Sex Pistols
No punk photo site or exhibition would be complete without a photo of the Sex Pistols.
This one is blurry. I shot it while standing on a folding chair at Winterland, the venue in San Francisco in January 1978. It was the band's last gig. Of course, until the series of reunions. But those happened without Sid.
What can I tell you about the Sex Pistols?
Sid Vicious was rather enthralled by Stiv Bators and he spent a great deal of time with Stiv, and by extension, I got to spend some time with Sid because of it. Sid was the biggest Sex Pistols fan you could ever meet. He was the biggest Dead Boys fan you could ever meet as well. Sid loved music. He was also rather easily influenced. But I thought he was kind of sweet. Misguided.
When I showed this print to someone, he said that he could tell it was Sid from a mile away because of the body type. Looking at this photo now, Sid seems a bit built, and I had always thought of him as frail. Funny what pictures do... add ten pounds?
The Pistols reunion in 2003 impressed me, though I wasn't prepared to even care. Glenn Matlock invited me and before I could politely decline, he said, "I left tickets for you at the door." So I had to go. I'm glad I did. The band was tight. I didn't recognize Jonesy. Lydon was totally in character. Glenn and Paul Cook looked amazing and played like a real connected rhythm section.
Steve Jones does have a great radio show based out of LA on Indie 103. Do check it out! I'll be in LA for two months and plan on listening to nothing else.
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