The Sex Pistols song Glen Matlock called “a primal scream”
One of the most controversial groups in British musical history, the Sex Pistols was pivotal in establishing the punk rock scene of the mid-1970s. Although they are often criticised in punk circles for their manufactured origins and, let’s be honest, substandard musical ability, their impact on the early punk scene is undeniable. It is fair to say that all tracks recorded by the band are rife with anger and energy, but bassist Glen Matlock picks out one track in particular as a “primal scream”.
The brainchild of music mogul Malcolm McLaren, Sex Pistols formed in 1975. Among the first wave of UK punk groups, the band had a huge impact on the development of the genre. Their debut single, ‘Anarchy in the UK’, acted as a manifesto for the group, but it was not until the band appeared on a late-night television interview that the general public began to take notice. As a mark of how different the 1970s were, the sight and sound of Johnny Rotten swearing on television was enough to warrant a scandal.
With “The filth and the fury” splashed across tabloid front pages, Sex Pistols had become infamous by the end of 1976. Following up on their debut single with an attack on the English monarchy and Queen Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee, ‘God Save The Queen’ was quickly banned by the BBC and became one of the most censored tracks in music history. Despite its censorship, the track managed to reach number two in the singles chart.
Sex Pistols’ third single ‘Pretty Vacant’ managed to follow up on this early success, becoming a top ten single in the UK. The track was the first Pistols song to be written predominantly by bassist Glen Matlock, rather than Johnny Rotten. Despite this, by the time the single was released, Matlock had already left the group – or kicked out, depending on who you ask – to be replaced by the distinctly less skilled bassist Sid Vicious.
For such a seminal punk rock track, the riff of ‘Pretty Vacant’ was apparently inspired by Abba’s ‘S.O.S.’. One of the first Pistols tracks to be written, the single feels much more rough-and-ready than their first two releases. Interestingly, the success of the song led the band to their first appearance on the BBC chart show Top of the Pops, which beamed the punk revolution into living rooms across the country.
Matlock was reportedly also inspired by the New York punk legend Richard Hell and his seminal track ‘Blank Generation’ when writing the lyrics for the song. The bassist drew on the homelessness and depression that he had witnessed across London in the 1970s, telling Uncut, “You gotta put the songs in the context of what was going on for a bloke like me in mid-70s London, with the three-day week and the IRA bombings and power cuts, against the fact I was a young man who met some interesting people who was trying to form a rock ‘n’ roll band.”
Continuing, Matlock said: “‘Pretty Vacant’ is a primal scream kind of thing: we don’t know what we’re gonna do, but we’re gonna do it anyway”. That primal scream energy became the mantra of the group. Although the Pistols had a short reign, with only one album released before Johnny Rotten split to form Public Image Ltd, their impact was massive. Famously, their gig at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall is held responsible for the formation of various groups, from Joy Division to The Smiths. Sure, there are countless punk groups that better encapsulate the anger, activism, and innovation of that period, but Sex Pistols undoubtedly brought the scene to the masses.
