The Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls

The Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls both spawned some of the most iconic punk rock songs. Their raucous sperm ejaculated into an unprepared music world, kicking off the punk revolution.

Sadly, their short and twisted careers were over before they could fully achieve their potential. But their influence stayed with us.
The New York Dolls

The New York Dolls were a flamboyant, cross-dressing antidote to the fussy arena rock then dominating America's mass rock scene. They toured Europe and were on television in Britain, where their androgynous wardrobe of high heels, eccentric hats and make-up was a huge hit. They sparked an explosion of fan interest that saw them influenced by the Ramones, Kiss and the Sex Pistols.

The Dolls were formed in 1970, when Billy Murcia and Sylvain Sylvain started playing music together. They later recruited Johnny Thunders on bass, who had formerly been in a band called the Pox.

They signed a deal with Mercury Records and released their debut, 'New York Dolls' in 1973. Their first single, 'Jet Boy', quickly became a Top 40 hit in the US and helped launch their career. The band's second album, 'Too Much Too Soon', was produced by George 'Shadow' Morton, but it failed to catapult the Dolls into the mainstream of the rock business.

When the band reformed in 2004, only two of its original members were still alive: singer David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain. They teamed up with Arthur "Killer" Kane and they recorded a second album, 'Cause I Sez So' in 2009.

With this release, Sylvain and Johansen have returned to their band roots to present 14 tracks of raw and unrestrained rock that is true to the original spirit of the New York Dolls. The result is a record that maintains the bands unique cocktail of trash, glam and attitude and which is sure to delight any fan of their back catalogue.

While the Dolls were never a commercial success, they were influential and had an effect on many other bands. Their sleazy, cross-dressing look was a key part of the glam rock movement and their music influenced the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Kiss and Guns N' Roses.

Despite the band's early death, their influence continues to this day. The Sex Pistols have incorporated the Dolls' song 'Jet Boy' into their latest album, and the Dolls themselves have even spawned a line of dolls, with each doll having a name and corresponding story.

Their resurgence is thanks to Morrissey, former President of the Dolls' UK fan club, who urged them to reunite. He subsequently invited them to play the Meltdown festival in London.

As a result, the Dolls re-formed in 2004 and played their first gig at London's Royal Festival Hall that year. The band re-recorded several of their most popular songs and included a cover version of the Beatles' 'A Day In The Life'.

They re-released their debut album in 2006. It was not as successful, but sales did pick up after the group toured Europe.

The New York Dolls are not just the last remaining link to a legendary rock legacy, they are also the last link to a very specific time in the history of American culture. They were a band that represented everything wrong with American society, and it was the Dolls' unique combination of trash, glam and attitude that helped shape the rock scene that exists today.
The Sex Pistols

If there's a single band that epitomizes all the best of the early punk movement, it's the Sex Pistols. The scrappy London five-piece -- Johnny Rotten (vocals), John Lydon (guitar), Glen Matlock (bass), Paul Cook (drums), and Jerry Nolan (keyboards) -- was a proto-punk group that upended expectations and spoke to an audience waiting for something new.

The Sex Pistols' ferocious, sneering vocals and pointed lyrics broke with the established norms of rock frontmen in the '70s, and they were unafraid to attack everything around them. Even as the media branded them pariahs, their sound and image upended expectations of what punk could be.

McLaren, who had taken over management duties in 1974, began a campaign to sell the Sex Pistols to the American market. He tried to convince Warner Bros. to sign the group, and was prepared to make a movie about them.

As part of his efforts, he hired an unknown young man called John Lydon to be the band's frontman. He had a ragged appearance, with bleached hair and a homemade "I HATE Pink Floyd" T-shirt, but the band members soon fell in love with Lydon's raspy, sneering voice.

When McLaren replaced John with Sid Vicious, the band's bassist, in February 1977, the change was greeted with disapproval by most of the Pistols. Not only was Vicious a poor musician, but his mental health and drug addiction were rapidly deteriorating.

During the band's first tour of America in 1978, Vicious engaged in fights and disgusting incidents, and the band's instruments were out of tune and out of sync. Their manager admitted that he had booked the shows in places and venues which usually wouldn't have been considered for international tours, to create a hostile environment.

A&M Records signed the group to a contract in March, and plans were made to rush the release of their next single, "God Save the Queen," which was to be released on the same day as the Queen's Golden Jubilee. But the Sex Pistols dissolved following their first U.S. tour, and Vicious' heroin addiction eventually led to his death.

In 1996, the original four members of the Sex Pistols reunited for a six-month tour. The Filthy Lucre Tour brought the band to North and South America, Australia, and Japan.

Since then, the group has toured periodically. The most recent live performance was in 2007 at the Brixton Academy in London.

Although their music remains simple, raw and punky, the Sex Pistols' impact is still immense. Their sneering, snarling rock helped to break down the barriers between pop and punk, influencing an entire generation.

After a brief hiatus, the Sex Pistols have reformed to perform in England, Europe, and the United States in 2002 and 2006. Their latest album is titled There'll Always Be an England, and it is available on CD and download.
Never Mind the Bollocks

If you're a punk fan, Never Mind the Bollocks is one of your essential albums. It's a cornerstone of British punk and one of the most influential rock albums of all time. It also inspired a law suit against the band and Virgin Records that spawned one of the most famous rock music controversies in history.

In 1977, the Sex Pistols released their debut album, Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols, and it was a huge success. It was a number one record in the UK and the band had become a household name. However, many record shop owners did not want to sell the album because of its title: it was illegal to use the word "bollocks" in the UK and the album's title referred to testicles. In November of 1977, the police arrested the owner of a Virgin Records store in Nottingham and threatened to fine him for displaying the album in his shop window.

Despite the negative publicity, the album went on to sell more than 2 million copies and made it to number one in the UK charts. The album's success was due in large part to a PR campaign by the band and Virgin. The campaign drew a lot of attention to the band and prompted many people to take up punk music seriously.

But the album was not without flaws. It had a weak songwriting and some questionable production. Nevertheless, it was the most popular punk album of all time, and the title track is still considered a classic.

The album has four singles: Did You No Wrong, Submission, Bodies and Submitting, the last of which is my favourite track from the record. It's a classic example of the mangy, dangerous CBGB-era sound that was at the heart of the Pistols' early work.

It's also a perfect example of how the band could be an eargasm for fans, as reflected by its raging guitar hook. This could have been the kind of spray-the-suburbs, riff-lashing of the sort that would make it a crowd-pleasing live staple.

But it's a shame that this song didn't see more exposure. It could have been a major breakthrough, particularly with the way Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones artfully ricochet off each other and race beside Cook's clubbing drums to deliver the most ferocious of sex pistols. sex doll australia

Sadly, Rotten's lyrics veer into a nasty vilification of a fan who organized an early Pistols show outside London and ran afoul of the singer during a brief affair. She subsequently founded the Nipple Erectors, a band that also featured Pogues leader Shane McGowan.

The Sex Pistols broke up in 1979, but their legacy is a rich one. There are now a wide variety of bootlegs and compilations that repackage material from the band's brief career. Some of these are by fans and even feature musicians not associated with the band.