Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols were the archetypal punk band, and one of the most important and iconic groups in rock history. Punk-rock had already been suggested as a musical style by the likes of The Stooges, MC5 and the New York Dolls, but it took off in the mid-70s with Patti Smith, Ramones and The Sex Pistols. In particular, the Sex Pistols had a massive effect on British culture, epitomising punk in many ways other than their music. Most importantly, they were anti-authoritarian, rejecting mainstream values and conventional wisdom, reflected in their music which rejected conventional rules. Describing early 70's rock as too extravagant and elitist, punk-rock would be simple and cathartic and available to everyone. They were ugly, behaved like snotty-nosed kids, and they were poor at playing their instruments: the message was that you didn't have to be pretty, friendly or musically skilled to be a rock star, you just had to have something to say.

This "I don't care, have a go" attitude empowered their young audience to rebel. The conservative British establishment painted them as a moral outrage, with newspapers and politicians denouncing them as a bad influence on youth. Famously, they appeared on live television for an interview and repeatedly swore and insulted the presenter, Bill Grundy. This only added to their appeal. Fans of the Sex Pistols defined themselves as a new generation, different from the generation of their parents, and deserving of different kinds of cultural expression. As well as punk-rock music becoming an overnight phenomenon, many fans dressed in unconventional ways and took on political activism.

In some ways the music was secondary: it was just the vehicle in which the Sex Pistols carried their message. They only released one album, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols, in 1977. Four singles were released: "Anarchy In The UK", "God Save The Queen", "Pretty Vacant" and "Holidays In The Sun". The difference between each generation's reaction to the music served to wedge a gap between them. In a brilliant PR move, "God Save The Queen" was released just before the national celebrations for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. The song wasn't explicitly against the Queen herself, but it did mock the deference given to the monarchy generally. In the week of celebrations, it reached No.2 in the charts, but many people suspected a cover-up by "the establishment" to prevent it topping the charts, which would have been a insult to the monarch.

The Sex Pistols split up in 1978, after a fraught tour of America which had become extremely violent and unruly. Lead singer Johnny Rotten (as John Lydon) formed Public Image Ltd, while Sid Vicious continued to spiral out of control. He was arrested on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, but died five months later from a heroin overdose.