In 1996, just two years after forming, Skunk Anansie were offered the opportunity to tour with the Sex Pistols, one of rock's most legendary bands, which initially seemed like a dream come true. But as vocalist Skin recalls in a new interview with British broadsheet newspaper The Times, in reality, supporting John Lydon, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook on the Australian leg of their Filthy Lucre reunion tour quickly turned into a "horrendous" nightmare for the London quartet.
"We knew [late bassist] Sid Vicious had worn swastikas, but seeing the audience doing Nazi salutes every night really wore me down," Skin admits. "And Johnny Rotten didn’t say anything against it. It got really violent on a couple of nights and we were thrown out of the venue for fighting back."
The quartet - Skin, guitarist Ace, bassist Cass Lewis and drummer Mark Richardson - had played a triumphant hometown show with the Pistols in John Lydon's spiritual home Finsbury Park in June 1996, but when they hooked up with the band again in October '96 for nine scheduled shows in Australia, they were disgusted to find themselves faced with racist abuse on a nightly basis.
