Sex Pistols

This definitive history of the Sex Pistols includes over 150 colour and b/w photos and is published to coincide with the forthcoming 6-part series, Pistol, created by Danny Boyle, which will be released in 2022

Amidst the chaos that was the Sex Pistols, it's often forgotten just what a powerful band they were, and what great records they made.

The Sex Pistols were no ordinary group. Their story might be short, and not without its casualties, but their legacy is undoubted; one listen to their ferocious, raw rock and roll will soon tell you that. Without them, popular culture in the last 30+ years would be very, very different.

The Pistols didn't just kick down doors; they trashed the music industry's house. For a band who (really) only released one album and four incandescent singles - "Anarchy in the U.K.", "God Save the Queen", "Pretty Vacant" and "Holidays in the Sun" - they gave birth to a sea of imitators and inspired a DIY aesthetic still alive today. Not bad for a band that 'couldn't play'.

Despite claims from New York, the Sex Pistols were the true originators of punk; no one else had their attitude, balls, or honesty - as inspired by anger and poverty, as art and poetry. There was the Sex Pistols and there was the rest. The Sex Pistols ARE punk; the rest are 'punk rock'.