I’m putting this dow as I see a lot of people rattling of that old crap about how the Sex Pistols were manufactured and most of them couldn’t really play etc…
It all comes from the Great Rock n Roll Swindle. Malcom’s fantasy of his role with the band.

He did help them to some extent but he hindered them more.

They became really famous after The Bill Grundy TV affair. John says sh*t and then Steve say f**king a lot.

Malcom wasn’t there, it wasn’t planned, it was just John and Steve being themselves. Malcom was furious, he thought they’d blown it, their career in tatters, until he saw the newspapers the next day, and saw how he could exploit the coverage. He then tried to make out it was all his idea.

The Sex Pistols split was mainly due to Malcom, he pitted the band members against each other, both Glen and John have gone on to say that Malcom was whispering things in their ears. Steve and Paul were a unit. John pushed out Glen, brought in Sid Vicious, hoping for an ally. John and Sid verses Steve and Paul sort of thing.

Unfortunately Sid met Nancy Spungen, who was living poison. You’ll not find anyone who has or had a good word to say about her. Sid descended into heavy heroin addiction. The band tried to rescue him, by getting rid of Nancy but she was like a bad stain. They gave up. Malcom loved the whole Sid is a rock n roll cliche, like Keith Moon, heading to a spectacular disaster.

Malcom should have done everyuthing he could to help Sid but he just exploited him. Look at what he did in The Great Rock n Roll Swindle. Totally exploits Sid. He even sold dolls of Sid in a coffin. How could he do that?

Going back a bit, the band were never going to survive all this and after the last gig at Winterland, they left John behind. Literally and deliberately dumped him. He had no air ticket, no money and had to get on the phone to Virgin and ask for help to get home.

Malcom then planned to take Steve and Paul to america to have a meeting with Sid to see if they could coax him into becoming the lead singer of the band. He died before they got there.

Who knows if that would of worked. Without Malcom, maybe.

I’m glad they didn’t continue with Tenpole Tudor. I like those songs with him on. Who Killed Bambi is a classic and I love that version of Rock around the Clock but that was enough. They were funny and worked in their own little bubble. He was actually supposed to join the band permanently. There are some interesting interviews from him and the others about his inclusion in the band.

Branson later tried to get John interested in joining Steve and Paul in The Professionals. He played John their demos. He hated them and he stuck with PIL.

I quite like The Professionals personally but I can see why it wasn’t for John.

Malcom tried to ban John from using the name Johnny Rotten, claiming he had invented the name and he had created him.

Steve Jones gave him that name, and Johnny Rotten created himself. John took this to court and won the right to use the name Johnny Rotten and then just to spite everyone and show Malcom he didn’t need it anyway, continued his career as John Lydon.

It’s such a shame the Sex Pistols split up, with better management they’d have gone on, I’m sure, the original four members, they had a few more albums in them.

Glen wasn’t the only great writer, Steve wrote some great tunes for the Sex Pistols. Just as many.

Here’s a quote from Jonesy - “I’m tired of Glen Matlock saying he was the songwriter for the Sex Pistols. I co-wrote as many songs… but I don’t go shouting about it.”

I wanted to dispel some of the myths I see here about the Sex Pistols. Watch The Filth and the Fury, read John’s books, read Steve’s book, look at the facts, don’t churn out Malcolm McLaren’s great lie.

The Sex Pistols were a band like any other band in the sense that they wanted to play live, they wanted to entertain, they wanted to get famous, they wanted to make the best records they possibly good and after a bunch of hard work, finally be mega rich, and live comfortably in their twilight years.

Loads of people heaped sh*t on them when they did their reunion tours. They’re only doing for the money, what a sell out, blah blah blah.

First off I’m sure they had a great time doing those tours, playing those amazing songs, getting all that adulation, it must have been wonderful.

But even if they had just done it for the money, which is an absurd idea when you think about it, “I’m not enjoying this at all, I’m just doing it for the money.” But even if they did, then good on them for finally making some proper money out of something that should have been a gold mine to them and deservedly so.

There was of course some manufacturing with The Sex Pistols, like their is with any band, it’s the entertainment business and strengthening your brand is an essential part of success.

The Beatles did the hair and suits and the bowing ect… that part of them was manufactured, but the rest was them, they were clever enough to allow some direction into their act.

The Sex Pistols were happy to take Vivienne Westwood’s clothes, which she’d stolen from John anyway, to strengthen their image.

Anyway rant over, don’t mean to be disrespectful to all those of you who get it so wrong, but I’m a great defender of the Sexy Pistols. The more you do it the better you get at it.

God Save the Queen, my son."