Helen Wellington-Lloyd and Nils Stevenson | Handbill for the Nashville Rooms, 29 April 1976

Helen Wellington-Lloyd and Nils Stevenson

Handbill for the Nashville Rooms, 29 April 1976

(296 x 208mm.), some staining

This early handbill promotes the band's fourth and last gig at the Nashville Rooms on North End Road (they have previously played there on 20 March and 3 and 24 April) - what would become one of the key punk venues. The handbill incorporates elements of a discarded handbill designed by Malcolm McLaren with Jamie Reid, the blackmail typography that Helen Wellington-Lloyd pioneered, along with two photographs of the band by Ray Stevenson. It was later reproduced on the covers of the Glitterbest press kits (see lots 8, 13 and 27).

Helen Wellington-Lloyd, also known as Helen of Troy, was part of the Sex Pistols' entourage. Born in South Africa, she moved to London and met Malcolm McLaren at Goldsmiths. She had dwarfism, and being part of the punk movement allowed her to embrace her uniqueness; "For a time I was unaware of the negative side of being a freak. Plebs avoided me because of what I was wearing not because of my height. I became threatening. It was an artistic experience that is hard to define. It was like a happening - an exploration, there was no formula - It was BONA!" She produced handbills and other promotional material for the Sex Pistols from her flat.

Nils Stevenson, the brother of band photographer Ray Stevenson, was a tour manager of the Pistols, and later managed Siouxsie and the Banshees.