£25
ISBN13: 9781786751249
HB - 275 x 215 mm
150 full-colour and b&w Illustrations
192pp
Rights: World
Rights Sold: UK, USA, ANZ
Market: Music
Sex Pistols
I Wanna Be Me
Dave Simpson
This definitive history of the Sex Pistols includes over 150 colour and b/w photos and is published to coincide with the forthcoming 6-part series, Pistol, created by Danny Boyle, which will be released in 2022 on FX on Hulu in the United States and as a Star Original on Disney+ internationally.
Amidst the chaos that was the Sex Pistols, it's often forgotten just what a powerful band they were, and what great records they made. The Sex Pistols were no ordinary group.
Their story might be short, and not without its casualties, but their legacy is undoubted; one listen to their ferocious, raw rock and roll will soon tell you that. Without them, popular culture in the last 30+ years would be very, very different. The Pistols didn't just kick down doors; they trashed the music industry's house. For a band who (really) only released one album and four incandescent singles - Anarchy in the U.K., God Save the Queen, Pretty Vacant and Holidays in the Sun - they gave birth to a sea of imitators and inspired a DIY aesthetic still alive today. Not bad for a band that 'couldn't play'.
Despite claims from New York, the Sex Pistols were the true originators of punk; no one else had their attitude, balls, or honesty - as inspired by anger and poverty, as art and poetry. There was the Sex Pistols and there was the rest. The Sex Pistols ARE punk; the rest are 'punk rock'.
Dave Simpson writes for the Guardian, Uncut and others, having written for various titles during a 31-year career. His books include The Fallen: Life In And Out Of Britain's Most Insane Group (about the Fall), a Sunday Times and Observer music book of the year. He lives in Yorkshire.
'Engaging and well-researched… a great stocking filler for anyone in the new generation just getting into the Sex Pistols.'
Everett True, Classic Rock
'While most offer historic insight, this also provides a contemporary context and background, giving the reader a sense of perspective for events that happened 45-plus years ago. You really get a sense of what it was like to be in a band with a manager constantly looking for the controversy angle and the frustrations from within over not being able to gig or put a record out, while others stole a march over the vanguards of the punk movement.'
Dom Warwick, Vive Le Rock