Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols were, despite their short existence, one of the most influential English punk bands. While The Clash were both more articulate and politically motivated, and Buzzcocks had more astute pop sensibilities, no other band so strongly exemplified the British punk movement's spirit and inherent contradictions or made such a lasting impression on British popular culture.

Origins and Early Days

Originally called The Strand (in reference to a song by Roxy Music), the band was formed during 1972 by Paul Cook (drums), Steve Jones (vocals) and Wally Nightingale (guitar). During 1973 the band members began to frequent a 1950s-style clothes shop called 'Let It Rock' in the Kings Road, Chelsea area of London. Here they met the shop's manager, Malcolm McLaren. Jones, being aware that McLaren had some connections within the music business, asked if he would be interested in becoming the group's manager, although at the time McLaren declined. Del Noone, who they met at the shop, was recruited to play bass. By 1974, the group called themselves The Swankers and played their very first gig at a birthday party of a friend of Cook's at Tom Salter's Café in London. They also began rehearsing in a studio called the 'Crunchy Frog', near London's docklands. Noone left the band shortly afterwards because he was becoming unreliable and not turning up at rehearsals.

Related Topics:
Roxy Music - Paul Cook - Steve Jones - Wally Nightingale - 1950s - Chelsea - London - Malcolm McLaren - Del Noone

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The remaining members recruited bass player Glen Matlock. By early 1975, Jones and Nightingale had begun arguing about what direction the band should take. Nightingale then left the group. Jones replaced him on guitar. Johnny Rotten, who was another of the clientele of the by now renamed and restyled 'SEX' boutique, showed up at the shop in August 1975 wearing a homemade 'I Hate Pink Floyd' t-shirt. He was asked to audition by miming to Alice Cooper's 'Eighteen.' He passed. McLaren became the new group's manager and was asked to think of a name for the group. Among the list were; 'Le Bomb', 'Subterraneans', 'The Damned', 'Beyond', 'Teenage Novel' and 'QT Jones and his Sex Pistols', The 'QT Jones' part was dropped, and 'the Sex Pistols' were born. The name, no doubt, brings to mind the male sex organ, but McLaren has stated that he wanted the band to be "sexy assassins" (in later years band members frequently accused McLaren both of cheating them financially, and of claiming credit for things that were not his idea as well as falsifying the bands' history). Under McLaren's guidance, the band was initially influenced in part by the simple, chord-based style of The New York Dolls and The Ramones. McLaren had given guitarist Jones the Les Paul guitar used by NY Doll Sylvain Sylvain, and the torn-shirt, spiked-hair look of Richard Hell, then bass player for Television. All of these figures were doyens of the New York City punk, and later new wave music, scene. Rotten and his circle of friends walked into the arrangement already possessed of a similar style -- a grunged-out version of the 'soul boy' fashion affected by fans of Roxy Music. McLaren also claimed that he wanted the Sex Pistols to be "the new Bay City Rollers".

Related Topics:
Glen Matlock - Johnny Rotten - Pink Floyd - Alice Cooper - Male sex organ - Chord - The New York Dolls - The Ramones - Les Paul - Sylvain Sylvain - Richard Hell - Television - New York City - Punk - New wave music - Roxy Music - Bay City Rollers

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The band played their first gig at St. Martin's School of Art in London on November 6, 1975. This gig would be followed by other performances at colleges/art schools for the remainder of 1975 until early 1976, when they started playing at clubs (like the 100 Club) and pubs (like The Nashville). On September 3, 1976, they played their first concert outside of England, when they played at the opening of the Club De Chalet Du Lac in Paris. After that they went on their first major tour of England which lasted from mid-September to early October (this included a performance at the Chelmsford Prison), which got them noticed by EMI.

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