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Booze, Drugs … And Merle Haggard? When The Sex Pistols Invaded Texas

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The Sex Pistols performed in Europe in 2008. Do they even remember their Texas tour in the late '70s?

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Looking back at the Sex Pistols' tour through Texas; remembering Adelfa Callejo; do the Texas Rangers have some famous fans?; and more.

This month, way back in 1978, the Sex Pistols toured Dallas and other parts of Texas. Relive the group’s visit thanks to Texas Monthly. After the BBC banned the band's "God Save The Queen" from the radio, the group headed over to the United States. John Spong writes: “Trailing them was a phalanx of now-famous photographers—names like Annie Leibovitz and Bob Gruen—who were charged with memorializing this world-class culture clash.” The images, Spong says, are mesmerizing. “There's heroin addict Sid Vicious onstage in San Antonio, unable to get drugs on the trip, with “Gimme a fix” carved into his chest,” Spong writes. “But one of the most famous images from the tour doesn’t show any of the band members. It was taken in the parking lot outside Dallas’s storied Longhorn Ballroom.” The picture shows an eight-foot tall steer statue flanked by two wagon wheels – in between a marquee reads: “Tonight Sex Pistols, Jan 19 Merle Haggard.” Spong writes: “The message is immediate: this was a surreal collision of radically different cultures.” Spong caught up with the photographer who shot the image.

  • A memorial mass will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday for Adelfa Callejo, the longtime Dallas civil rights activist and attorney. It’s at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in downtown Dallas. A memorial service was held Tuesday night at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas. KERA’s Doualy Xaykaothao reports: Speaker after speaker described a selfless, tireless woman who never had children of her own. Instead, she considered all of her acquaintances family. “Adelfa was our moral compass,” said Marcos Ronquillo, Callejo's law partner. “She was our true north, and she was our advocate and trailblazer.” Callejo died Saturday at 90 from a brain tumor.

  • The Dallas Architecture Forum continues its lecture series Thursday night with Spanish architect José Selgas, co-founder of Selgas + Cano, an architecture studio in Madrid. The lecture starts at 7 p.m. at the Magnolia Theatre. A reception kicks off the night at 6:15 p.m. Selgas + Cano has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim. Selgas + Cano’s own studiohas attracted a lot of attention for its unique setting – in the woods. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $5 for students (with ID) and can be purchased at the door. Click here for more information.

  • Are Daft Punk members fans of the Texas Rangers? TMZ captured Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk on camera this week wearing a blue Rangers cap at Los Angeles International Airport – this after the duo won four Grammys over the weekend. The duo often cover themselves with costumes, so seeing their faces was a rare sight. FoxSports.com reports: “Daft Punk is rarely photographed without their robot costumes on and they've certainly never performed at Rangers Ballpark, although certainly public-address announcer Chuck Morgan would welcome them. But the real question now is does the photo mean the Rangers will ‘Get Lucky’ and win the World Series this year?”

  • Speaking of the Grammys, when does a selfie go a bit too far? Maybe when you’re taking a picture of yourself behind TV anchors who are reporting some serious news. Earlier this week, Steve Kemble was preparing to appear on WFAA-TV’s morning newscast to discuss fashion at the Grammys. He was standing behind the anchor desk -- within view of the cameras. “He took the opportunity to do what anyone would when on set – take a selfie,” a PR firm told us. “But the cameras were rolling, and caught the whole thing on tape.” Oh, and the anchors were reporting about a deadly car crash. Someone spotted it and posted it on Twitter:

Here’s a short video capturing the selfie scene:

Steve Kemble taking a Selfie on News8 Dallas from Kelly Campbell on Vimeo.

KERA's Gus Contreras contributed to this report.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.