Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones recently sat down with TNT Magazine to talk about the longevity of the band’s influence and what made them such a phenomenon in the first place. A couple of excerpts from the chat can be found below.
Jones said that it wasn’t just the band’s attitude and controversial lyrics that made the Sex Pistols one of the most loved and hated bands on the planet during the late seventies: “The biggest misconception is that we couldn’t play. We were a tight band and we could play with the best of them – The Who, The Beatles or the Rolling Stones.”
He added that the band’s seemingly simplistic approach to their music playing and writing has rarely, if ever been emulated: “People think we just went in there and made a racket. The truth is, when you get other bands trying to emulate the Pistols, they never do it right. It’s about the four guys who did the record, you can’t imitate it. Whenever we go on the road and do reunions, we’re tight. We’re a tight rock group.”
Despite having only ever released one studio album, 1977s ‘Never Mind The Bollocks,’ the Sex Pistols remain among the most influential and popular punk bands of all time. “I like the fact we only did one record and we were only around for three years,” Jones said. “The fact that we had such an impact is an achievement in itself.”
Jones said that ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ was a product of a hard and oppressive time, not unlike today: “I was young, 21 years old, didn’t really have clue what was going on. It was a time when no one had jobs and the country was a mess, pretty much like it is now. It’s like its gone full circle.”
However, Jones attained that there should be a new band to represent the voice of a new generation: “There ain’t been a movement for a few years…I’m tired of people just using us 35 years later as the ones who got up and said something about what was happening.”
He concluded: “There’s always certain bands and records that will appeal to people growing up and the Pistols are one of those bands that you’ve got to check out. That spirit, that ’punk’ ethos – hopefully, that’s the way people are thinking.”