The 100 Club was a music venue that has been open since 1942 at 100 Oxford Street in London. This club was known for hosting new music scenes and many unsigned artists; yet was quite popular in the 1960s and 1970s. The venue could hold roughly 600 people as of 1976 and at the time looked like a well kept and spacious venue with a large interior and bar. Today, the 100 Club appears similar to when it hosted a two day punk festival in 1976; the interior is painted red, and pictures of former punk artists who played there line the walls. When the 100 Club hosted the first punk festival roughly 600 punks came to the event from all across the UK.

Many now well known punk bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned played at the two day festival; most of which improvised their acts as a form of rebellion against the expectations of others. They refused to take their own event seriously but did manage to captivate the audience with their messages. Protest, violence and unrest were promoted from the stage by the likes of the Clash and the Sex Pistols. The crowd got unruly at one point in the show and glass bottles were hurled into the crowd, injuring some of the attendees. The Sex Pistols were later solely blamed for the injuries and violence that ensued at the festival. The crowds of attendees clad in their leather and plastic drunkenly took to the streets causing civil disturbance and panic over their presence from residence and police; these crowds were of course encouraged by the bands playing the festival. Media broadcasters came to the festival due to the violence and unrest that had occurred. In their depictions of punk to the public, they framed those within the subculture as violent, angry youth organized to destroy british society. They made the term punk synonymous with the Sex Pistols, youth and violence portraying punks as "urban devils". A moral panic amongst Londoners towards punk was created; but by creating this panic the media unintentionally brought light to the punk movement's message. Punk sought to force London to notice the housing and financial issues within the city, racism and police brutality. By raising violence and panic, their message against those in power was spread and eventually popularized. At the festival the bands that played gained international recognition. The Sex Pistols were signed to their first record label following the event thus beginning the presence of punk in the mainstream media. Overall the festival at the 100 Club solidified punk as a legitimate subculture, gained media and music industry attention to the movement and created moral panic throughout London. A quote from a man who witnessed the festival reflecting back on his experienced states that " Although this was by no means the first gig of the new punk rock bottom, for many it is considered the moment that was the catalyst for years to come. This was the gig that brought the underground punk together from all over England for a rally of the clans". As well, another contemporary reporter who covered the festival noted in her article that there was a "creative buzz that something was happening" in the aftermath of the concert and media response. The 100 Club stands as a relic of the major take off of the punk movement and the mainstream spread of its message of discontent.

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