The Birth of Trash!

This is an extract from a letter I sent to Jane Wimble who was at the time living in Eastbourne. The letter is handwritten on lurid pink paper and also features an ecstatic review of the Stones at Knebworth Festival, thus dating it to late August 1976

“Mick and I have decided to form a band – or rather that I should replace Steve Smith in Crippen, making the band Mick, Keith and Steve Pearce – they don’t know yet.

We decided what songs we’re going to do – playlist as follows:

Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue (Ramones)

Beat On A Brat (Ramones)

Get Down & Get With It (Slade)

Substitute (Pistols/Who)

One Of The Boys (Mott The Hoople)

Rock & Roll Queen (Mott The Hoople)

Home (Roy Harper)

I’m to be vocalist since I’ve got the leather jacket. The fact that I can’t sing is immaterial. Likely name for this promising combo is The Pets.”

Needless to say we played none of these songs and were never called the Pets but this did become the first line-up of Trash to which Jane was added as co-vocalist. My thanks to her for hanging onto this letter for 31 years and through numerous house moves.