It could be argued that the real revolution for the youth of the world happened when the first rock ‘n’ roll records came out in the 1950’s.
Two decades after that initial rush thins had gotten a little flabby, the charts full of a lot of disposable candyfloss pop and novelty records that were initially sweet but soon disappeared totally and the arenas and stadiums full of multi-platinum millionaires.
Society was tough in the UK and living an uphill struggle, strikes, blackouts, four day weeks and mindless entertainment for the masses numbing senses, the youth of the country looking at a bleak future of more than the same. Somewhere in London though things were happening and four unruly yobs came together to put two fingers up to ‘polite’ society and intent to tear it down, their weapon of choice guitars, drums and microphones. Punk was born.
Here we are, five decades later and the Forum is heaving with people desperate to see the biggest and most notorious band of them all: the Sex Pistols. There’d been some reticence to call this officially a Pistols tour but with three of the four members onstage together and the fiery Frank Carter replacing the somewhat fractious John Lydon, it was all but the Pistols in name and frankly, everyone knew what they were getting.

There was no effort to hide the fact and why should they, as they’ve so richly earned it, the dates that started off with a tentative get together to fundraise for Bush Hall in guitarist Steve Jones’s home manor and then growing into a short tour that sold out in record time. With the initials NMTB emblazoned on Paul Cook’s drums, this was a night to witness the playing of one of the most iconic albums of all time, bass player Glen Matlock making up the four horsemen of this apocalypse.
It’s difficult to fully appreciate just how much ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ changed society and those songs that tapped into the zeitgeist of the day sound just as magnificent now as they ever have done. What seemed a barrage of noise to some at the time, now are anthems that brim with melody and huge hooks, great examples of songwriting skills that had some of the most vitriolic lyrics to ever upset Mary Whitehouse and company.
This was an audience ready to sing every word and pronounce every snarling syllable as the cares and woes of the outside world was forgotten for one evening as sixty-year-old punks relieved those riotous days and were stood side by side with teenagers who wanted to see the kings of the movement. With the world in its current state, there has seen a rise in new punk bands coming through to kick against the pricks and stand up for what is right, but none can match the fury of the Sex Pistols in full flight.

Carter has been a brilliant choice as frontman, his physicality and attitude unburdened by the weight of his public image and undoubted joy at being on stage with the band making him perfect in his role. Of course, he has the vocal chops too and delivers the songs with a passion that captures the spirit and the spit of the originals. Seemingly spending almost as much time in the audience as on the stage, the singer crowd surfs, dives off of stairs and climbs into the mass of bodies to sing with alarming regularity, the connection total. Whilst he’s off on his journeys, the three legendary musicians are nailing every song, Cook’s drumming furious, Matlock’s bass throbbing and the guitar of Jones peeling out the staccato riffs with the tight but loose feel they’ve always had. Things might be a little more finessed and professional these days but make no mistake, this is serious stuff and the barely controlled power threatens to spill out into a raging ball of fire at any time.

‘Holiday in the Sun’ opens and the crowd immediately becomes a sea of leaping, singing and sweating souls, all there to have the time of their lives as each new number ramps up the temperature even further. The whole of ‘…Bollocks’ is played and with incendiary material like ‘Pretty Vacant’, ‘Bodies’ and ‘Satellite’ the gloves are most definitely off. Whilst the music is as spiky as ever, there’s also a more welcoming atmosphere, compared with the bristling barbs of the past and sneers are replaced by smiles, Carter making sure the women in the audience have a safe space to dance and jump about and a general air that is more familial than violent.
A thunderous ‘Submission’ and Stooges cover ‘No Fun’ are amongst the many peaks but the sheer balls of ‘E.M.I.’ lands a crushing, knock out blow as it closes the set. With an inevitable encore, the four return to run through their take on ‘My Way’ before the night finishes once and for all on a joyously brutal ‘Anarchy in the U.K.’ that can’t be topped. Carter has been a revelation tonight, some saying that his performance bests anything that Lydon has done for years but, true or not, it can’t be forgotten that the Sex Pistols have built their own monumental reputation since those early days of explosive attitudes, kinetic performances, eviscerating material and revolutionary action. As Cook, Jones and Matlock stand on stage, the singer introduces his bandmates as “the greatest punk band in the world”. He’s not wrong and lets all hope there’s more ‘Bollocks’ to come.
Review by Justin Marque for MPM
Photography by Nik Reynolds / Sophie Jones / Jason Millerca