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The Sex Pistols weren’t just the world's most notorious punk band; they were avatars for a generation fed up with convention and conservatism. Their 1978 debut album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols, effectively made them enemies of the British Empire, but the controversy only made them cooler to a fresh crop of punks who followed. For this special tribute, Rolling Stone has collected our best interviews with the band from over the past 45 years, as well as a treasure trove of archival photos. We talked to inheritors like Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong about the Pistols’ enduring impact. We ran through their greatest songs, and even took a look at how the Sex Pistols influenced punk fashion across the decades. Read on and relive the anarchy.
The original lineup of the Sex Pistols, February 1976: Glen Matlock, Johnny Rotten (a.k.a. John Lydon), Steve Jones, and Paul Cook (from left).
The Pistols at Dunstable's Queensway Hall, Oct. 21, 1976. They'd soon become notorious in England following a profane appearance on “The Grundy Show.”
The Pistols with new bassist Sid Vicious on the streets of Holland in early 1977.
The Pistols turned the signing of their A&M contract into a public spectacle by staging it outside Buckingham Palace. “God Save the Queen” would soon follow.
Johnny Rotten leaving court after being fined for drug possession on March 11, 1977. He's standing alongside manager Malcom McLaren
The Pistols collect a £75,000 check from A&M after being fired over their outrageous behavior. Malcolm McLaren called a press conference to show them collecting a check for doing nothing.
The Pistols prepare for a show in De Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands, on Dec. 9, 1977.
In early 1978, the group headed to America, where it played a series of wild bar shows in remote markets — like Randy's Rodeo Nightclub in San Antonio.
The American fans had little patience for the Pistols and pummeled them with garbage at several shows.
Steve Jones and Sid Vicious in a U.S. hotel room on their last tour.
Drummer Paul Cook sprays talcum powder around a hotel room in the States.
Sid Vicious often cut his chest with glass to shock audiences. He carved "Gimme a Fix" into himself before this show.
The final gig before the Pistols broke up: the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on Jan. 14, 1978.
American punk provocateur Hellin Killer, of L.A. band the Plungers, tends to Sid Vicious the day after the final Sex Pistols gig.
Take a glimpse behind the scenes of FX’s Pistol, a limited series about a band who changed music and culture forever.
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The original lineup of the Sex Pistols, February 1976: Glen Matlock, Johnny Rotten (a.k.a. John Lydon), Steve Jones, and Paul Cook (from left).
The Pistols at Dunstable's Queensway Hall, Oct. 21, 1976. They'd soon become notorious in England following a profane appearance on “The Grundy Show.”
The Pistols with new bassist Sid Vicious on the streets of Holland in early 1977.
The Pistols turned the signing of their A&M contract into a public spectacle by staging it outside Buckingham Palace. “God Save the Queen” would soon follow.
Johnny Rotten leaving court after being fined for drug possession on March 11, 1977. He's standing alongside manager Malcom McLaren
The Pistols collect a £75,000 check from A&M after being fired over their outrageous behavior. Malcolm McLaren called a press conference to show them collecting a check for doing nothing.
The Pistols prepare for a show in De Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands, on Dec. 9, 1977.
In early 1978, the group headed to America, where it played a series of wild bar shows in remote markets — like Randy's Rodeo Nightclub in San Antonio.
The American fans had little patience for the Pistols and pummeled them with garbage at several shows.
Steve Jones and Sid Vicious in a U.S. hotel room on their last tour.
Drummer Paul Cook sprays talcum powder around a hotel room in the States.
Sid Vicious often cut his chest with glass to shock audiences. He carved "Gimme a Fix" into himself before this show.
The final gig before the Pistols broke up: the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on Jan. 14, 1978.
American punk provocateur Hellin Killer, of L.A. band the Plungers, tends to Sid Vicious the day after the final Sex Pistols gig.
