Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols were a punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in Britain and inspiring many generations of artists, musicians and creatives.

Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years and produced only four singles and one studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks - Here's the Sex Pistols, they are regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music.

They evolved from the Strand, a London band formed in 1972, with Steve Jones on vocals and Paul Cook on drums. 

The band members regularly hung out at two clothing shops on the King's Road in Chelsea, London: Acme Attractions and Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's - Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die.

Glen Matlock... We were young. We'd all gravitated to Malcolm McLaren's shop and it became the epicentre of all that was weird and wonderful in London. Possibly nobody would have heard of us if it wasn't for him, but nobody would have heard of him if it wasn't for us! 

The Pistols originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten (John Lydon), guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock. Matlock left in early 1977 and was replaced by Sid Vicious.

Johnny Rotten... Early Seventies Britain was a very depressing place. It was completely run-down, there was trash on the streets, total unemployment—just about everybody was on strike. Everybody was brought up with an education system that told you point blank that if you came from the wrong side of the tracks...then you had no hope in hell and no career prospects at all. Out of that came pretentious moi and the Sex Pistols and then a whole bunch of copycat wankers after us.

If you are pissing people off, you know you are doing something right.

On 8 October 1976, the major record label EMI signed the Sex Pistols to a two-year contract. The band's first single, Anarchy in the U.K., was released on 26 November 1976.

On 1 December 1976, the band and members of the Bromley Contingent created a storm of publicity by swearing during an early evening live broadcast of Thames Television's Today programme with host Bill Grundy. 

Appearing as last-minute replacements for fellow EMI artists Queen, who had dropped out due to Freddie Mercury having a dental appointment, the band and their entourage were offered drinks as they waited to go on air.

Steve Jones... It's not every day you get to create a band like the Sex Pistols, and what it changed, on a musical level. I love that we've done something that was important.

Following the interview which has become part of rock history the Daily Mirror famously ran the headline The Filth and The Fury. The episode made the band household names throughout the country and brought punk into mainstream awareness - it would also be the catalyst for EMI releasing the band from their contract.

On 10 March 1977, at a press ceremony held outside Buckingham Palace, the Sex Pistols publicly signed to A&M Records. On 16 March, A&M broke the contract with the Pistols. Twenty-five thousand copies of the planned God Save the Queen single, had already been pressed - virtually all of them were destroyed.

In May (1977), the band signed with Virgin Records, their third new label in little more than six months.

Paul Cook... Me and Steve Jones grew up together, so we were really connected and that came through in the music. We kept it simple, as we had to, because we were just learning our instruments. That was the beauty of it, really. It was going back to Rock ‘n’ Roll roots and keeping things simple and just really powerful, starting with great songwriters in the band, as well. That’s where the sound came from, really: us being not technically great at the time, so it was very tribal.

In January 1978, at the end of an over-hyped and turbulent tour of the United States, Rotten announced the band's break-up. Over the next few months, the three remaining band members recorded songs for McLaren's film version of the Sex Pistols' story, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. 

Vicious died of a heroin overdose in February 1979, following his arrest for the alleged murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

Rotten, Jones, Cook and Matlock briefly reunited for a concert tour in 1996. On 24 February 2006, the Sex Pistols - the four original members plus Vicious were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they refused to attend the ceremony calling the museum a piss stain.

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