Gig By The Clash Voted Best Of All Time In London

The Clash’s 1977 performance at London’s Rainbow Theatre has been voted the best gig in the countries capital ever.

A poll of over 100 Time Out writers and contributors voted it the most legendary performance ever reports Ananova. The gig is mostly remembered for a riot in which fans ripped out hundreds of seats.

The band were supported on the night by some of the most notorious punk/new wave bands of the time – The Jam, The Buzzcocks, Subway Sect and The Prefects. Joe Strummer said of the performance: "We were in the right place doing the right thing at the right time."

Time Out editor Gordon Thomson said: "The Clash gig went down in history as the greatest London band, in their prime, at the moment when punk rock spilled out of the clubs and into the major venues."

In second place was Brian Wilson’s Smile performance at the Royal Festival Hall last year, followed by Stevie Wonder in third and The Rolling Stones in fourth.

The top ten are:

The Clash, The Rainbow Theatre, May 9, 1977
Brian Wilson, Royal Festival Hall, February 20, 2004
Stevie Wonder, The Rainbow Theatre, February 24, 1974
Rolling Stones, The Crawdaddy Club, April 28, 1963
Duke Ellington, London Palladium, June 12, 1933
N*E*R*D with Justin Timberlake, Brixton Academy, November 9, 2003
Bob Marley, Lyceum Ballroom, July 17, 1975
The Smiths, Jubilee Gardens, June 10, 1984
White Stripes, Camden Dingwalls, July 30, 2001
The Beatles, The Pigalle, Piccadilly, April 21, 1963