EDINBURGH band The Exploited sang Punk's Not Dead in 1981 and even got on Top of the Pops in the same year with Dead Cities but this is where it all began: with bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Damned and The Clash.

In truth, punk was largely a London phenomenon, inspired by mid-70s New York bands, with few Scottish bands making the breakthrough, with the exception of Dunfermline's The Skids and fellow east coasters The Rezillos.

The Clash were one of the originals, though, and proved a hit when they appeared at Fixx pub in Miller Street in Glasgow in 1985. The band had been on a busking tour and, for the Clash, the gig was something of a last hurrah as the band split the following year.

The Fixx was described by our own Russell Leadbetter as a dark, cramped but atmospheric venue especially on Friday nights. He says he still regrets missing that gig.

Seven years earlier, The Clash played a gig at the Glasgow Apollo. The bouncers had a reputation for being bullies who picked on fans and word got around that this would be one of the final gigs in the Renfield Street concert hall which was renowned for its boisterous crowd, drawn from across Scotland.

Over the microphone, singer Joe Strummer and guitarist Mick Jones ordered the bouncers to stop fighting with people dancing in the crowd. According to Martin Kielty's book Apollo Memories, the bouncers were rumoured to be getting their revenge on the crowd '"for making their lives hell over the years.'

Joe and Paul Simonon were lifted by plain-clothes police officers outside the venue afterwards for being "drunk and disorderly" and spent the night in the cells – along with several other fans from the show.

Garry Scott