The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. The band originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock (replaced by Sid Vicious).

Although their initial career lasted only three years and produced only four singles and one studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, the Sex Pistols have been described by the BBC as "the definitive English punk rock band."

The Pistols are widely credited with initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom[2] and creating the first generation gap within rock and roll.

The Sex Pistols emerged as a response to the "increasingly safe and bloated" progressive rock, disco and manufactured pop music of the mid-1970s. The band created controversies which captivated Britain,[5] but often eclipsed their music. Their shows and tours repeatedly faced difficulties with organisers and authorities, and public appearances often ended in mayhem. Their 1977 single "God Save the Queen" was regarded as an attack on the British monarchy and British nationalism.

At the end of a turbulent U.S. tour, Rotten left the band in January 1978. The remaining trio carried on with vocals by Jones, Edward Tudor-Pole and Ronnie Biggs before disbanding in early 1979.

Vicious died of a heroin overdose that February. In 1996, Rotten, Jones, Cook and Matlock reunited for the "Filthy Lucre" tour; they staged further reunion tours in 2002, 2003 and 2007.

On 24 February 2006, the Sex Pistols were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they refused to attend the ceremony, calling the museum "a piss stain".

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