Here's the great Debbie Harry of Blondie explaining the Pogo dance on a 1978 episode of TV Party, the iconic NYC public access cable TV program hosted by Glenn O'Brien and Blondie's Chris Stein.
From Wikipedia:
In The Filth and the Fury, Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious claimed that he invented the pogo sometime around 1976 at punk shows in the early days of London's punk scene. Vicious supposedly invented the dance as a way of mocking people who came to see Sex Pistols' performances, but who were not part of the punk movement. Whether Vicious actually invented the dance or not, the pogo quickly became closely associated with punk rock. Shane MacGowan, himself an early follower of the punk scene, also attributes pogo dancing to Vicious, claiming that a leather poncho he wore to gigs prevented him from any form of dancing other than jumping up and down. In her autobiography, Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys., Viv Albertine of The Slits claims that the Pogo was inspired by the way Sid jumped up and down while playing saxophone. However, in the documentary Syd Barrett: Under Review (minutes 6:13 to 6:20) there is film footage from director Peter Whitehead's Tonite Lets All Make Love in London of the then called "The Pink Floyd" performing at the UFO Club in Tottenham Court Road in 1966 in which a gentleman directly in front of the stage is clearly "pogoing." It may not have been referred to as pogoing, but as far back as 1966 people were doing it.
Worth noting: Men Without Hats' Ivan Doroschuk penned "The Safety Dance" after getting bounced from a club for pogoing.
(via r/ObscureMedia)
