If the Sex Pistols never broke up

 If the Sex Pistols never broke up

Sex Pistols, one of the most influential bands in history, only left us with one proper studio album (and Swindle). I was curious to see if I could attempt to make a fantasy timeline where they make more than 1 album. This is by far the most unreleastic timeline I have ever made, so don't take this too seriously, it's all just something silly in the end! The main problem was, 1. John's solo career is so vastly different from his work with the Pistols that I just couldn't work with them really, and 2. the rest of the members' careers are very sporadic and it was hard for me to find periods where all of them made music during a similar period. Without further ado, here is the timeline where the Sex Pistols never broke up.

Sex Pistols - The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle (1978)

After their last show, it was getting clear that either John or Malcolm had to go. They couldn't agree on a single thing, and Malcolm wanting to make a film didn't help the matter. In January of 1978, after the Winterland show, Sex Pistols left Malcolm's management and returned to London. They began work on a new studio album, but a new problem started to arise. Although the band had come up with a few songs during that time, such as Belsen Was A Gas and This Is Religion, former being played at many shows during 1977 and 1978, and the latter (called Sod In Heaven at the time) being hinted at during a radio interview with Sid and John just before their Winterland show, John was becoming more and more unhappy with his position in the group. He had later stated that the rest of the band would give him a tune to write lyrics on top of, and they wouldn't think twice about what John was singing. With only 6 songs completed, John abruptly left the band. With no lead singer, the remaining members seeked help from Malcolm once again for direction. Malcolm came up with the brilliant idea of using older demos of the band and overdubbing it to make it seem like the group was still together with Johnny. Thus, they pulled 7 cover songs they recorded in 1976 during a Dave Goodman studio session and interspliced it with the songs that were already complete. Ironically, the song Public Image, which was intended to be a diss towards Malcolm, ended up on the same album Malcolm helped put together.

1. Belsen Was A Gas
2. Johnny B. Goode
3. Roadrunner
4. Attack [PiL]
5. Substitute
6. Low Life [PiL]
7. Watcha Gonna Do About It?

1. This Is Religion (Sex Pistols Mix) [PiL]
2. Don't Give Me No Lip, Child
3. This Is Not A Love Song (Sex Pistols Mix) [PiL]
4. (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone
5. Public Image [PiL]

Sex Pistols - The Swindle Continues (1980)

The band's second album made quite an impact in the media, with the controversies around the song Belsen Was A Gas being about a jewish death camp, and John reportedly wanting to sue the band, however non of these posed a real threat to the group in the long run. The Pistols began work on their third studio album, this time inviting original bassist Glen Matlock and original producer Dave Goodman into the band. Steve knew that Glen's musical abilities were something they need to pulled the band back together after John's departure. Unlike their previous two albums, this record featured songs with lead vocals from all five members. Paul and Steve actively worked on new songs together, whilst Glen had a substantial amount of material as well. Dave Goodman reworked his old project the Ex Pistols into songs they could perform for this album. And finally, Sid was given cover songs, all being punk rock versions of oldies. Whilst Paul, Glen, and Steve brought a new sound to the Pistols, Dave Goodman and his abilities to write songs that sounded scarily like Never Mind The Bollocks gave a familiar sound to the album for the older Pistols fans. During the making of this album, Sid Vicious died of a drug overdose. This was on top of the fact that we was arrested just months prior for the death of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Now with both John and Sid gone, the band was really unsure of where to head from there. The remaining members agreed they would finish the album as a tribute to Sid, whilst also mixing the three songs he was able to sing on. When John was asked to comment on this album, he simply stated "No comment".

1. Land Of Hope & Glory [Ex-Pistols (Dave)]
2. C'Mon Everybody [Sid]
3. Black Leather [Steve]
4. Cheap Emotions [Rich Kids (Glen)]
5. Silly Thing [Paul]
6. Lonely Boy [Steve]
7. Something Else [Sid]

1. Schools Are Prisonsy [Ex-Pistols (Dave)]
2. Burning Sounds [Rich Kids (Glen)]
3. Don't Feary [Ex-Pistols (Dave)]
4. Friggin' In The Riggin' [Steve]
5. The Swindle Continuesy [Ex-Pistols (Dave)]
6. Here We Go Again [Steve]
7. My Way [Sid]

Sex Pistols - I Didn't See It Coming (1981)

Sid's death took a toll on everyone in the group. To most, he WAS the Sex Pistol. The members agreed that continuing on like this may not be the best decision. The band attempted to re-brand themselves as "The Professionals", however this quickly fell through when their label Virgin Records forced the band to release music under Sex Pistols. In defeat, the Pistols made their fourth and final album at the time. The songs had even less character than before, and many suspected most of the tracks to be leftovers from The Swindle Continues. It certainly did not help that Steve had a heroin problem and could not concentrate on making the album. The album's poor reception was also due to the two throwaway tracks from Sid's previous live shows. Some theorized that this was for marketing and the belief that putting Sid's name on the record would boost sales. Others thought this was simply because they didn't have enough songs to finish the record. Nevertheless, after the album was finished and release, the group attempted to go back to performing live. Whilst on the American leg of their tour, Steve Jones made the decision of staying in America, thus breaking up the already fragile band.

1. Little Boys In Blue [The Professionals (Steve)]
2. Hung On You [Rich Kids (Glen)]
3. Revolution In The Classroom [Ex-Pistols (Dave)]
4. Rich Kids [Rich Kids (Glen)]
5. 1 2 3 [The Professionals (Steve)]
6. I Wanna Be Your Dog (Live) [Sid]

1. Just Another Dream [The Professionals (Steve)]
2. Burning Sounds [Rich Kids (Glen)]
3. Judging Minds [Ex-Pistols (Dave)]
4. Mods Skins Punks [The Professionals (Steve)]
5. Bullet Proof Lover [Rich Kids (Glen)]
6. Search And Destroy (Live) [Sid]

Sex Pistols - Filthy Lucre (1997)

It had been more than a decade since the Sex Pistols disbanded, and all the members had gone on to have solo careers. Lydon started his own band Public Image Ltd., named after the 1978 Pistols track, and had been making albums at a steady pace with styles ranging from experimental to disco. Paul Cook decided to finish the Professionals project Steve had been working on before he left for America. The resulting album was made up of leftover tracks by Steve and Paul that they never finished until that point, and was released under the name "The Professionals". The album recieved mixed reviews, with the most positive praise being "not the worst punk breakup record I've heard". Matlock tried to form different bands after the Pistols, but it didn't really lead anywhere. He later started playing bass for other artists like Iggy Pop and The Damned. Finally, Steve Jones managed to break free from his drug problems during the mid 80s, and released two solo albums, featuring his dive into hard rock.  This leads us to 1996, where nothing was really happening anymore. Glen, Paul, and Steve all haven't worked on a new album for years by that point and even Lydon's Public Image Ltd had since broken up. With the members in dire need of some quick cash, the Sex Pistols finally reformed for a reunion tour. Although at first the members seemed to have some bad blood between them, especially Lydon and the rest of the bandmates, this was soon resolved. Things got so good in fact, that the members began throwing around ideas for a new Pistols record, first with John since 1978. Both Glen and Steve had good ideas for the album, and even Lydon contributed heavily to the unique sound of the album. The resulting record would be a weird mix of dance, punk, hard rock, and britpop. The press gave the album negative reviews, sighting it to be a "cash grab and a mess of an album". Lydon's more PiL influenced tracks would also be a weird contrast from the more harder rock sound the rest of the band were making. Although the band continued to reunite every few years whenever they needed money, they would shelve any ideas of a new record. Lydon later stated "we should have never fucking done it really. But we needed the money, and in my mind, the so-called "Pistols legacy" was already ruined by them lot, I couldn't give a fuck."

1. Nasty Ho [Neurotic Outsiders (Steve)]
2. Grave Ride (John)
3. My Man (Glen)
4. Angelina [Neurotic Outsiders (Steve)]
5. Psychopath (John)
6. Hot Water (Glen)

1. Jerk [Neurotic Outsiders (Steve)]
2. A Different World (Glen)
3. Dog (John)
4. Walk It Like You Talk It (Glen)
5. Janie Jones [Neurotic Outsiders (Steve)]
6. Open Up (John)

Sex Pistols - Reap The Hay, While The Sun Shines... (2008)

Since 1996, there had been multiple reunion tours throughout the years. And with it seeming like the band was back together, there were talks yet again about a new studio album. The discussion began when the band re-recorded the tracks Anarchy In The UK and Pretty Vacant for Guitar Hero due to the original multitracks being unavailable at the time. The band thought about ways to release the re-recordings officially, and eventually came up with the idea of making a new album. Although it started off strong at first, with Glen contributing to most of the songs' writing, not long after the album fell apart, with many of the tracks being throwaway songs, such as covers of songs they've done live recently (Silver Machine, Through My Eyes, and My Way), an odd country version of Pretty Vacant taken from a live show, and finally the cherry on top, the introduction track There'll Always Be An England not even being performed by the Pistols, but rather Vera Lynn. All this and the fact that the album was really short, led to a lot of bad press and negative reviews from critics and the general public alike. A few months later, the Pistols would perform their final reunion show, and would break up for the last time. Since the breakup, John has reformed his band PiL, Glen started releasing music under the band Glen Matlock & The Philistines, Paul reformed The Professionals with blessings from Steve, and finally, Steve now plays live with the band Generation Sex, which includes Billy Idol, Tony James, and later Paul Cook. Nowadays, much of the post-Lydon Pistols work is looked down upon and even John stated that "we should've stopped at Bollocks."

1. There'll Always Be An England [Vera Lynn]
2. Pretty Vacant (Country & Western Live)
3. Pretty Vacant '07
4. Piece Of The Action [Glen]
5. Silver Machine

1. Anarchy In The UK '07
2. Suck It And See [Glen]
3. Through My Eyes
4. Whose Side Are You On? [Glen]
5. My Way