In December 19, 1977, The Sex Pistols played a gig at a club in Keighley called Knickers.

It was at the second time of asking. The first time the Pistols were due in town they didn't turn up.

The show was reportedly advertised by a bevy of local girls wearing edible knickers.

"That's right. People were saying that. I remember the gig but I was too young to go," says Keighley promoter John Gow.

Thirty years later a handful of songs by those iconoclasts of Punk have become classics - Pretty Vacant, Anarchy in the UK, God Save the Queen. Even the warped version of My Way has something fresh to say about the cheesy insincerity of some standards.

The original Pistols - John Lydon, alias Johnny Rotten, vocals; Glen Matlock, bass (Sid Vicious took over after he left); Paul Cook, drums; and Steve Jones, guitar - dissolved in acrimony long ago. But on that memorable December night, when about 120 people filled Knickers to watch the The Pistols with Sid Vicious, Keighley gained a small piece of rock history.

John said: "The Pistols were at their most notorious, I suppose. There were newspaper stories about all the trouble that was going to happen, but nothing did. It was peaceful "All this stuff about The Pistols not being able to play, a lot of people I know who were there said they were a really good band," John Gow added.

Knickers, in Cavendish Street, went through various transformations - a McDonald's, a DIY place; it was even burned down. A furniture store now resides on the site where Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious and co brought the house down in 1977.

For a while now there has been a tribute band, The Sex Pistols Experience, which in its various formations has played all over the UK, Europe and the United States.

Next month the band - Johnny Rotter, Kid Vicious, Paul Bones and Steve Crook - is due to play at Keighley's The Gassienda, at The Variety Club, Russell Street.

John is the club's promoter. "The Variety has been here for years, but the Gassienda started a couple of years ago. It's a steal off the Hacienda in Manchester.

"There's room for about 200. We had The Sex Pistols Experience here two years ago. It's like seeing the real thing. It's tongue-in-cheek, but really good entertainment," he added.

The band is likely to be on stage between 9.30pm and 9.45pm.

  • Tickets for the Pistols tribute on December 20 are available from The Gassienda or The Copy Shop, High Street, Keighley.