The Sex Pistols evolved from the Steve Jones and Paul Cook band the Strand (aka the Swankers) and they would hang out in Malcalm McClaren and Vivienne Westwood's clothing shop and Jones asked McLaren who had been managing the New York Dolls to take over the band's management. Glen Matlock, an art student who occasionally worked at McLaren and Westwood shop, joined as bassist.
McLaren agreed and asked New York Dolls' Sylvain Sylvain to front the group but he turned him down, as did Midge Ure and Richard Hell of Television which was fortunate for a kid with green hair walking past the shop wearing a Pink Floyd T-shirt with the words I Hate handwritten above the band's name and holes scratched through the Floyd members' eyes.
With his surname name changed from Lydon to Rotten and the band renamed to the Sex Pistols, they had a few gigs supporting Eddie and the Hot Rods and Joe Strummers band the 101ers, the bands notoriety spread and after sacking Matlock for liking the Beatles and replacing him with the Siouxsie and the Banshees sometimes drummer, John Richie or how he become better known, Sid Vicious.
One of the most influential bands ever then launched on a short career but within twelve 12 months they managed to spit, shock and swear their way to an impressive legacy.
I was given the chance to see them live during their 90s 'Filty Lucre' Tour but the euphoria of seeing a band that were of such historical importance lasted as long as it took for me to clap eyes on guitarist Steve Jones carrying a pot belly crammed into tight, tiger-striped trousers.
Musically, the Pistols were as expected but I was forever left with an ugly aftertaste and the vision of the angry young men of the late 70's singing politically charged songs and spearheading probably the greatest genre music has ever known, replaced by middle aged men going through the motions and looking every inch a band out of their allotted slot in history.
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