Sex Pistols
United Kingdom, 1975–1978
London band formed in 1975 around Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones and manager Malcolm McLaren. Their single run and the album Never Mind the Bollocks (1977) made them the public face of British punk.
MusicRoots documents 2 artists who influenced Sex Pistols and 12 artists Sex Pistols influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Sex Pistols?
- The Stooges — Iggy Pop and the Stooges were the Pistols' model of punk stagecraft.
- Ramones — The Ramones' tours and records spurred the British punk scene.
Which artists did Sex Pistols influence?
- Buzzcocks — Shelley and Devoto formed Buzzcocks after seeing the Sex Pistols and booked the Pistols' famous 1976 Manchester gig, opening for them.
- Bad Brains — Discovering the Sex Pistols drove Bad Brains' about-face from fusion to punk — applying their jazz dexterity to hardcore.
- Minor Threat — Ian MacKaye's entry into punk was the records friends lent him in 1978 — the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks foremost.
- Joy Division — Seeing the Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall on 4 June 1976 directly caused the members to form a band.
- Mötley Crüe — The Crüe covered 'Anarchy in the U.K.' on Decade of Decadence — Sixx has named punk's energy half of the band's formula.
- Oasis — The Pistols' arrogance and directness are the other documented half of the Oasis formula Liam has claimed.
- The Clash — The Sex Pistols were the immediate spark — Joe Strummer quit the 101ers to form the Clash after seeing the Pistols in April 1976, and the two bands drove British punk together.
- Siouxsie and the Banshees — Siouxsie came out of the Bromley Contingent of Pistols devotees — the Banshees debuted at the 100 Club punk festival the Pistols headlined.
- Green Day — The Sex Pistols' snotty energy was foundational to the punk Green Day carried into the mainstream.
- Manic Street Preachers — The Sex Pistols' incendiary punk is at the root of the Manics' confrontational attitude and noise.
- Hanoi Rocks — The UK punk half of what Hanoi Rocks welded together, with the Damned and Generation X.
- The Libertines — One of the four acts Pete Doherty named as his principal inspiration.