Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
Pretty Vacant (1977)
They were only around for a few years, but the Sex Pistols got a lot done in a short period of time. They were hugely influential on just about all the punk bands who followed in their wake, in sound, look and attitude.
The Pistols grew out of the band The Strand, which was formed in 1972 in London by teenagers Steve Jones (vocals), Paul Cook (drums) and Wally Nightingale (guitar). In late 1974, Jones asked Malcolm McLaren, who ran a London fashion shop, to manage the band.
Glen Matlock joined as bassist and Nightingale was out of the group, replaced on guitar by Jones, who was uncomfortable as the singer. McLaren began searching for a replacement, but was rejected by Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls, Midge Ure and Richard Hell. The name Sex Pistols was chosen and eventually, John "Rotten" Lydon was hired. The band started working up songs with Rotten writing lyrics and Matlock writing the melodies.
The first song the band wrote was "Pretty Vacant," written by Matlock. Eventually, it ended up on the band's 1977 debut Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols
"There's no point in asking, you'll get no reply/Oh just remember I don't decide/I got no reason it's all too much/You'll always find us/Out to lunch/Oh we're so pretty/Oh so pretty/We've vacant/Oh we're so pretty/Oh so pretty/Vacant."
The main riff was inspired by ABBA's "SOS." In a 2022 interview with Uncut, Matlock said, "I took inspiration from Richard Hell's 'Blank Generation.' But I kind of misunderstood what his song was all about. You gotta put the songs in the context of what was going on for a bloke like me in mid-'70s London, with the three-day week and the IRA bombings and power cuts, against the fact I was a young man who met some interesting people who was trying to form a rock 'n roll band. 'Pretty Vacant' is a primal scream kind of thing. We don't know what we're gonna do, but we're gonna do it anyway."
Matlock was kicked out of the band in February 1977, although the reason was debated. McLaren and Jones both said it was because Matlock liked the Beatles, but Matlock said later it was because of his deteriorating relationship with Rotten. Matlock was replaced a friend of Rotten's, Sid Vicious, who had previously been the drummer in Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Flowers of Romance. Vicious had the punk look the band wanted, but he couldn't play his instrument very well. The Pistols made a video for "Pretty Vacant" at ITN studios in London in July 1977.
"Don't ask us to attend, 'cause we're not all there/Oh don't pretend 'cause I don't care/I don't believe illusions 'cause too much is real/So stop your cheap comment, 'cause we know what we feel/Oh we're so pretty/Oh so pretty/We're vacant/Oh we're so pretty/Oh so pretty/Vacant/Oh we're so pretty/Oh so pretty/Ah but now/And we don't care."
"Pretty Vacant" hit #6 on the U.K. Singles chart, gaining attention for Rotten's intentional phrasing of the word "vacant" to sound like the c-word. The album went to #1 in the U.K. and #106 in the U.S.
The Pistols ran into obscenity complains in the U.K. because of the title of the album and profanity in certain songs like "Bodies." The band played a U.K. tour where half of the eight shows were canceled, and then in early 1978, there was a U.S. tour that was cut short after seven shows. The band was dealing with infighting and visa problems, as well as Vicious' problems with heroin. Meanwhile, Rotten was having problems with Jones and Cook, had a falling out with McLaren and was disgusted by Vicious and his antics.
Rotten announced the band's breakup on January 18, 1978. Cook, Jones and Vicious didn't play any live shows after Rotten left, but McLaren pushed ahead with a Pistols film project. Rotten changed his name back to John Lydon and formed Public Image Ltd. with former Clash member Keith Levene and friend Jah Wobble. Meanwhile, Vicious attempted to launch a solo career with his girlfriend Nancy Spungen as his manager, recording an album backed up by members of the New York Dolls. On October 12, Spungen was found stabbed to death and Vicious was arrested for her murder. He was out on bail when he smashed a beer mug in the face of Patti Smith's brother and was arrested, spending nearly two months in Rikers Island prison. He was released on bail on February 1, 1979, and died of a heroin overdose the next day.
McLaren released the movie The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle in 1980, in which he claims to have created the Pistols and invented punk rock. Cook and Jones started the Professionals in 1980, after which Jones played with Chequered Past and the Neurotic Outsiders, as well recorded two solo albums. Jones has been hosting the radio show Jonesy's Jukebox on Los Angeles radio stations for the last 20 years. Matlock played with a number of bands, including the Rich Kids and Iggy Pop. Lydon's band Public Image Ltd. was fairly successful in the '80s and '90s.
In 1996, the original members of the Pistols reunited for a six-month tour and Julien Temple directed the 2000 documentary The Filth and the Fury based on it. The band has played shows in 2003, 2007 and 2008.
The origins of punk are diverse and interesting, but there's no doubt the Pistols were one of the first bands to bring punk to the mainstream, even when it was just getting a show canceled because venues were too afraid to book them.
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