A walk down to the roller rink

Some older folks might remember when the Beatles played at the Washington Colosseum back in 1964. This was a day or two after they appeared on Ed Sullivan; the first concert they played in a major American city. The theater is long gone (it is now a big vacant lot next to the New York Avenue Metro stop) The hysteria was unbelievable over the Fab Four and DC will never forget it. This was the beginning of the mythical shows the Washington area would play host to for decades.

I remember discussing some of the mythical stories about ... with Jerry, the proprietor of Record Mart in Alexandria a long time ago. He always had some intriguing stories about the Northern Virginia-DC area before all the gentrification (or what I call the "pussification").

The Alexandria Roller Rink was on the block now occupied by the Sheraton Suites in the north end of Old Town (where Madison and St. Asaph Streets meet). This was also a music venue and the likes of the Doors, the Yardbirds, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, even Neil Diamond played shows there. Yes, the space where yuppies park their Mercedes and dine at Le Bergerie or Finn & Hoof while hailing the sommelier once was where Iggy Pop wriggled around on stage and Jim Morrison crooned. By the way, Jim spent part of his high school years in Alexandria - there is a whole book writtten about this for those interested.

The place remained open until 1979. The Sex Pistols never got to play Alexandria. In 1978, they were supposes to kick off their doomed US tour at the Alexandria Roller Rink, but visa and scheduling difficulties pushed their tour back a week. You may remember from the movie "Syd and Nancy" that the Pistols played a monumental tour through the South - mostly for the purpose of riling the Bible Belt and generating more bad publicity. The original tickets for the cancelled show are quite valuable nowadays, if you have one. The roller rink was closed in 1986 and eventually made into a hotel.

A few other myths and legends:

• The Rolling Stones doing a walk on set at The Bayou in Georgetown in 1981 (or some say 1979)

• Led Zeppelin playing the Wheaton Youth Center in January 1969 (a rumour? or real?)

• Driving all the way to Baltimore to go to Hammerjacks (ew!) I did this in the 80s and 90s. I'm amazed I didn't get killed going there. I installed a lowjack in my car after going there once. Erm, sorry Baltimore.