boone Was Tonight's Guest"

Why it might not be the best idea for your grandparents to sit in the front row for a Plasmatics TV appearance. (6 MB wmv) Excerpted from Tom Snyder's infamous Tomorrow Show circa 1981, where various new wave/punk guests have been compiled into a very cool 2DVD compilation out on Shout Factory. Many of you have no doubt heard about Tom's "chat" with John Lydon and Keith Levene of PiL (Real Audio here that I played on the air last year); his true desire to understand what this "newfangled punk racket was all about" certainly shows in the fact that he allowed the Ramones, Iggy, the Jam, and Patti Smith (who actually interacts quite well with Snyder) into his NBC studio. But I definitely cringed at the roundtable discussion on punk's merits with a young Joan Jett and Paul Weller, a flowery-looking Kim Fowley and a slightly annoyed Bill Graham (who grants Weller with a nod that he has "some talent" unlike most of the punks, and warns Joan that if she ever "makes it" she'll not be able to help herself and fall in with the posh lifestyle).

Comments

[drewo]

I recall it was a Nova that Wendy O. took a chainsaw to when I saw the Plasmatics at Bonds Casino.

[mark m.]

thanks for the clips. never cared for Snyder but he had some good bands on back then. In addition to those you mentioned, it was the first place I ever saw the Clash and a very young U2.

in all fairness, the Plasmatics were entertaining in their way but unlike the others, I always thought Wendy O. and co. SUCKED musically. am I missing something?

[Hemaworstje]

music?, the plasmatics was not about their sucking music.
it was about the swallowing.

[sid bators]

"new hope for the wretched" was awesome, (in a motorhead-ish way). after that they kind of lost it. I saw that BONDS gig, and on the way back through the holland tunnel, we saw two drunk ladies in a cadillac repeatedly bounce off the tunnel walls while we followed them and heckled.
it seemed appropriate after the plasmatics.