On This Day: The Sex Pistols Make Their U.K. TV Debut

News
By published

Watch the band rip through "Anarchy in the U.K." on the British show, 'So It Goes.'

British journalist Charles Shaar Murray described it as "the most utterly immediate thing I've ever seen on television”: On this day in 1976, the Sex Pistols made their U.K. television debut, performing a blistering version of “Anarchy in the U.K.” on So It Goes, a late-night program hosted by English music impresario Tony Wilson.

“Get off your arse!” Johnny Rotten screams before the band, with Steve Jones on guitar, tear into the song. Three minutes later, music history has been made.

Check out the performance below.

Richard Bienstock
Richard Bienstock

Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.

More about bands

“I knew the spirit of the Alice Cooper group was back – what we were making was very much an album that could’ve been in the '70s”: Original Alice Cooper lineup reunites after more than 50 years – and announces brand-new album

“The rest of the world didn't know that the world's greatest guitarist was playing a weekend gig at this place in Chelmsford”: The Aristocrats' Bryan Beller recalls the moment he met Guthrie Govan and formed a new kind of supergroup

“Balance problems aside, this is a hugely playable guitar and one I had a lot of fun with. It seemed to just produce riffs out of nowhere”: Jackson X Series Surfcaster SC HT6 review
See more latest
Most Popular
Ozzy Osbourne and Sammy Hagar
“Tom Morello comes back and says, ‘Guess what? Ozzy wants to sing No More Tears’”: Sammy Hagar reveals how many songs Ozzy Osbourne will perform at his final show
Wizz Jones playing acoustic guitar against a red background
English folk icon Wizz Jones – guitar hero of Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Thurston Moore – has died at 86
Alexi Laiho
“Damn, that guy could shred. Can you imagine what that would have sounded like?” Wednesday 13 says the late Alexi Laiho once came close to joining him and Slipknot’s Joey Jordison in Murderdolls
Left-American rock duo the White Stripes, February 2002. They are Jack White and his ex-wife Meg White; Center-Carol Kaye plays bass guitar in a Los Angeles recording studio in the mid 1960's; Right-Matt Cameron, Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden
“Their music gave a voice to generations and influenced many artists that followed in their footsteps”: One of the most iconic session players of all time has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, alongside The White Stripes and Soundgarden
Frank Stallone
“My brother's trying to knock Norm down in price. He's worth $800 million. He goes, ‘I'll give you a bottle of whiskey on top’”: Frank Stallone on the prized vintage Epiphone that Sylvester bought him – and the guitar's mysterious origins
Yngwie Malmsteen
"They said, 'We don't have a direction yet, but you got the gig!' I said, 'Well, let me think about it'": Yngwie Malmsteen on why he turned down UFO
Gibson Serj Tankian Les Paul, Fortin Meshuggah pedal, Martin Biosphere, Neural DSP Nano Cortex and Darklglass Anagram
“A huge shake-up in the amp modeler market”: These are the gear releases that have caught my eye this week – and the ones you might have missed
Pete Townshend, members of the rock band The Who, on stage performing live in concert at the Mediolanum Forum during the Back to the Who Tour 51! Assago (Milan), Italy. 19th September 2016
“I loved working with David Gilmour… but that was an uneasy collaboration”: Pete Townshend admits he’s not a natural collaborator – even with bandmates and fellow guitar heroes
Kiko Loureiro
“You’ve gotta lose the fuss. You grab the new guitar, you scratch it. Grab the key right away": Kiko Loureiro on why players shouldn’t be too precious about their guitars
Nuno Bettencourt
“It was the first and last time I've ever argued with Brian May. He was so adamant about us not doing it”: Nuno Bettencourt recalls Extreme’s rebellious Queen medley at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert