It’s hard for me to believe this, but today is the 43rd anniversary of The Sex Pistols infamous appearance on Today with Bill Grundy in Britain.
If you’re not familiar with this story, The Sex Pistols were booked on the British Today Show at the last minute after Queen cancelled due to Freddie Mercury having a tooth infection. Both Grundy and the band were drunk and the show quickly escalated into the two camps insulting each other and guitarist Steve Jones calling Grundy a “dirty fucker” and “a fucking rotter.”
While that doesn’t seem so outrageous today, back in the pre-internet times it created a huge scandal and landed The Sex Pistols on the front pages of papers all over Britain and elsewhere and pretty much put them on the map.
Below are six links to online articles about this famous day in punk rock history and there’s a link to a video with Johnny Rotten, Glen Matlock and the Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm McLaren all talking about the TV show appearance.
Below that are the MBIP Coming Attractions for next week.
What happened when the Sex Pistols appeared on the Bill Grundy show - This all-inclusive article tells the whole story complete with a video of the show and the infamous Daily Mirror, “Filth And The Fury!” front page story that exploded the next day.
The Bill Grundy Interview (Transcript of the show) - Here’s the transcript of the entire interview.
Grundy Banned - Thames Television suspended host Bill Grundy for goading the band into the obscene comments and charging him for, “sloppy journalism.” He eventually lost his job and never regained the broadcasting status he once had in Britain.
Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones Looks Back: ‘It Just Seemed Doomed’ - Steve Jones mentions the show in this great Rolling Stone interview.
The Filth And The Fury! How Sex Pistols Sparked A Media Outrage - This article is about how the media kept putting the Sex Pistols in the spotlight back then.
A Timeline of Punk Music History - This has nothing to do with the Bill Grundy episode, but it’s a nice timeline of punk rock starting back in Detroit with the MC5 and The Stooges.
The Sex Pistols Bill Grundy Interview story - Johnny Rotten, Glen Matlock and the Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm McLaren discuss this famous moment in punk rock history.
Monday: It’s that time of year, time for the fifth annual holiday drink contest at The Fish House! This time bartender Paul goes up against the owner of the Fish House, Justin! Will Paul finally win one of these contests? Tune in tomorrow to find out!
Tuesday: The Popeyes Chicken Sandwich is back and I went and tried one for the 53rd week of the MBIP 13 month chicken tour. Find out if I think it lives up to all the hype that surrounds this fowl sandwich!
Wednesday: The Kristkindlmarkt of Peoria is happening today at the Lindenhof of Peoria and I’m going and taking the MBIP Camera. I’ll feature photos from this fun holiday happening on Wednesday.
Thursday: I’m taking a short break from the blog on Thursday because I’m doing a Marty Monologues Xmas show at Lit. On Fire Used Books on Thursday December 12th and I’m not prepared for that at all! So I’ll be back on Saturday, December 14th.
It’s December…how the fuck did that happen? Have a wonderful and funderful Sunday and we’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: Sunday Links: Planes, Trains & Automobiles, All The President’s Men and Rolling Stone’s 52nd Anniversary.