Of course, I already had the album Horses—I can’t remember who was distributing Arista back then in Switzerland, maybe Musikvertrieb on Badenerstrasse. In any case, a short interview slot with Patti Smith was organized for me—right before her show, in her dressing room. Something artists usually avoid. She was (quite legitimately) not particularly interested in talking with a young journalist like me. During the ten minutes she did yoga and stretching exercises—typical Patti. I normally brought my cassette recorder everywhere with me, but unfortunately, I didn’t have it that day. And I also didn’t write anything. But at least Patti signed my copy of Horses.

How I found out about the concert? Probably through Good News or directly from the record label. Good News posters were hanging in lots of record stores. I was a regular at Henry’s and Yvonne’s shop in Niederdorf—I think it was called Musicland. And how I got there? With the tram. At the time we lived on Zweierstrasse, in Schmiede Wiedikon.

My memories of the concert itself are hazy. The music was bursting with energy and Patti was a magnetic figure on stage already back then. What made the concert even more remarkable back then was that the intellectual music scene was steeped in prog rock and “complicated music.” Patti didn’t fit the mold at all.

Then suddenly: tear gas. Our eyes were burning, the audience cursed, ran outside rubbing their eyes. “What’s going on?”—“Are your eyes burning, too?”—“It’s getting worse and worse!” The hall was evacuated. We went home.

I also had the GAS cassette—I bought it either in Zurich, or from a street vendor in Dublin. In Zurich there was a record store in the Steinfels complex that sold imports from England and the U.S. (I can even remember the smell of soap in the air there.) I can’t say for sure if I bought it there, but it was certainly available at Paranoia and Music Market.

Did I run into any other well-known people that night? Probably not. I was a student from the provinces—from Schaffhausen—and other than a few fellow students, I hardly knew anyone in Zurich. At that point, I didn’t have much contact with the music scene yet.