Back in 1976, punk was a big part of my life. I went to gigs and presented television documentaries (which still get shown), met The Clash and got sneered at by Sid Vicious. John Lydon turned out to be a smart cookie and we’ve stayed in touch.

No one disputes that punk was hugely influential, but the website punk.london (funded in part by the National Lottery) somehow sanitises and sucks the life out of something that was rough and ready and exhilarating in its unexpectedness.

There have been reverential exhibitions at the British Library and the Museum of London and even a feature about investment in punk memorabilia in the Financial Times (a copy of Sniffin’ Glue magazine founded by Danny Baker and Mark P is said to be worth over £20,000!), so it’s clearly time to go through my record collection.

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Pistols’ anthem “Anarchy in the UK”, and Joe Corre, millionaire offspring of Malcom McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, plans to stage a huge bonfire at a “secret location” (you can sign up to watch online) – destroying his mum and dad’s clothes and assorted artifacts worth (according to self-publicist Joe) over £5m.

The unseen Sid Vicious: The last days of a punk legend Show all 7 1 /7 The unseen Sid Vicious: The last days of a punk legend The unseen Sid Vicious: The last days of a punk legend 29873.bin The unseen Sid Vicious: The last days of a punk legend 29884.bin The unseen Sid Vicious: The last days of a punk legend 29885.bin The unseen Sid Vicious: The last days of a punk legend 29886.bin The unseen Sid Vicious: The last days of a punk legend 29887.bin The unseen Sid Vicious: The last days of a punk legend 29888.bin The unseen Sid Vicious: The last days of a punk legend 29889.bin

There’s no love lost between Lydon and Corre, who was just a child when it all happened back in the late Seventies. Lydon has described Corre as a “selfish f***ing lingerie expert” while Corre counters, “I do not think he has had anything relevant to say for the last 20 years.”