Sex Pistols Picture Gallery

Sex Pistols formed in 1975 with members Steve Jones (guitar), Paul Cook (drums), Glen Matlock (bass) and Johnny Rotten (John Lydon, vocals). They knew each other from hanging at Malcolm McLaren's clothing boutique in London at which Matlock was an employee. McLaren would be their manager. Their violence plagued club performances drew a following and their spiked hair, torn clothes and safety pins became standard punk fashion. The Sex Pistols debut single on EMI, "Anarchy In The UK," reached #38 on the UK charts. The negative publicity surrounding the group caused EMI to drop them. The Sex Pistols signed to A&M for a week, and then to Virgin Records. Glen Matlock was kicked out before the release of their next single and album, and was replaced by Sid Vicious. Their first Virgin single, "God Save The Queen" became a huge hit in the UK, reaching #2. Their album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols shot to #1 in the UK. The album had two more Top 10 UK singles, "Pretty Vacant" and "Holidays in the Sun."

In January 1978 The Sex Pistols went to the US for a tour, but it only lasted 14 days. Johnny Rotten quit the group and formed Public Image Ltd. using his birth name, John Lydon. McLaren arranged for Jones and Cook to record a song, "No One Is Innocent (A Punk Prayer)," with train robber Ronnie Biggs on vocals. It as released as a single, backed with Vicious' rendition of Frank Sinatra's "My Way." The single went to UK #7 in July 1978. In October 1978 Vicious was charged with murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen and he died of a heroin overdose while out on bail in February 1979. Julien Temple's Sex Pistols documentary, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle was also released in 1979 and the hodge podge soundtrack album also was a UK Top 10 hit. Three more Top 10 UK singles were released in 1979. The original band reformed for a tour in 1996 and it was documented in another Julien Temple's film, The Filth And The Fury. They reunited again in 2002 and the reissued "God Save The Queen" went to UK #15.