Steve Jones has never been afraid to share his opinion, even regarding his famous band.
During a recent appearance on the Rockonteurs podcast, the guitarist revealed he was never on board with the Sex Pistols’ name.
“I actually didn’t like the name Sex Pistols,” Jones confessed. “I thought it sounded fruity to me.”
Despite his reservations about the moniker, the guitarist reluctantly accepted the Sex Pistols name. He credited the band’s manager, Malcolm McLaren, for helping hone the punk group’s image – but dispelled rumors that McLaren influenced their material.
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“There’s this stupid thing that goes around these days, that we’re like a boy band, and he was just pulling the strings,” Jones noted. “It’s such nonsense. He had nothing to do with the music, Malcolm. Nothing, zero.
“Don’t get me wrong. Malcolm played a big part. He played a massive part,” Jones continued. “Without a doubt. I don’t care what anyone says. And it was what it was. There was no leader [in the Sex Pistols]. I know John [Lydon] and Malcolm started butting heads because they’re kind of similar personality-wise.”
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Sex Pistols famously combusted in January 1978 during a tour of the U.S. Tensions within the band were at an all-time high, exacerbated by the drug abuse of bassist Sid Vicious.
“By the time we got to America and ended in America, there was definitely … I’d had enough,” Jones admitted. Still, when Sex Pistols officially broke up, the guitarist didn’t sit around moping. Instead, he looked to McLaren for advice.
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“I thought, Come on, Malcolm, what are we going to do?” Jones recalled. “As much as I want to think that Malcolm wasn’t looking after us, I didn’t care. He was my guy to go to. I would follow him rather than John.”
In the wake of the band’s breakup, McLaren arranged recording sessions for Jones and Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook in Brazil. Notorious English criminal Ronnie Biggs joined the musicians and performed vocals on the song “No One Is Innocent.” It was released in June 1978 and credited to Sex Pistols.
According to Jones, the experience was “brilliant.” “That was fun,” he recalled of the Sex Pistols’ brief post-breakup existence. “Then I became really messed up on dope. And then it just all went out the window.”
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
