Sex Pistols on stage in London in 1976 with Vivienne Westwood, right, in background and Glen Matlock, left, in the red trousers.Sex Pistols on stage in London in 1976 with Vivienne Westwood, right, in background and Glen Matlock, left, in the red trousers.Last modified on Sun 1 Jan 2023 20.38 GMTwalked into Let It Rock, looking for a pair of brothel creepers. I’d been in there a bit too long and some guy says: “Can I help you?” I said I was looking for work.
That summer, McLaren and Westwood turned the shop into Sex. They were fed up with the rightwing mentality of the teddy boys and I helped with the sign outside. I’d learned how to silk-screen, so they asked me to do two images: a big red baseball player with a massive dick and another of two cowboys with their willies touching. I said I’d give it a go. It took too long and Vivienne got all dogmatic, saying I was trying to censor her work when I wasn’t at all.
A lot of people think Vivienne and Malcolm made all the clothes but they didn’t – they provided a base where we all met. Theon a Saturday afternoon, where every oddball and weirdo congregated. We gravitated there for our own reasons, a mishmash of people who went on to do something. And Vivienne was like the madam of a belle epoque salon. I don’t think she did it deliberately. She picked up on things, such as when John [Lydon] came in with a safety pin through his ear.
This is actually interesting fun news! Something different from mainstream news. :-)