SEX PISTOLS

Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that were formed in London in 1975, originally comprising vocalist Johnny Rotten (born John Lydon on January 31, 1956), guitarist Steve Jones (born September 3, 1955), drummer Paul Cook (born July 20, 1956) and bassist Glen Matlock (born August 27, 1956), who was replaced by Sid Vicious (born John Simon Ritchie on May 10, 1957) in early 1977.

Sex Pistols were managed by impresario Malcolm McLaren, and with a trolley dash around Vivienne Westwood’s SEX boutique, created mayhem with their leering hunchback-fronted racket and shocking antics such as swearing on television and giving anyone over the age of 25 a right nervo. Sex Pistols were immediately banned by everyone who wasn’t fashioning a garment out of binbags, and a generation of artists who did see the band live – their Manchester show in 1976 alone, had Mick Hucknall and a future Morrissey in the audience, and created Joy Division, Buzzcocks and The Fall - immediately formed a band.

The Sex Pistols' first entry on the Official Chart came courtesy of Anarchy In The UK in December 1976, their first Top 40 hit peaked at Number 38. A little over six months later saw Sex Pistols caused a rumpus with their song God Save The Queen - released at the height of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977, the song was banned and reached Number 1 on the NME chart but not in the UK Official Singles Chart used by the BBC, which lead to accusations of censorship. God Save The Queen did however become Sex Pistols' highest-charting song of their career, reaching Number 2 in June 1977.

The punks did score a UK Official Albums Chart Number 1 with their iconic album Never Mind The Bollocks in November 1977, before quickly unravelling and splitting while on a disastrous tour in America in January 1978. 

After Sex Pistols, Lydon formed Public Image Limited, Jones and Cook created The Professionals, and Sid Vicious died in New York on February 2, 1979 after an overdose. Sex Pistols have reformed on a couple of occasions in 1996 and 2007 for brief tours, but their cultural impact has inspired no end of musicians and artists ever since.