Midtown— The demolition of a Union Avenue Taco Bell has one Memphis area music enthusiast furious.
“I’m not surprised that something like this could happen,” said Bing Hampton, standing on the sidewalk watching a wrecking crew as they prepared for work. The crew had come come to take down the Taco Bell at 1447 Union, which was built on the site of the previously demolished Taliesyn Ballroom where British Punk band the Sex Pistols played on their disastrous 1978 American tour.
“It’s the same old song, isn’t it? First we tear down our history and then we tear down the Taco Bell we build on top of it,” said Hampton, wearily shaking his head in response to an announcement that the new Taco Bell being built on top of the old Taco Bell would have a completely different architectural profile.
“Why can’t they do like they did with Stax and build it back exactly the same but with a charter school,” Hampton asked as he gathered discarded building materials to sell on eBay. “The Sex Pistols didn’t really play all that many dates in ‘78 and this Taco Bell was built on top of one of them. It was the Graceland of Taco Bells and Memphis totally blew it. Again.”
Hampton believes the city will someday regret allowing Taco Bell to tear down the Taco Bell it built over the site where the Sex Pistols played.
“Oh well,” he said at length. “I’d rather eat Krystal anyway.”
