The
Sex Pistols are an English
punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They are responsible for initiating the
punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and
alternative rock musicians. 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.
[1]The Sex Pistols originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock. Matlock was replaced by Sid Vicious in early 1977. Under the management of impresario Malcolm McLaren, the band created controversies which captivated Britain. Their concerts repeatedly faced difficulties with organisers and authorities, and public appearances often ended in mayhem. Their 1977 single "God Save the Queen", attacking Britons' social conformity and deference to the crown, precipitated the "last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium".[2]
In January 1978, at the end of a turbulent US tour, Rotten left the band and announced its breakup. Over the next several months, the three other 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. In 1996, Rotten, Jones, Cook and Matlock reunited for the Filthy Lucre Tour; since 2002, they have staged further reunion shows and tours. On 24 February 2006, the Sex Pistols were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they refused to attend the ceremony, calling the museum "a piss stain".[3]
The Sex Pistols evolved from The Strand, a London band formed in 1973 with working-class teenagers Steve Jones on vocals, Paul Cook on drums, and Wally Nightingale on guitar. According to a later account by Jones, both he and Cook played on instruments they had stolen.[4] Early line-ups of The Strand—sometimes known as The Swankers—also included Jim Mackin on organ and Stephen Hayes (and later, briefly, Del Noones) on bass.[5] The band members hung out regularly at two clothing shops on Kings Road, in London's Chelsea neighbourhood John Krivine and Steph Raynor's Acme Attractions (where Don Letts worked as manager)[6] and Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die. The McLaren–Westwood store had opened in 1971 as Let It Rock, with a 1950s revival Teddy Boy theme. It had been renamed in 1972 to focus on another revival trend, the rocker look associated with Marlon Brando.[7] As John Lydon later observed, "Malcolm and Vivienne were really a pair of shysters they would sell anything to any trend that they could grab onto."[8] The shop was to become a focal point of the punk rock scene, bringing together participants such as the future Sid Vicious, Marco Pirroni, Gene October, and Mark Stewart, among many others.[9] Jordan, the wildly styled shop assistant, is credited with "pretty well single-handedly paving the punk look".[10]
