Touring sites from London's punk rock scene, 40 years later

First stop:

[...] I failed to find any sign of punk's past on the quiet thoroughfare, so I settled in the Metropolitan Pub on Great Western Road for a hand-pulled pint.

Today it's on Talbot Road, filled with vinyl and CDs, its walls and ceiling adorned with posters featuring The Clash, Sex Pistols and others.

In Chelsea, at 430 King's Road, a giant "SEX" sign once hung outside a shop of the same name shared by McLaren, the Pistols' manager, and designer Vivienne Westwood.

Today this thriving collection of bars, restaurants, shops and stalls is overrun with shoppers perusing all types of food and fashion, from espresso to T-shirts bearing the Union Jack.

My favorite band, often called "the only band that matters," once stood here on the cusp of fame, but today the spot seems to embody the opposite of punk's anti-materialistic message.

A Punk Weekender scheduled here for July 9 and 10 features music, prose and poetry as part of London's 40-year anniversary celebration.

The pub's Facebook page lists upcoming shows, and today's audiences aren't likely to be hit by flying sheets of spit ("gob" as the Brits call it) the way they were in the early punk era, with fans gobbing at performers and musicians spitting right back.