The Sex Pistols

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    On 2 December 1976, the now iconic punk band, The Sex Pistols, were invited on to the primetime television programme, The Today Show. During the interview, the presenter was ridiculed by the band, and a flood of ‘rude words’ went out live to the nation! There were so many complaints, and so much fuss made in the media, that the little-known Sex Pistols become a household name.

     

    Along with The Ramones in America, and The Clash in Britain, the Sex Pistols kick-started a revolutionary new music genre. Punk, with its anti-establishment lyrics and do-it-yourself attitude, appealed to a British disaffected youth, who were experiencing widespread unemployment and social unrest. This front page of The Daily Mirror from 1976 documents the interview that caused such a fuss. Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock (later replaced by Sid Vicious), formed the band in 1975. Their success was aided by their manager Malcolm McLaren, co-owner of the clothing shop, 'Sex' with designer Vivienne Westwood. Their brief time in the limelight ended in 1978 after the release of their debut album Never Mind The Bollocks in 1977, but their legacy has lived on in British culture ever since.

     

    Image Copyright: John Frost Newspaper Archive

     

    Shelfmark: British Library Newspaper Archive

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