Seems like that motley group of aging individuals
calling themselves the Sex Pistols must have read my
column last week. They too are trying to relive their
lost youth. Why else could they possible be re-
forming? No, no, I don't mean reforming as in taking
tea with the vicar on a Sunday, I mean reforming, re-
grouping, re-banding. Simple really, they want to be 18
again. Heaven forbid they should be doing it for the
money.
Have they thought about the effect this reunion and
Pistols 96 tour will have on their fans of the 70's?
20 years on, we're not likely to start using bin liners
as anti-fashion statements again when we've been
putting the trash out in them, and the safety pins
that were once stuck in our noses now pin our shirts
and hems up instead. It makes me wonder what kind of
fan will go to see the Pistols this time around, can
you imagine ravers trying to pogo? Will they even want
to?
People will be flocking to see the Pistols, but for
novelty value only. They're not established enough to
be rock dinosaurs; just cave men - grunting, spitting,
puking and dying. In Lydon's autobiography he states
that he so dislikes the other members of the band that
he isn't even on speaking terms with them, yet here
they all are, ready to go on the stage together again,
ready to take the money together again. Another great
rock and roll swindle. Never mind the singing, here's
the pay cheque.
But maybe the Pistols 96 is what the rock industry
needs? Perhaps we need a 40 something in spiked hair
and torn jeans snarling at the audience to shake up and
shock rock culture again. When Jarvis Cocker rushed
the stage at the Brit Awards when Messiah Jackson was
acting his heart out, I cheered, it saved me rushing at
my TV instead. I think rock culture is ready for
another change, but I don't think the Pistols will do
it. The Pistols have had their day and that day is
over. They've had their moment of fame and they puked
on it. Come on boys, you followed David Bowie's lead
in the beginning and you can do it again now. Grow old
gracefully.
Glenda Young is also the writer of the
weekly Coronation
Street Update on the net, and can be contacted at:
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