The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 16, 1978, Page Page 12, Image 14
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Entertainn
England s best <
Sex Pist
By MARK MUELLER
Asst. Ent. Editor
Out in the depths of the musical
ocean there is a new undertow
pulling the listener uncontrollably
into its possessive grasp. From the
clutches of that current far below,
the Sex Pistols are awkwardly
riding the tremendous New Wave
toward the strand of unbounded
stardom.
Trying to break the force of the
Pistols' part of the Wave are Queen
Elizabeth II, the British
Parliament, Princess Grace of
Monaco, the BBC, various press
peeves and record labels which
include the likes of EMI and A&M.
Although England did
everything in its "power" to punish
these punks of propaganda by
banning them every form of public
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Johnny Rotten . . .
"We're the only honest
band that's hit this planet
in about two million years."
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exposure, the pacesetting
American public offered refuge.
The Sex Pistols were allowed to
enter the bewildered U.S. teen
scene. But before the States,
before the great English revolt and
before the breakthrough in this
new provocative style of entertainment,
the Princes of Punk
were always royalty.
AFTER THE regime of the
Beatles passed, a new generation
emerged into the void in the music
world. These trend searchers were
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cugiudscu wiui a seriuus uuiess
labeled an "identification
problem." Malcolm McLaren
(manager and genius behind the
Sex Pistols) felt he could bring
entertainment satisfaction and
musical exodus to the taste-craved
British public.
The original group he incorporated
consisted of Steve
Jones, Paul Cook and a good fellow
no one wishes to remember. Well
the good guy left and a Rotten
substitute appeared. Johnny
Rotten became the vocalist and
entertainer behind the Sex Pistols.
McLaren fulfilled his desire for
the trio to become a fearsome
foursome when he encountered a
Vicious kid called Sid, who
qualified for the title by assaulting
a persistent reporter.
THE PISTOLS wer** now ready
to be fired into this new generation.
With Rotten on vocals, Cook on
drums. Vicious Dlavine lead miitnr
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and Jones blaring bass, they
debuted on the English pub scene.
It was also at this time they first
were banned from public exposure.
Naked women dancing alongside
them on stage did not-exactly
appeal to promoters or the
government. Their^ excellent
television aeDut on an unglisn talk
show, in which they responded to
the producer's antagonism with a
barrage of four-letter words, just
made matters worse. Contributing
to their notoriety was their first
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e waves
single release "God Save the
Queen," in which her majesty was
labeled, among other things, a
moron.
This masterpiece came during a
vital peak in Queen Liz's career,
the Silver Jubilee. Their poster
displaying the title of their first
album "Never Mind the Bollocks
Here's the Sex Pistols" was taken
to court on an obscenity charge
which the Pistols won handily.
BY THIS TIME, fans craved
them so badly because of their
forced lack of exposure that the
first day their debut album hit the
cnaris it soared directly to number
one.
Later, three singles from the lp
reached the top spot within a
matter of weeks. For this reason
many critics have proclaimed this
debut album a greatest hits album
as well.
After "God Save the Queen" and
"Anarchy in the U.K." were
banned, the controversy over their
album cover and content, their
vocal appearance on the boob tube,
and a lawsuit for the record sleeve
from the number one single
"Holidays in the Sun," the Sex
Pistols were inevitably banned
from touring. This proclamation
hurt not only the Sex Pistols but
caused other punk rock ensembles
to be prohibited too. Nevertheless,
the S.P.'s went on tour secretly
bearing the credentials SPOTS
(Sex Pistols On Tour Secretly).
Their first record label, EMI,
would have been delighted to
schedule the Sex Pistols in Siberia,
while the group's other contact,
A&M, suggested appearance in
various mirages in the Sahara.
The label that fit their needs was
finally found in Virgin Records.
SEX PISTOLS etiquette by this
time had also been questioned: the
hurricane effect they left on A&M's
office, Steve Jones losing his lunch
in airports, Johnny Rotten offering
and giving free saliva samples to
their audiences, their combination
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Sex Pistols
... riding
David Bowie-Phyllis Diller hairstyles
and a vocabulary previously
shunned by General Patton.
However, the safetv oin-in-cheek
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fad was originated by their faithful
followers. The Sex Pistols are no
fools.
McLaren decided it was time to
make the move to the 50 fiascoes.
The group immediately ran into
visa problems which took months
to solve and caused cancellation of
their first four engagements. In
Atlanta, Memphis and San Antonio,
the Sex Pistols received
mixed reviews.
While their album was one of the
all time best selling imports and
the song "Submission" was added
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\ the crest of the New Wave
to the album when Warner
Brothers produced them in this
country, their overall acceptance
in America has been slightly less
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man icivuraoie.
THEIR LAST date in America
was in San Francisco where Sid
Vicious was rushed to the hospital
and Johnny Rotten apparently left
the group. Right now S.P.'s Cook
and Jones are in Rio de Janeiro
and Johnny Rotten is in Jamaica.
\ irvA^AX
They say the group is finished, and
Cook and Jones have started
working on new material with
"Great Train Robber" Ronald
Biggs, but inside has it this is
See SEX PISTOLS, page 13
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