10 Most Notorious Hell-Raiser Rock Bands
4. The Sex Pistols
It’s no secret that the Sex Pistols, far from the new voice of gritty British discontent, were essentially a manufactured act. While they may have been the image-centric brainchild of Malcom McClaren, though, they used their status as the country’s most dangerous group to live faster and harder than any other boyband you’d care to mention.
The Pistols were pure combat, and codified much of what we now associate with punk: the antagonism, the spitting. Their gigs could turn into brawls, especially when they took the act to the USA, where crowds could be riled into launching glasses at the group, who lapped up the hatred like milk.
Chief among the miscreants was bassist Sid Vicious, hired for his look and attitude rather than his musical skills. While he didn’t contribute much musically, the band’s mythology resolved majorly around him. He attacked journalists, leapt with both feet into the heroin scene, and overdosed not long after (allegedly) murdering his girlfriend - a charming character all round.
They took on the monarchy and won (sort of), and brought unpalatable music and lifestyles to the mainstream. They may have been performatively outrageous (see: the Bill Grundy show), but few acts have made as much of a scene with so little time.