Only a few hundred music lovers were there at the time, but the moment still became etched in Zurich’s music history: on October 12, 1976, Patti Smith performed at the Rote Fabrik in Zurich—until her first Swiss concert was interrupted by a teargas attack, the origins of which remain mysterious until today. The incident has been immortalized by the title and soundtrack of a bootleg tape recorded that evening: Patti Smith – Gas Live in Zurich. The bootleg recording, which has now resurfaced, documents the evening and is the starting point for Dominik Bachmann’s research.
This new photo book gathers a wide array of previously unpublished photos of Patti Smith in Zurich, and for the first time, makes available the complete interview that she gave to Swiss television before the concert. Supplemented with numerous historical documents, the volume expands the perspective on alternative culture and punk in Switzerland.
When Patti Smith came to Zurich in 1976, it would still be another four years until the occupation of the Rote Fabrik. During this period, only a few isolated concerts took place. This one, organized by Good News Productions, was part of the Schweizerischen Werkbund (SWB)’s cultural project Thearena Aktionshalle. Patti Smith stayed at the Engematthof Hotel in Zurich, where she was interviewed by Swiss television the afternoon before the concert. Only a few minutes of this conversation were aired. The Swiss Literaturarchiv has now made the entire recording available for the first time, the transcription of which is published here in a translation from English to German by Brigitte Jakobeit and Nicolai von Schweder-Schreiner.
Previously unpublished photos by Eric Bachmann, François Bitzi, and Roland Stucky show Patti Smith during the interview and on stage at the Rote Fabrik. Historical documents, such as newspaper articles, images of the bootleg tapes, and personal memorabilia from public and private archives provide further insights. Texts by curator Bice Curiger, who can most likely be cited as the first to mention Patti Smith in the Swiss Press in the Tages-Anzeiger in 1974, music chronicler Veit Stauffer, journalist and writer Peter K. Wehrli, and an introduction by musician and author Suzanne Zahnd, bring the discoveries into context. Patti Smith also carries great importance for Corine Mauch, as the musician and Mayor of Zurich writes in her foreword.
The small format photo book comprises 168 pages and will be published by everyedition in Zurich, just in time for the legend’s next visit: on July 22, 2025, Patti Smith will perform at Club X-tra in Zurich, Limmathaus—a unique opportunity to present this research and the book at a vernissage.