Portal:Sex Pistols
Portal maintenance status: (October 2018)
|
Introduction
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were 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.
The Sex Pistols originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten (John Lydon), 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 provoked controversies that captivated Britain. Their concerts repeatedly faced difficulties with organizers and authorities, and public appearances often ended in mayhem. Through an obscenity-laced television interview in December 1976 and their May 1977 single "God Save the Queen", attacking Britons' social conformity and deference to the Crown, they precipitated one of the more significant pop culture–based moral panics.
Selected general articles
Tudor-Pole in Cardiff, 2013
Edward Felix Tudor-Pole (also known as Edward Tenpole; born 6 December 1955) is an English musician, television presenter and actor.
Originally gaining fame in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the punk rock band Tenpole Tudor, Tudor-Pole began an acting career following the group's split in 1982. Outside of his music career Tudor-Pole is probably best known in the UK as the presenter of the game show The Crystal Maze from 1993 to 1995 and in the US for his roles as Enaros in the 1997 fantasy film Kull the Conqueror and Mr. Borgin in The Harry Potter film series. Read more...- D.O.A.: A Right of Passage is a 1981 rockumentary film directed by Lech Kowalski (his premiere film as a director) about the origin of punk rock. The rockumentary takes interview and concert footage of some of punk rock's earliest bands of the late seventies scene. Features live performances by the Sex Pistols, The Dead Boys, Generation X (with Billy Idol), The Rich Kids, the X-Ray Spex, and Sham 69, with additional music from The Clash, Iggy Pop, and Augustus Pablo. Read more...
- Jamie Reid (born 1947) is an English artist and anarchist with connections to the Situationists. His work, featuring letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of a ransom note, came close to defining the image of punk rock, particularly in the UK. His best known works include the Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols and the singles "Anarchy in the UK", "God Save The Queen" (based on a Cecil Beaton photograph of Queen Elizabeth II, with an added safety pin through her nose and swastikas in her eyes, described by Sean O'Hagan of The Observer as "the single most iconic image of the punk era"), "Pretty Vacant" and "Holidays in the Sun".
He was educated at John Ruskin Grammar School in Croydon. With Malcolm McLaren, he took part in a sit-in at Croydon Art School. Read more...
Julien Andrew Temple (born 26 November 1952) is an English film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners and a documentary film about Glastonbury. Read more...- "Somethin' Else" is a song by the rockabilly musician Eddie Cochran, co-written by his girlfriend Sharon Sheeley and his elder brother Bob Cochran, and released in 1959. It has been covered by a wide range of artists, including the Sex Pistols, who scored a number 3 hit with it in the UK Singles Chart in 1979. Read more...
- "God Save the Queen" is a song by the British punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's second single and was later included on their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. The song was released during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977. The record's lyrics, as well as the cover, were controversial at the time, and both the BBC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority refused to play the song. The original title for the song was "No Future", with the lyrics themselves being a general expression of the band's view of the Monarchy or any individual or establishment commanding general obligation.
The song reached No.1 on the NME charts in the United Kingdom, and made it to No. 2 on the official UK Singles Chart as used by the BBC. This led to accusations by some that the charts had been "fixed" to prevent the song from reaching No. 1. Read more...
Lydon performing with Public Image Ltd in 2010
John Joseph Lydon (born 31 January 1956), also known by his stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead singer of the late-1970s British punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s. He is also the lead singer of post-punk band Public Image Ltd (PiL), which he founded and fronted from 1978 until 1993, and again since 2009. Since 2013, Lydon has held British, Irish and American citizenship.
Lydon's rebellious image and fashion style led to his being asked to become the singer of the Sex Pistols by their manager, Malcolm McLaren. With the Sex Pistols, he penned singles including "Anarchy in the U.K.," "God Save the Queen," and "Holidays in the Sun," the content of which precipitated what one commentator described as the "last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium" in Britain. The band caused a nationwide uproar in much of the media, and Lydon was seen as a figurehead of the burgeoning punk movement. Despite their controversial lyrics and style at the time, they are now regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music. Read more...- The Punk Rock Movie (also known as The Punk Rock Movie from England) is a British 1978 film that was assembled from Super 8 camera footage shot by Don Letts, the disc jockey at The Roxy club during the early days of the UK punk rock movement, principally during the 100 days in 1977 in which punk acts were featured at The Roxy club in London. Read more...
- Warwick Alan "Wally" Nightingale (3 January 1956 – 6 May 1996) was an amateur English pop musician. He was notable in English pop music history as the founder of the band that went on to become The Sex Pistols. Read more...
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, performer, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provocative way. He is best known as a promoter and manager of bands such as the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols.
Brought up unconventionally by his grandmother after his father, Peter, left the family home, McLaren attended a number of British art colleges and adopted the stance of the social rebel in the style of French revolutionaries the Situationists. Read more...- "No One Is Innocent" was the fifth single by the British punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released on 30 June 1978. The Pistols had split up early in 1978, losing bassist Sid Vicious and original lead vocalist Johnny Rotten. "No One Is Innocent" was recorded by remaining members Paul Cook and Steve Jones, with vocals performed by Ronnie Biggs, a British criminal notorious for his part in the Great Train Robbery of 1963. At the time of "No One Is Innocent" Biggs was living in Brazil, still wanted by the British authorities, but immune from extradition. The song was credited to Cook, Jones and Biggs. Read more...
- The Professionals are an English punk rock band active from 1979 to early 1982 and again from 2015. They were formed by ex-Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook after that band's demise. Read more...
- The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is the soundtrack album of the film of the same name by the Sex Pistols. Read more...
- The Filth and the Fury is a 2000 British rockumentary film directed by Julien Temple. It focuses on the story of the punk rock pioneers Sex Pistols, and is considered a continuation of Temple's first documentary centered on the band, The Great Rock and Roll Swindle. Read more...
- Sid and Nancy (also known as Sid and Nancy: Love Kills) is a 1986 British biopic directed by Alex Cox and co-written with Abbe Wool. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman), bassist of the seminal punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and his relationship with girlfriend Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb). The film also features supporting performances from David Hayman, Xander Berkeley, and Courtney Love.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986, and was released theatrically in the United States that fall. Despite failing to recoup its production budget at the box office, the film was received favourably by most critics and has attained cult classic status. Read more... - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is the only studio album by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols, released on 28 October 1977 by Virgin Records. Many bands and musicians comment on the album as being a major influence on their own work, and the industry in general. In particular, the album's raw energy, and Johnny Rotten's sneering delivery and "half-singing", are often considered game-changing. It is frequently listed as the most influential punk album, and one of the most important albums of all time.
By the time of its release, the Sex Pistols were controversial, having sworn on live TV, been fired from two record labels, and been banned from playing live in most parts of England. The album title added to that controversy, with some people finding the word "bollocks" offensive. Many record stores refused to carry it and some record charts refused to list its title, showing just a blank space instead. It was finally released in the UK by Virgin Records on 28 October 1977. Read more...
Public Image Ltd (abbreviated as PiL) are an English post-punk band formed by singer John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and drummer Jim Walker. The group's personnel has changed frequently over the years; Lydon has been the sole constant member.
Following his departure from the Sex Pistols in January 1978, Lydon was eager to pursue a more experimental "anti-rock" project and formed PiL. That year PIL released their debut First Issue (1978), creating an abrasive, bass-heavy sound that drew on dub, noise, progressive rock and disco. PIL's second album Metal Box (1979) pushed their sound further into the avant-garde, and is often regarded as one of the most important albums of the post-punk era. Read more...
Vivienne Isabel Westwood DBE RDI (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.
Westwood came to public notice when she made clothes for Malcolm McLaren's boutique in the King's Road, which became known as "SEX". It was their ability to synthesise clothing and music that shaped the 1970s UK punk scene, dominated by McLaren's band, the Sex Pistols. She was inspired by the shock-value of punk—"seeing if one could put a spoke in the system". Read more...- The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex Pistols and, most prominently, their manager Malcolm McLaren. Read more...
- Sex Pistols is a box set anthology of the career of the punk band The Sex Pistols with singer Johnny Rotten. It was released on 3 June 2002. The set comprises three themed CDs and an 80-page booklet.
The first disc features Never Mind the Bollocks, the band's only studio album, in its entirety, as well as four B-sides and the band's first demo session. Read more... - The Ex Pistols were a punk rock band from London, formed in 1979 by former Sex Pistols producer Dave Goodman. Goodman put the group together after his services were substituted for those of other producers on the Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols.
The Ex Pistols existed as a sound-alike band meant to mislead fans due to the similar music, name, and artwork, until 1992 when the Sex Pistols successfully sued Dave Goodman and he was no longer allowed to use the name. Read more...
Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956 in Shepherd's Bush, London) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene. Read more...- The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is the soundtrack album of the film of the same name by the Sex Pistols. Read more...
- The 100 Club Punk Special (sometimes referred to as the 100 Club Punk Festival) was a two-day event held at the 100 Club—a typically jazz-oriented venue in Oxford Street, London, England—on 20 and 21 September 1976. The gig showcased eight punk rock bands, most of which were unsigned. The bands in attendance were each associated with the evolving punk rock music scene and movement of the United Kingdom. The concert marked a watershed for the movement, as punk began to move from the underground and emerge into the mainstream music scene. Read more...
- "Belsen Was a Gas" is a highly controversial song by the British punk rock band the Sex Pistols. The song is about one of the Nazi concentration camps in Nazi Germany, Bergen-Belsen, which was liberated by British troops in 1945. Read more...
- "Pretty Vacant" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released on 1 July 1977 as the band's third single and was later featured on their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, released during that same year. The song reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and marked the band's first appearance on the British chart music TV programme Top of the Pops. The song gained attention for vocalist John Lydon's phrasing of the word "vacant", emphasising the last syllable to sound like the vulgar word cunt. According to bassist Glen Matlock, the song's main riff was inspired by hearing "S.O.S." by ABBA. The B-side of the single was a cover of the Stooges' "No Fun", which the band played on the spot without a proper rehearsal. It was taken from demo sessions recorded by producer Dave Goodman.
The band made a video for "Pretty Vacant" (as well as one for "God Save the Queen") on 11 and 12 July 1977 at the studios of ITN in Wells Street, London. They were thrown out after throwing cans of lager at the cameramen on the 11th, but came back on the 12th to finish the recording. Read more... - Neurotic Outsiders was a supergroup founded in 1995, consisting of Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, and John Taylor of Duran Duran. The first line-up featured Billy Idol and Steve Stevens (together with McKagan and Sorum), but they were soon replaced by Jones and Taylor. The group was originally called Neurotic Boy Outsiders.
Originally a gathering of friends jamming together at the Viper Room, they eventually recorded one eponymous album on Maverick Records in 1996, and did a brief tour of Europe and North America. The album, which was the first release by the band and is now out of print, was followed up by the "Angelina" 5 song EP in 1997, which was a Japanese-only release. Read more... - "C'mon Everybody" is a 1958 song by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart, originally released as a B-side. In 1959 it peaked in the UK (where Cochran had major success and where he died in 1960) at number six in the singles chart, and, thirty years later, in 1988, the track was re-issued there and became a number 14 hit. In the United States the song got to number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. "C'mon Everybody" is ranked number 403 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In Ireland it was used as the theme tune for People In Need Telethon (1989-2007).
When Cochran recorded his lead vocal for the song, he also created an alternate version of the song called "Let's Get Together". The only change to the lyrics was exactly that: the phrase "Let's get together" in place of "C'mon everybody". This alternate version was eventually released on a compilation album in the 1960s. Read more... - Dave Goodman (29 March 1951 – 10 February 2005) was a record producer and musician, perhaps best known as the live sound engineer for Sex Pistols, and the producer of three of their studio demo sessions. Read more...
Sid Vicious (born Simon John Ritchie, 10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979) was an English bassist and vocalist. He achieved fame as a member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, replacing Glen Matlock, who had fallen out of favour with the rest of the group.
Due to intravenous drug use, Vicious was hospitalised with hepatitis during the recording of the Sex Pistols' only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols; his bass is only partially featured on one song. Vicious later appeared as a lead vocalist, performing three cover songs, on the soundtrack to The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, a largely fictionalised documentary about the Sex Pistols. As the Sex Pistols were gaining attention, Vicious met Nancy Spungen, and the pair entered a destructive codependent relationship based on drug use. This culminated in Spungen's death from an apparent stab wound while staying in New York City's Hotel Chelsea with Vicious. Under suspicion of murder, Vicious was released on bail; he was arrested again for assaulting Todd Smith, brother of Patti Smith, at a nightclub, and underwent drug rehabilitation on Rikers Island. He died in 1979 after overdosing on heroin. Read more...
Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a co-author on 10 of the 12 songs on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, although he had left the band while the album was being recorded, and only played on the track "Anarchy in the UK". He left the band in 1977 over creative differences with the other band members.
Since leaving the Sex Pistols in 1977, he has performed with several other bands, as well has his own solo work. After the death of his replacement in the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious, Matlock has resumed bass guitar duties for subsequent Sex Pistols reunions, including the 1996 Filthy Lucre Tour, the 2002 concert to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, their 2003 North American Piss Off Tour and their 2007-2008 UK and Europe Combine Harvester Tour. Read more...- Rich Kids were a short-lived new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure and Rusty Egan, both who later founded Visage together. They released one album and three singles during their existence, from March 1977 to December 1978 (although the official announcement of their disbanding was not made until mid-1979).
Rich Kids were amongst the foremost British exponents of the power pop style, blending influences from 1960s acts such as Small Faces and The Who with more recent punk rock sounds. With only one single making the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart, Rich Kids join the list of one-hit wonders; a list that includes other UK punk or new wave acts such as John Cooper Clarke, Jilted John, 999, the Radio Stars, and The Vibrators. Read more... - Spunk is a bootleg demo album by the English punk rock band The Sex Pistols. It was originally released in the United Kingdom during September or October 1977.
The album comprises studio demos and talking recorded with Dave Goodman during 1976 and early 1977, while original bass player Glen Matlock was still a member of the band. Most of the songs would later be re-recorded and officially released on the group's album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. Read more... - Flogging a Dead Horse is a compilation album of singles by the Sex Pistols, released after their break-up, and includes the four songs issued as singles A-sides that were included on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, three of their B-sides, and the six A-sides taken from The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle and one B-side, "My Way". Read more...
- Agents Of Anarchy is a compilation album from the Sex Pistols. it was released in August 2008. Read more...
- "Pretty Vacant" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released on 1 July 1977 as the band's third single and was later featured on their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, released during that same year. The song reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and marked the band's first appearance on the British chart music TV programme Top of the Pops. The song gained attention for vocalist John Lydon's phrasing of the word "vacant", emphasising the last syllable to sound like the vulgar word cunt. According to bassist Glen Matlock, the song's main riff was inspired by hearing "S.O.S." by ABBA. The B-side of the single was a cover of the Stooges' "No Fun", which the band played on the spot without a proper rehearsal. It was taken from demo sessions recorded by producer Dave Goodman.
The band made a video for "Pretty Vacant" (as well as one for "God Save the Queen") on 11 and 12 July 1977 at the studios of ITN in Wells Street, London. They were thrown out after throwing cans of lager at the cameramen on the 11th, but came back on the 12th to finish the recording. Read more... - The soundtrack to the film was released in 2002. The two-disc set contains songs by the Sex Pistols as well as music from other artists that was used in the film.;Disc one
- "God Save the Queen (Symphony)"
- "Shang-A-Lang" – Bay City Rollers
- "Pictures of Lily" – The Who
- "Virginia Plain" – Roxy Music
- "School's Out" – Alice Cooper
- "Skinhead Moonstomp" – Symarip
- "Glass of Champagne" – Sailor
- "Through My Eyes" – The Creation
- "The Jean Genie" – David Bowie
- "I'm Eighteen" – Alice Cooper
- "Submission"
- "Don't Gimme No Lip Child"
- "What'cha Gonna Do About It"
- "Road Runner"
- "Substitute"
- "Seventeen"
;Disc two- "Anarchy in the UK"
- "Pretty Vacant"
- "Did You No Wrong"
- "Liar"
- "EMI"
- "No Feelings"
- "I Wanna Be Me"
- "Way Over (In Dub)" – Tapper Zukie
- "Looking for a Kiss" – New York Dolls
- "Holidays in the Sun"
- "No Fun"
- Vicious White Kids was an English punk rock band from London that formed for one concert on 15 August 1978, staged at the Electric Ballroom in London. The former bassist of Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious, was the lead singer. It was his final concert in England, as he died of a heroin overdose the following February.
Recordings of the concert, which included covers of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog", have been released multiple times: in 1991 on DeLorean Records, in 1993 on Receiver Records, in 2002 on Castle Records, and in 2007 on Sanctuary Records. The 2007 release includes an interview with Matlock and Scabies. Read more...
Need help?
Do you have a question about Sex Pistols that you can't find the answer to?
Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
Selected images
Fender Stratocaster signed by the Sex Pistols during their 1996 reunion tour, Hard Rock Cafe, London
An image of Vicious lacrimosa in Madrid, 2006
The Sex Pistols with Thomas Dellert, c. 1977
Subcategories
- Select [►] to view subcategories
Topics
| Studio album | |
|---|---|
| Compilations and soundtracks | |
| Live albums | |
| Singles | |
| Other notable songs | |
| Films | |
| Related articles |
|
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
Wikibooks
Books
Commons
Media
Wikinews
News
Wikiquote
Quotations
Wikisource
Texts
Wikiversity
Learning resources
Wiktionary
Definitions
Wikidata
Database
- What are portals?
- List of portals
