‘The sweet spot’: The best year in music history, according to Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones
When the Sex Pistols started making music, it marked the birth of punk, a period that several different musicians and music lovers now pine for. It was a huge turning point in musical history, which meant those who weren’t instrumental maestros but did have something they wanted to say could do just that. As such, people look at the birth of punk and describe it as the sweet spot; however, Sex Pistols member Steve Jones wouldn’t agree.
“I was a big fan of Roxy Music and David Bowie, glam,” said Jones when he was asked about the best period in music. Many punk icons state glam rock as a defining period in music, and when you consider the parallels, it’s clear to see why. While the sound might not be identical, the openness of the genre and willingness to be an outcast are similar to punks’ attitude.
“That was a big thing for me, glam,” Jones said, “To me, Rod Stewart and The Faces were like glam; they were colourful.” Glam rock came out in the early ‘70s and was loved and hated by many thanks to its willingness to place music on the backseat while letting make-up, persona and hair be the driving factor behind the artists.
“I loved The Faces, Mott the Hoople, Slade,” he said, “There [were] a load of bands, that was the best time. Around ’72 was the sweet spot in music. I was really grateful and lucky to be a teenager around that time, and that resulted in basically the way I wanted to emulate playing guitar.”
Jones states that it wasn’t just the outlandish nature of glam rock that inspired their punk mindset, but Sex Pistols had that style of music in their mind when they wrote their revolutionary debut album. He said, “If you notice, the Sex Pistols tracks, they’re not very fast, they’re played with a lot of angst, but they’re not crazy fast, like a lot of punk bands did after that, you know?”
They continued, “They’re basically rock beats on Never Mind the Bollocks. And then of course John [Johnny Rotten], with his spin on it, with his lyrics and style of singing, made it a hell of a lot different, and it was just one of them magic moments.”
The punk movement seemed so left-field that it could have come from outer space; however, that wasn’t the case. People who made punk music had their own influences, and subsequently, they continued to look up to the artists who inspired them to start making music. With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that Steve Jones called 1972 the sweet spot in music history, as it’s likely the period he sees as the start of his music career.
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