In the wake of their final show, the Sex Pistols split, torn apart by addiction, betrayal, and manipulation. John Lydon returned to London, disgusted. Steve Jones and Paul Cook escaped to Rio to record with fugitive Ronnie Biggs. And Sid Vicious, already spiraling, began his final descent in New York.This is the tragic coda to punk’s most dangerous band. From the Chelsea Hotel to Rikers Island, from a heroin-induced coma to an infamous murder charge.The Rise and Fall of Sex Pistols ends here, in blood and handcuffs, and headlines. In this final episode, Gina Birch and Steve Lamacq reflect on the cultural earthquake the Pistols triggered, the lives they changed, and the price they paid.Featuring archive interviews from: Nancy Spungen, Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Malcolm McLaren and Sid Vicious alongside a new interview with Jah Wobble, childhood friend of Vicious and Lydon.Presented by Gina Birch and Steve Lamacq
Written by Philip Smith, with additional writing by Steve Lamacq
Produced by Angela Davies and Philip Smith
Editor for BBC Audio Helen Hobday
Assistant Producer for BBC Nariece Sanderson
Commissioner for BBC Music Will WilkinA BBC Audio ProductionThe producers wish to thank all the contributors and archive interviewers and interviewees.
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7. No Fun. Implosion in the USA.
By the end of 1977, the Sex Pistols sat at the top of the UK charts… while simultaneously hitting rock bottom. Sid Vicious was imploding, his partner Nancy Spungen was fuelling the chaos and Johnny Rotten was growing disillusioned with Malcolm McLaren’s toxic games.Still, the band pushed ahead with a final run of gigs, including an unexpectedly wholesome Christmas Day show for children of striking firefighters. No one knew it then, but it would be their final UK performance for two decades.Then came their first American tour. The Pistols were dropped into the heart of the conservative South. Sid carved into his own chest on stage and Rotten was nearly broken by paranoia. The tour descended into violence, vomit, and blood.And to the end, in San Francisco, with the band on its knees, Johnny Rotten stared down the crowd and asked: “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” With a literal mic drop, he walked off stage, signalling the end of the Sex Pistols.Featuring archive interviews from: Nancy Spungen, Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Malcolm McLaren, Sid Vicious, Sex Pistols’ roadie Stephen 'Roadent' Conolly.Presented by Gina Birch and Steve LamacqA BBC Audio Production
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6. The Album, The Outrage and the Court Case
After the chaos of their Jubilee riverboat stunt and the media storm around God Save the Queen, the Pistols were marked men. Attacked in the streets, vilified in the press, and hated by half the country, Britain’s most notorious band were now public enemy number one.But manager Malcolm McLaren had no intention of retreating. Amid rising paranoia, infighting, and Sid Vicious’s self-destruction, the Pistols did what no one expected: they released one of the most incendiary debut albums of all time - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols.It wasn’t just the music that caused outrage. One word on its cover dragged the band into a landmark obscenity trial that would test the limits of freeEpisode 6 of The Rise and Fall of Sex Pistols is the story of the album that changed British music forever, and how the Sex Pistols took on the law, the tabloids, and the establishment… and won.Featuring archive interviews from: Richard Branson, Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Malcolm McLaren and Sid Vicious alongside a new interview with the legendary photographer Dennis Morris and a cameo appearance from BBC 1 continuity announcer Duncan Newmarch.Presented by Gina Birch and Steve LamacqA BBC Audio Production
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5. Anarchy on the Thames
1977, and as Britain prepared to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, the Sex Pistols were plotting something else entirely. Fresh from being dropped by two major labels, they signed with Virgin Records and unleashed God Save the Queen… a blistering punk anthem that tore into the monarchy and shattered British tradition.It was banned by the BBC, blacklisted from shops, and allegedly kept from reaching Number 1. And then, on Jubilee Day, the Pistols took to the Thames in a now-legendary riverboat stunt that ended with police raids and arrests.Episode 5 is the story of how the Pistols hijacked Britain’s biggest party, declared war on the establishment, and created the most controversial single in UK history.Featuring archive interviews from: Richard Branson, Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Malcolm McLaren and Sid Vicious alongside new interviews with the legendary Sex Pistols official photographer Dennis Morris and groundbreaking bass player Jah Wobble.Presented by Gina Birch and Steve LamacqA BBC Audio Production
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4. Cancelled
In the aftermath of the Bill Grundy interview, the Sex Pistols became Britain’s most notorious band, not for their music, but for the chaos that followed. To some, they were a threat to society itself, and instead of ignoring them, middle England lost its collective mind.Episode 4 of the Rise and Fall of Sex Pistols plunges into the wreckage of that moment: a UK tour collapsing date by date, sackings from two major labels in just six months, and how manager Malcolm McLaren spun outrage into art.From smashed toilets to moral panic, from Caerphilly to Buckingham Palace, this is the story of how doing nothing made the Pistols more famous than ever.Episode 4 features archive interviews from: Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Malcolm McLaren and Sid Vicious alongside a brand-new interview with punk author and historian Chris Sullivan.Presented by Gina Birch and Steve LamacqA BBC Audio Production
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