"EVER GET THE FEELING YOUR BEING CHEATED" (AGAIN)?
I got myself thinking about the SEX PISTOLS after i had written about them and their re-recording of two singles for the HEROES OF ROCK III video game (jolly 'anti-establishment' dontcha think?) so i decided to have a look around the interweb and see what the band have to say and show for themselves, and the band didn't quite come out of that search looking like the anti establishment counter culture heroes they like to think themselves as being (or at least as their band propaganda portrays them), what i could see in just a short time could put the marketing department of 'MADONNA inc' to shame.(below) The 'situationist' style 'decree' that the sex pistols use to open their 'official' website.
For a start, the band still present themselves as being some kind of musical guerrilla ground breakers who's songs unleash a musical year zero in which they come up with a totally new sound, why after all these years the PISTOLS still try that one on is beyond me, yes we all know they made some great songs but they were not as original they made out they were. The PISTOLS were just as guilty of stealing song parts as the rest of the 'copy cat' bands they slagged off, take 'holidays in the sun' for example-that song borrowed heavily from THE JAM'S 'in the city', and on their NMTB LP there is two tracks that have been lifted almost unchanged (except for the new lyrics) from the NEW YORK DOLLS 2nd LP 'too much too soon'. And there is of course the large number of cover versions the band relied on to pad out both their live set and records, and that is just three examples off the top of my head.
Another blow to the bands 'outlaw' image is the large number of 'merchandise' that is about (the list is a big'un, from 'shot'-glasses to iron on transfers, tea mugs, sew on patches, baseball caps, babies bibs/tops/hats, and clothing to cycle Currier bags, plus a lot more). For sure a large bulk of it is unofficial and utter tat but that distracts from the large pile of 'official' rubbish that is also out, you have horrible t-shirts/clothing, posters, reissues of every recording in every conceivable format, mouse mats, and so on. It is now almost possible to follow the bands entire live history via CD/LP releases of almost every gig the band ever played, much of the bands studio time was also recorded and released at one stage or another. Yet unlike 'old farts' the GRATEFUL DEAD, the SEX PISTOLS haven't encouraged their fans to swap recordings freely and cheaply amongst each other, instead the PISTOLS recordings have 'OFFICIAL' stamped on the front of albums that are sold at a premium price, and as often as not the actual recordings are of a quality that makes 'Sid sings' sound like it was recorded at the Albert hall with the RNO playing the instruments (saying that Ive always liked the shambolic sound -and vocals on Sid sings, even my dad liked it!). As for t-shirts, the amount of badly designed ones that have floated about must of outnumbered the good ones by a hundred times, and that's counting all the good designs that have appeared over the years (one of the worst must be the one which pictures SID injecting himself next to garish red letters that say "one way ticket to hell" in bold capitals, truly gross.
For a start, the band still present themselves as being some kind of musical guerrilla ground breakers who's songs unleash a musical year zero in which they come up with a totally new sound, why after all these years the PISTOLS still try that one on is beyond me, yes we all know they made some great songs but they were not as original they made out they were. The PISTOLS were just as guilty of stealing song parts as the rest of the 'copy cat' bands they slagged off, take 'holidays in the sun' for example-that song borrowed heavily from THE JAM'S 'in the city', and on their NMTB LP there is two tracks that have been lifted almost unchanged (except for the new lyrics) from the NEW YORK DOLLS 2nd LP 'too much too soon'. And there is of course the large number of cover versions the band relied on to pad out both their live set and records, and that is just three examples off the top of my head.
Another blow to the bands 'outlaw' image is the large number of 'merchandise' that is about (the list is a big'un, from 'shot'-glasses to iron on transfers, tea mugs, sew on patches, baseball caps, babies bibs/tops/hats, and clothing to cycle Currier bags, plus a lot more). For sure a large bulk of it is unofficial and utter tat but that distracts from the large pile of 'official' rubbish that is also out, you have horrible t-shirts/clothing, posters, reissues of every recording in every conceivable format, mouse mats, and so on. It is now almost possible to follow the bands entire live history via CD/LP releases of almost every gig the band ever played, much of the bands studio time was also recorded and released at one stage or another. Yet unlike 'old farts' the GRATEFUL DEAD, the SEX PISTOLS haven't encouraged their fans to swap recordings freely and cheaply amongst each other, instead the PISTOLS recordings have 'OFFICIAL' stamped on the front of albums that are sold at a premium price, and as often as not the actual recordings are of a quality that makes 'Sid sings' sound like it was recorded at the Albert hall with the RNO playing the instruments (saying that Ive always liked the shambolic sound -and vocals on Sid sings, even my dad liked it!). As for t-shirts, the amount of badly designed ones that have floated about must of outnumbered the good ones by a hundred times, and that's counting all the good designs that have appeared over the years (one of the worst must be the one which pictures SID injecting himself next to garish red letters that say "one way ticket to hell" in bold capitals, truly gross.
Then there is the ticket prices for their 'concerts', the prices charged are gob smacking and are too expensive for many PISTOLS fans and leaves the fans with a very sour opinion of the band. The ticket prices have even been the cause of rioting at gigs as long time fans find themselves unable to afford entry into the 'concerts' even when earning a wage, for the same price as a SEX PISTOLS gig you could go to an all dayer that has a line up of eight to ten bands, and that's with well known bands (a day at one of the 'holidays in the sun' mega gigs was the same price as one PISTOLS 'concert').
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The sex pistols once played at the venue printed on the shirt (right), this was enough to advertise the top as a 'sex pistols shirt'.
Talking about the PISTOLS recently JOHN LYDON said that "this is not nostalgia" which rings very hollow when the band who have been playing together again for a couple of years now haven't introduced or written one single new song into their 'repertoire' and just rely on songs that are thirty years old for their live shows. Most of the 'copy cat' bands that have re-formed have at least written a few new songs into their sets to pad out their shows and because it enables them to avoid the accusation that they are just living off past glories, yet the PISTOLS have not done the same, and it is this little itty-bitty point that makes the PISTOLS claim of "not being nostalgic" fall flat on its face. The band would have a bit more credibility if they did release or play new songs, and until they do they will be known as just yet another re-formed band that is just trotting out 'the old hits' not unlike any of those old 1960's bands such as THE SWINGING BLUE JEANS that go on the road belting out medleys from 'the good old days'.
The sex pistols once played at the venue printed on the shirt (right), this was enough to advertise the top as a 'sex pistols shirt'.
Talking about the PISTOLS recently JOHN LYDON said that "this is not nostalgia" which rings very hollow when the band who have been playing together again for a couple of years now haven't introduced or written one single new song into their 'repertoire' and just rely on songs that are thirty years old for their live shows. Most of the 'copy cat' bands that have re-formed have at least written a few new songs into their sets to pad out their shows and because it enables them to avoid the accusation that they are just living off past glories, yet the PISTOLS have not done the same, and it is this little itty-bitty point that makes the PISTOLS claim of "not being nostalgic" fall flat on its face. The band would have a bit more credibility if they did release or play new songs, and until they do they will be known as just yet another re-formed band that is just trotting out 'the old hits' not unlike any of those old 1960's bands such as THE SWINGING BLUE JEANS that go on the road belting out medleys from 'the good old days'.
If the PISTOLS are everything that they say they are on their website they would make some new music and not just keep pumping out the same songs again and again.
Despite their 'counter culture' image and stance the PISTOLS just look no different from any other old 'artistes' that are trying to cynically squeeze as much money from 'gullible' fans as they can by selling the exact same old material that they sold a million times before, until they release some new songs they will for ever be part of the 'nostalgia gravy train' that everyone from TAKE THAT to SUZI QUATRO and ........(place name there) have jumped on.
I for one would be interested to hear a new SEX PISTOLS record, but it looks like the band are content to just churn out the same old same old which is not only a shame, it reduces the SEX PISTOLS to just a money machine that has no concern for the very people who put the PISTOLS in the place they are in now.
What a sad end for such a great band.
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