Sex Pistols are set to release three live albums of their legendary 1978 US tour for the first time.
Centring around shows in Georgia, Texas and California, the three albums all come from the legendary punk band’s famous tour of the States in 1978. These marked their final live shows in nearly two decades, with the members not taking to the stage again until their reformation in 1996.
Comprising Johnny Rotten (real name John Lydon), Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sid Vicious, the British band broke out tracks from their iconic 1977 album ‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols’ during the shows, including live renditions of ‘God Save the Queen’, ‘Bodies’ and ‘Anarchy in the UK’. For the latter, they rebranded the song ‘Anarchy In The USA’.
“Now, we came to dance – what did you come for?” Rotten can be heard saying during the Georgia show, before the band ripped into ‘God Save The Queen’. After the rendition, he also branded the track as “the new British National Anthem.”
The three shows captured include Sex Pistols’ set at South East Music in Atlanta on January 5, a stop at the Longhorns Ballroom in Dallas on January 10 and a show at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on January 14.
The latter marked the band’s final show until their 1996 comeback, and saw a rendition of The Stooges’ song ‘No Fun’, before Johnny Rotten ended the set by addressing the crowd and saying: “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated? Good night.” He would announce his departure from the band just days later.
Ahead of the show in Dallas, a radio advert was broadcast which said: “They said no one could be more bizarre than Alice Cooper or more destructive than KISS. They have not seen the Sex Pistols…Banned in their own home country, England’s Sex Pistols denied admittance to the United States – the Sex Pistols bring the new wave to the Metroplex this Tuesday night in the Longhorn Ballroom.”
Find the details below, and visit here to pre-order.
Sex Pistols’ ‘Live In The USA 1978’ albums are:
Atlanta, Georgia
1LP (Red Vinyl)
Great South East Music Hall
January 5 1978
Release date: Friday February 28
Dallas, Texas
1LP (White Vinyl)
Longhorns Ballroom
January 10 1978
Release date: Friday March 28
San Francisco, California
1LP (Blue Vinyl)
Winterland Ballroom
January 14 1978
Release date: Friday April 25
Last year, Sex Pistols members Glen Matlock, Paul Cook and Steve Jones reunited for a handful of UK shows, with Frank Carter stepping in for frontman duties.
Following a UK tour towards the end of 2024, they are now due to perform at Download Festival later this summer. They will also be appearing at Glasgow Summer Sessions on Saturday June 21 and Dreamland Margate on Saturday August 23. Visit here for tickets and more information.
John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) meanwhile has gotten back together with his band Public Image Ltd (PiL) lately, and recently announced a UK and Ireland headline tour for 2025. The new dates for PiL come following the band performing in the UK in September 2023 before embarking on a run of European dates the following month. Visit here for tickets.
Last month, Glen Matlock – who has also worked alongside Blondie and Iggy Pop, and was the bassist for Sex Pistols when Sid Vicious wasn’t in the band – spoke to NME about the legacy of the punk band and their plans for the future.
Opening up about if the band have any plans to make a full album with Frank Carter, Matlock said: “We’ll see when we get back together again. I’ve been really busy with Blondie and what I’m doing now […] Maybe when we start rehearsing, something will come out.
“But is the world ready for a new Sex Pistols record? I dunno. I like what John said with this in ’96 [during the band’s ‘Filthy Lucre’ reformation tour]. This journalist asked: ‘Are you gonna make a new record?’ John said: ‘Why? What’s wrong with the old one?’”
When asked if he keeps in touch with Lydon, the bassist replied: “Not personally, no… John’s made his bed – he can lie in it. He’s happy doing his Public Image stuff. Good luck to him. It’s not my thing and I’m sure my thing isn’t his thing.”