Inmates at Scotland’s most infamous prison rocked out to a free punk concert to help them prepare for life on the outside.
The Scottish Sex Pistols who perform their tribute gigs with the blessing of the original band, delivered a raucous set of songs at HMP Barlinnie, including Anarchy in the UK and God Save The Queen.
The concert in front of the captive audience on Wednesday night was aimed at helping prisoners toward their rehabilitation and improving their mental health.
It was filmed to be broadcast internally, so that prisoners can watch the show from their cells in the coming weeks.
Neil Currie, Head of Offender Outcomes at HMP Barlinnie, said: “Opportunities such as this to enjoy live music as people are able to do in the community is just one way in which we support people’s mental health and wellbeing, and through that their rehabilitative journey, as we prepare them for their eventual release.
“There is strong evidence to show the positive impact music and the arts in general can have and we are grateful to the Scottish Sex Pistols for coming in and playing for those in our care.”
Over 120 prisoners signed up to see the show in the prison’s 100-year old chapel, renamed a “multi faith centre.”
Some prisoners were prevented from attending due to intelligence that suggested they could find themselves in the presence of “enemies”.
Prison officer, Barry Richardson, 54, runs a media centre within the prison which has 10 prisoners learning how to make radio programmes and video editing.
He said: “They are able to broadcast to the cells information and news of events coming up and resources.
“The reason we had the band play is because of the amount of guys in the jails, most are locked up.
“Things like this are good for their mental health. It gets them out of their cells.
“A lot of the prisoners are in their early-twenties and haven’t even heard of the Sex Pistols.
“Just over 100 prisoners put their names down to see the show.
“We do enemy checks and if guys have enemies in the same areas we don’t let them out. If it means people miss out due to health and safety so be it.
“The guys know if they don’t behave themselves events like this won’t happen.
“We also run a comedy workshop which gives the prisoners a go at public speaking.”
Barlinnie, originally built in the 1880s to hold a maximum of 900, currently houses 1,300 prisoners.
Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and mass murderer Peter Manuel as well as killer-turned sculptor Jimmy Boyle all did time there.
Scottish Sex Pistols frontman Keith Warwick, who goes by the name Johnny McRotten, said: “The guys in the band have all worked in different arms of social work, and so we understand that you have a duty of care as a creative to actually go into these places.
“It’s circumstance with a lot of people having addiction problems or mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. This is a societal issue.”
Referring to the occasional heckle from the crowd, he added: “The audience was really responsive. It was nice to have a bit of chat but you have to be careful what you say because you don’t want to trigger anybody though some of the Sex Pistols songs are already a trigger.
“People think the Sex Pistols are all about aggression whereas I think Johnny is incredibly camp and funny so you don’t need aggression. There’s enough aggression in this room.”
The Scottish Sex Pistols aren’t the first music act to play the prison.
American all-female rock act The Darts played just last month. In the 1980s, Billy Connolly and Wet Wet Wet as well as Scots singer Carol Laula all performed there.
Inmates cheered and clapped as Warwick sneered his way through classic Pistols songs including Submission, Anarchy In the UK, God Save The Queen and Pretty Vacant.
The band’s line-up includes original Del Amitri guitarist Bryan Tolland on bass, guitarist Joe Whyte and drummer Paul Fernon.
Warwick met iconic Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon while helping to promote the punk band’s 1992 Kiss This, a greatest hits album.
He said: “John and Richard Branson had us come down to go along The Thames on a paddle steamer for the opening of Parliament.
“I was sitting beside John and I could feel his eyes burning into me so I turned round and glared back at him and he said, ‘Oh, Steve. You’re such a ham’.
“It was absolutely bananas and great fun. When I told him I supported Celtic, he said, ‘Well, we all like Celtic, don’t we.’ He was really nice and very encouraging about the band.”
He added: “As an artist you have a social responsibility to go to places whether it is prisons, hospitals or schools to try to make a difference.
“I can’t imagine these guys have witnessed anything like this recently. We’ll be back to do it again.
“I’ve been all over the world for the Scottish Sex Pistols.”
James, 29, a prisoner who is due for release next year, said he enjoyed the show, though the sound could have been better.
He added: “The standard routine is to be locked up 23 hours with one hour of exercise unless you have a work detail.
“There are recovery cafes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, including alcoholics anonymous and narcotics anonymous and there is a wellbeing hub and there are guitars, keyboards and a drum set so boys can get a session once a week.
“I have a guitar which is my hobby in the cell. It’s good for my mental health and helps you to know you can practice something and that gives you self belief.
“A lot of boys end up in the prison system because they lost belief in themselves when they were younger and didn’t have aspirations to do anything with their life.
“Something affects them and they turn to crime as the only way to make money or suffered trauma as a kid and became violent.
“My situation was I lost belief in myself. All my peers were smoking hash and I thought everybody lived like that. It was all I knew.
“The madness, the chaos and not living by rules led to gang fights after consuming alcohol. That’s how I ended up in prison. But I’ve changed.”
Construction has begun on HMP Glasgow which is intended to replace Barlinnie.
Situated on an old gasworks, the prison will have five four-storey residential housing blocks at its centre which will be equipped with heat pumps and solar panels.
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