Primary
members: Johnny Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), Steve Jones, Glen Matlock,
Paul Cook, Sid Vicious
Band
Biography
Album of focus: Never Mind the Bollocks: Here's the Sex Pistols!
(October 1977)
A
note about the album, from the Pistols's website:
"Early in the morning several UK distributors
notified Virgin Records that they had stopped all Never Mind the
Bollocks distribution in the shops one hour after its release
due to offensive contents & some trouble about the album title
After some heavy brainstorming a very bothered Richard Branson
[chairman of Virgin] decided to completely delete the release
2 days later on Sunday 30th October 1977, only in some Virgin
Stores, despite the British law about the shops closing every
Sunday. Twenty-seven years later nobody knows if Virgin Records
was fined for this unusual opening of its shops on Sunday."
John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) on his lyrics:
"What you've seen in any documentary about any band before or since is how great and wonderful everything is. That's not the truth of it. It's hell, it's hard, it's horrible...it's enjoyable to a small degree. But if you know what you're doing it for, you'll tolerate all that because the work at the end of the day is what matters. We managed to offend all the people we were fucking fed up with."
"Words are my weapons. Violence is something I'm not very good at. I don't think you can explain how things happen other than sometimes they just should, and the Sex Pistols should have happened and did."
Songs for study: From Never Mind the Bollocks
|
Cheap
holiday in other people's misery...
I
don't wanna holiday in the sun Now
I got a reason In
sensurround sound in a two inch wall Now
I got a reason They're
staring all night |
I
got to go over the Berlin wall Claustrophobia
there's too much paranoia I
got to go over the wall Please don't be waiting for me |
|
She
was a girl from Birmingham She just had an abortion She was a case of insanity Her name was Pauline she lived in a tree She was a no one who killed her baby She sent the letters from the country She was an animal She was a bloody disgrace Body Dragged
on a table in a factory Body Body Throbbing
squirm |
I'm
not a discharge Fuck
this Body Body I'm
not an animal Body I'm
not an animal I'm
not an animal |
- John Lydon (aka Johnny
Rotten), Rolling Stone, Oct. 27, 2017 |
Ive
seen you in the mirror when the story began No
feeling Hello
and goodbye |
I
got no feeling There
aint no moonlight after midnight No
feeling No
feeling |
|
Liar,
lie, lie, lie You liar, lie, lie, lie Tell me why Tell me why Whyd you have to lie Should've realised That you should've told the truth Should've realised You know what I'll do You're
in suspension Now
I wanna know You're
in suspension I
know where you go |
You're
in suspension Liar,
lie, lie, lie You're
in suspension
|
|
God
save the queen God
save the queen Don't
be told what you want God
save the queen God
save the queen Oh
god save history |
When
there's no future God
save the queen God
save the queen No
future |
|
Too many problems Problem Eat
your heart out on a plastic tray Problem Problem |
I
a death trip Problem Youre
going to a doctor |
|
You're
only 29 We
like noise it's our choice See
my face not a trace |
I'm
a lazy sod I'm
a lazy sod Lazy |
"I have always thought that anarchy is mind games for the middle class. It’s a luxury. It can only be afforded in a democratic society, therefore kind of slightly fucking redundant. It also offers no answers and I hope in my songwriting I’m offering some kind of answer to a thing, rather than spitefully wanting to wreck everything for no reason at all, other than it doesn’t suit you. I’ve always got to bear in mind I’m part of a community called the human race and an even tighter community called culture. Why would we want to destroy these things willy-nilly? On the original demo, at the start of the song, I sang 'Words of wisdom' before 'right now' and I removed it because there is no point of overdoing it. I always thought if I over-aggrandized it, it wouldn’t mean much. When we were rehearsing we always tried to remove what was superfluous; we took out all the extra guitar flurries – Steve willingly did that most sensibly – and Paul would cut a song down to its simple roots. So with the lyrics, it’s always for an audience to decide. You can’t be dictating, like, 'Hello, this is genius, here it comes.' [Laughs]. You’ll start off at 10." - John Lydon (aka Johnny
Rotten), Rolling Stone, Oct. 27, 2017 |
Right Now Ha, ha, ha I
am an antichrist Anarchy
for the UK Cause
I In the city How
many ways to get what you want Cause
I Its the only way to be Is
this the MPLA* I
wanna be And
I wanna be Get pissed |
*MPLA: Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola, or Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola. A political movement that advocated liberation from Portuguese colonial control, which later developed strong Marxist/Leninist ties with the Soviet Union. **UDA: Ulster Defence Association, formed in 1971, a political/paramilitary group in Northern Ireland outlawed in the UK as a terrorist group. The UDA supported British control of Northern Ireland and was often involved in the killings of Catholics in this region during the "Troubles" (the most violent era being 1967-1994). ***IRA: Irish Republican Army, established
in 1919 originally, eventually morphed into a paramilitary
group that opposed British rule in Northern Ireland and
waged war against the British and Protestants during the
Troubles. |
|
I'm
on a submarine mission for you baby Sub
mission You've
got me pretty deep baby Sub
mission Well,
its a mystery |
Sub
mission Cause
it's a secret You've
got me pretty deep baby Sub
mission |
"Malcolm came back with fliers for the [New York Dolls's] shows and he brought back set lists, but none of these bands had made records at that stage. One said 'Blank Generation,' and that got me thinking about how there was nothing going on in London, and there was a real air of despondency and desperation, so I came out with the idea of 'Pretty Vacant.'" - Glen Matlock, Rolling Stone, Oct. 27, 2017 |
There's
no point in asking We're
so pretty Don't
ask us to attend We're
so pretty |
There's
no point in asking Were out at lunch We're
so pretty We're
pretty |
- John Lydon (aka Johnny
Rotten), Rolling Stone, Oct. 27, 2017 |
An
imitation from New York Still Think
it's swell playing Max's Kansas Still Four
years on you still look the same Kiss me |
Think
it's swell playing in Japan Still Kiss me A
kiss, a kiss You
do just about anything |
|
Its
an unlimited supply EMI Too
many people had the suss EMI And
sir and friends were crucified And
you thought that we were faking |
Don't
you judge a book just by the cover EMI Unlimited
edition with an unlimited supply Unlimited
supply Hello
EMI |