Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

HISTORICAL FACTS: Pistols - The Untold Story

"He glared out into the audience like he wanted to kill each and every one of us, one at a time." The story behind the gig which inspired the birth of Joy Division

The night that changed Manchester's music scene forever

Louder

‘I knew it was over for us’: the bands who got left behind when punk exploded

Fifty years ago this week, the Sex Pistols played their first Manchester gig and caused a sonic revolution. What happened to the other bands that were tipped for big things that year – and why did the rock’n’roll dinosaurs survive?

The Guardian - UK

"We never said it was a Utopia. Rock'n'roll is played on enemy ground." What happened when The Clash arrived in the USA

It's early 1979, punk is building, and The Clash arrive in theUS to play their first shows there. We were on the road with them and witnessed events first-hand

Louder

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

"Mr Rotten joins in the fight, and has a few kicks at the victim." 50 years on, Pet Shop Boys frontman Neil Tennant still has vivid memories of seeing the Sex Pistols for the first time in 1976

An early Sex Pistols show made quite an impact on Pet Shop Boys frontman Neil Tennant

Louder

Sex Pistols at 50: how punk’s most notorious band became part of the mainstream

“Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” John Lydon’s closing words before stalking off stage at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in January 1978, concluding the Sex Pistols’ US tour, have echoed ever since. They’re a bitter bookend to a fractious spell in the limelight. Barely three years had passed since…

The Conversation

Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter announce rescheduled and expanded North American tour

Additional anarchy in the US

Louder

"If it ain’t fun, I ain’t doing it. I’m too old for bulls**t.” Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter announce Anarchy In The UK tour

The Sex Pistols line up 50 years of punk celebration

Louder

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

"I knew what each of my friends was capable of, but I didn't know how that would blend together." How John Lydon left the trainwreck of the Sex Pistols behind with a trailblazing statement of intent

Johnny Rotten became John Lydon and the dense punk sound became spacious dub for his new band PiL’s first real statement of intent

Louder

"I heard something on an ABBA record and it inspired the riff I needed. I said, ‘Guys, I’ve got it!'" The Sex Pistols, pop legends, Danny Boyle and the Olympics: the unlikely story of one of the most important punk songs of all time

The surprising tale behind the pop-influenced, Oscar-winning director-approved punk rock classic

Louder

"The song means as much today as it did then - kids trying to break out of their town to find something to do": Influenced by Aleister Crowley and toothache, the song that introduced new wave still strikes a chord

The Sex Pistols weren't the only authority-baiting band to storm the charts in 1977

Louder

What really happened when the Sex Pistols appeared on the Bill Grundy show

Pistol on Disney+ dramatised the Sex Pistols' appearance on the Bill Grundy Show in December 1976. The truth is even better than the show

Louder

‘We were fitted with remote control penises’: Harry Enfield and Kathy Burke on Kevin and Perry Go Large

‘When it was screened in America, people hated it so much they wanted to burn the cinema down’

The Guardian - UK

Sex Pistols want to write new music with Frank Carter

The Sex Pistols' Glen Matlock has revealed the iconic punk rock group are keen to record fresh material with new frontman Frank Carter.

BANG Premier

“It sounded great, but I don’t know if it felt like history was happening”: Richard Branson says he happened to be in the studio when Phil Collins was recording what "might be the most famous drum solo of all time"

The 75-year-old mogul has also been discussing Mike Oldfield, the Sex Pistols and the birth of Virgin Records

MusicRadar

Get all your
news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One news app.

FourFourTwo

‘We beat Spain on the Saturday and went to see the Sex Pistols on Sunday. It was brilliant for me, but for Gareth Southgate I’m not so sure!’ Stuart Pearce recalls the time punk rock and Euro 96 collided

The former England left-back is a huge punk fan

Guitar World

“Frank gets it. He’s not a po-faced, miserable git. He’s got a sense of humor. He’s got a twinkle in his eye”: Glen Matlock on the legacy of the Sex Pistols and getting back on the road with Frank Carter’s help

The original Sex Pistols bassist reveals all about reunions past and present and discusses the likelihood of new music from the U.K. punk legends... Never say never

Guitar World

The all-new October 2025 Guitar World – where Smashing Pumpkins and Sex Pistols mingle openly with Carlos Santana and Khruangbin

Featuring new interviews with Billy Corgan, Kiki Wong, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, Zakk Wylde, the Beach Boys' Al Jardine, Inhaler's Josh Jenkinson and dynamic duos from Khruangbin, Momma, the Voidz and Phoneboy

Guitar World

“I was looking at my watch thinking, ‘I’m so miserable doing this.’ That was the last time we did anything with the original lineup”: Steve Jones on why Frank Carter gave the Sex Pistols a new lease on life – and where things stand with John Lydon

Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, has recently stated that he will never return to the Sex Pistols

Get all your
news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One news app.

Guitar World

“Am I supposed to feel jealous or something? Sid Vicious had his moments – but I can have my moments as well. I’m no shrinking violet!” Glen Matlock on how the Sex Pistols have changed, while his bass rig never has and never will

The punk icons’ most accomplished musician explains what Frank Carter has brought to the band, the financial advantages of not using a pick, and the chance of new music with their latest recruit

Louder

"Total bollocks!" Contrary to what you may have heard, Rick Wakeman wasn't responsible for the Sex Pistols getting dumped by their record label in 1977, just seven days after signing their contract

The music business can be brutal, as the Sex Pistols discovered in March 1977 when they signed and then lost a record deal in a single week

Louder

Whether John Lydon likes it or not, Sex Pistols' Download set proves the true spirit of punk still lives large

Sex Pistols and Frank Carter shake off a rocky start to bring some proper punk rock to Download

Louder

Watch Sex Pistols and Primal Scream form an impromptu supergroup while rehearsing in the same building

Ladies and gentlemen, for one night only, please welcome to the stage... Sex Scream!

The Independent UK

‘We invented karaoke!’ – how Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley swapped his punk-pop crown for synths, Spectrums and sexual censorship

PLAYBACK: Hits like ‘Ever Fallen in Love’ made the Mancunian punk’s sensitive bard – until he recast himself as a queer-pop electro pioneer and found himself banned by the BBC. Stevie Chick revisits a musical trailblazer

BANG Premier

John Lydon slams Sex Pistols for performing 'karaoke' versions of classic songs

John Lydon has hit out at his former Sex Pistols bandmates for continuing to perform the punk group's legendary hits.

Louder

"John’s always been super opinionated. It doesn’t bother me." Billy Idol laughs off John Lydon's criticism of his work with Steve Jones and Paul Cook in Generation Sex, gives a thumbs up to the new Sex Pistols line-up

Billy Idol is having far too much fun to worry about John Lydon's sniping

1 2 3 4 5

People

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Organisations

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Topics

Places

Fourteen days free

Download the app

One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.