sex pistols Archive
12 Jul 2022
SF Music History: The Sex Pistols at Winterland, January 14, 1978
Danny Boyle’s new FX miniseries Pistol has brought legendary punk rock group the Sex Pistols back into the public’s mindset. But in terms of the band’s importance and influence, they […]
23 May 2019
Pistols Were a Gas: ‘The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle’ at 40 (Part Two)
Continued from Part One… The same is true—even more so—when the Sex Pistols attack “Stepping Stone.” Jones changes the chords around, and Lydon flails as is his wont, but here […]
22 May 2019
Pistols Were a Gas: ‘The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle’ at 40 (Part One)
Regardless of how one felt (or feels) about them, the Sex Pistols affected a cultural revolution in music. They were neither the first nor the best punk rock group, but—for […]
14 Dec 2018
John Lydon Tells It As It Is (Part Two)
Continued from Part One… In what ways do you think that that realization comes through in your music? I try to be as transparent and honest as I possibly can, […]
13 Dec 2018
John Lydon Tells It As It Is (Part One)
Crawling from the wreckage that was the Sex Pistols, vocalist Johnny Rotten reverted to his given name and put together a new group, Public Image Limited. PiL drew from dub […]
12 Dec 2018
John Lydon is … Happy? (Part Two)
Continued from Part One… A defining characteristic of most all of PiL’s releases is that – like Black Sabbath, oddly enough – each was critically panned upon release, only to […]
11 Dec 2018
John Lydon is … Happy? (Part One)
“Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” With that question posed to an audience at San Francisco’s Winterland on January 14, 1978, visibly unhappy vocalist Johnny Rotten (neé Lydon) ended […]
20 Dec 2016
Rick Wakeman on Solo Work, Singers, and Sex Pistols
In addition to his work with Yes and Yes-related projects, Rick Wakeman has had a long, successful, and prolific solo career. [Shameless plug: I wrote the liner notes for CD […]