To Fear or To Follow: A Look Into The Sex Pistols Before Watching ‘Pistol’
“Everyone feared or followed them.”
Early into 2021, we began to see the first look at Danny Boyle’s six-episode series based on Sex Pistol guitarist Steve Jones’ 2018 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol. The series has a highly acclaimed cast featuring Thomas Broadie-Sangster portraying Sex Pistol manager Malcolm McLaren and Talulah Riley as designer Vivienne Westwood. The infamous punk-rockers themselves - Toby Wallace as Steve Jones, Anson Boon as Johnny Rotten, Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook and Christian Lees as Glen Matlock - will be causing anarchy on-screen by dipping their minds into the lives of the 1970s punk legends.
The careers of the Sex Pistols truly only lasted a few years, however, they are widely known as the group that made a groundbreaking movement into the history of punk rock. Great Britain punk rock, held the voice for the angers and frustrations of the 1970s working-class of adolescents. The rage of the punk movement was evident through the studded fashion, political envy and the music that filled the ears of young adults. In came the Sex Pistols, whose lyrics were meant to deliver chaos as the band’s second single, “God Save the Queen”, was banned by the BBC in 1977 - although, this didn’t stop the track from reaching the top of the British single charts. Initially, their debut single as a group, “Anarchy in the UK”, caused them to lose a record deal from EMI. At the time of the release of their only studio album, Nevermind The Bullocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, the group began a 12-date tour in the US.
Even though record stores refused to supply the album on their shelves, consumers still managed to earn the Sex Pistols a number one spot in the British album charts. This only goes to show that the demand for a voice through the punk movement was important for young adults who faced frustrations in the 1970s.
The Sex Pistols weren’t afraid of the consequences of their actions, as Steve Jones told a journalist that “were not actually into music, we’re into chaos”. Jones in particular embraced his power chords as he became one of the most influential guitarists of the punk era - and is still one of the best guitarists of all time. His not-so-secret weapon was shown off within his infamous guitar riff in “God Save the Queen''. After the final show of the tour in San Francisco, the group faced the fatal decision of tearing apart after exhausted fighting and intense drug use.
In 1977, Sid Vicious replaced Glen Matlock as the bassist because he looked more like the part of a punk rocker - leading the Sex Pistols down a rabbit hole of chaos when Sid began to bring his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, into the limelight. As the Sex Pistols rode through mainstream turbulence with their single “God Save The Queen”, Spungen and Sid became eerily inseparable. In 1978, Spungen was found dead in her New York hotel room and Sid was arrested for alleged murder. Spungen’s death is still one of the biggest mysteries in punk history. Nearly four months after Spungen’s death, Sid faced his loss due to a heroin overdose.
Even though their careers together lasted only two years, as a result of their raw lyrical arrangements and violent on-stage antics, the Sex Pistols was known as the band that revolutionized what rock n’ roll could be. In England, the group’s music was banned across the country because they were believed to be a danger to society; causing rebellious antics and promoting mayhem through the voice of punk.
The Sex Pistols initiated the beginning of the underground punk scene in England, where riots and studded leather jackets broke out through the streets in the 1970s. The punk movement used their loud voices to discover individualism and empowerment in a subcultural community. Due to the un-disturbed and influential emergence of the Sex Pistols, rock n’ roll found a shift in character as the traditions of the genre were split in half prompting an era without borders.
The cast of ‘Pistol’
Skipping forward into 2021, we are seeing an undeniably strong resurgence in punk rock music. Along with the sound making a comeback, popular music biopics are progressing on-screen. Danny Boyle’s Sex Pistol mini-series, Pistol, is set to release in 2022 and has its cast all punked out. When we saw the first looks of the cast dressed in leather jackets with spiked-up hair, I remember seeing comments glamorizing the characters as a result of the actors playing them. Nevertheless, Boyle’s cast is dressed from head-to-toe producing an uncanny resemblance to the 1970 punk rockers. The series is set to cover the Sex Pistols rise to fame in London, their link to Vivienne Westwood and McLaren’s sex shop on King’s Road, Chelsea - an interesting story on how they discovered their name. Pistol will also cover the influential yet controversial significance of their album Nevermind The Bullocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols. As it is still listed as one of the most influential albums in music history, the series will explore how it gained a following
Although the Sex Pistols caused anger with their harsh lyrics, stage presence and fashion choices - their emergence into the music industry was the ultimate turning point for British street culture. Ultimately one of the most important moments in subcultural popular music history, culture, fashion and politics. Boyle stated that this culture “where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion… everyone had to watch and listen… and everyone feared or followed them”.