Editing Sex Pistols (section)

=== Early following ===
The Saint Martins gig was followed by performances at colleges around London. The band's core early followers—including [[Siouxsie Sioux]], [[Steven Severin]] and [[Billy Idol]], Jordan, and [[Soo Catwoman]]—came to be known as the [[Bromley Contingent]], after the [[London Borough of Bromley|suburban south-east London borough]] that several of them were from.{{sfn|Lydon|2008|pp=172–189}}{{sfn|Severin|1977}} Their cutting-edge fashion, much of it supplied by [[Sex (boutique)|Sex]], ignited a trend that was adopted by the new fans the band attracted.{{sfn|Savage|1992|pp=181–185}} McLaren and Westwood saw the incipient [[Punk rock#United Kingdom|London punk movement]] as a vehicle for more than just couture. They were influenced by the [[May 68|May 1968 radical uprising in Paris]], particularly by the ideology and agitations of the [[Situationists]].{{sfn|Robb|2005}}{{sfn|Savage|1992|pp=27–42, 204}}{{sfn|Strongman|2008|pp=67–75}} These interests were shared with [[Jamie Reid]], a friend of McLaren who took over the design of the band's visual imagery in the spring of 1976.{{sfn|Savage|1992|pp=201–202}} His cut-up lettering—based on notes left by kidnappers or terrorists—were used to create the classic Sex Pistols logo and many subsequent designs for the band, although they were actually introduced by McLaren's friend [[Helen Wellington-Lloyd]].{{sfn|Robb|2006|p=86}}{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=201}}{{sfn|Strongman|2008|p=111}} Reid has said that he used "to talk to John [Lydon] a lot about the Situationists{{nbsp}}... the Sex Pistols seemed the perfect vehicle to communicate ideas directly to people who weren't getting the message from left-wing politics".{{sfn|Savage|1992|pp=204–205}} McLaren was also arranging for the band's first photo sessions.{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=151}} According to the writer [[Jon Savage]], Lydon "with his green hair, hunched stance and ragged look{{nbsp}}...[Lydon] looked like a cross between [[Uriah Heep (character)|Uriah Heep]] and Richard Hell".{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=114}}{{refn|For more on Lydon's apparently coincidental resemblance to Hell, see also Matlock.{{sfn|Matlock|1990|p=71}} Also Matlock and Pirroni quotes in Robb, John, ''Punk Rock''.{{sfn|Robb|2006|pp=111–112, 183}}|group=note}}

Their first gig to attract attention was as a supporting act for [[Eddie and the Hot Rods]], a leading pub rock group, at the [[Marquee Club|Marquee]] in February 1976.{{sfn|Robb|2006|pp=147–148}} The band's first review appeared in the ''NME'', accompanied by a brief interview in which Jones declared, "Actually we're not into music. We're into chaos."{{sfn|Robb|2006|p=148}} Among those who read the article were two students at the [[Bolton Institute of Technology]], [[Howard Devoto]] and [[Pete Shelley]], who headed down to London in search of the Sex Pistols. After chatting with McLaren at [[Sex (boutique)|Sex]], they saw the band at a couple of late February gigs.{{sfn|Robb|2006|pp=163–166}} The two friends immediately began organising their own Pistols-style group, [[Buzzcocks]]. As Devoto later put it, "My life changed the moment that I saw the Sex Pistols."{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=174}}

The Pistols soon played other important venues, notably playing at [[Oxford Street]]'s [[100 Club]] for the first time on 30 March.{{sfn|Robb|2006|p=153}} On 3 April, they played for the first time at the Nashville, supporting [[the 101ers]]. The pub rock group's lead singer, [[Joe Strummer]], saw the Pistols for the first time that night—and recognised punk rock as the future.{{sfn|Robb|2006|p=155}} A return gig at the Nashville on 23 April highlighted the band's growing musical competence. However Westwood started a fight with another audience member which also dragged in McLaren and Rotten.{{sfn|Savage|1992|pp=166–167}}{{sfn|Matlock|1990|p=107}} Cook later said, the "fight at the Nashville: that's when all the publicity got hold of it and the violence started creeping in{{nbsp}}... I think everybody was ready to go and we were the catalyst."{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=168}}

The leading New York punk band, the [[Ramones]], released their [[Ramones (album)|debut album]] on 23 April 1976. Although regarded as seminal to the growth of English punk rock, with Cook and Jones being fans of the album,<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Lester |first1=Paul |last2=Lester |first2=Interviews by Paul |date=2016-02-02 |title=Forty years of the Ramones: 'They were the smartest dumb band you ever heard' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/feb/02/forty-years-of-the-ramones-they-were-the-smartest-dumb-band-you-ever-heard |access-date=2025-01-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFIeg-OzFoU |title=Ramones Punk Rock Story Time With Steve Jones - Part 1 - 10th Annual Johnny Ramone Tribute |date=2014-06-19 |last=Johnny Ramone |access-date=2025-01-08 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Lydon has repeatedly rejected that it influenced the Sex Pistols, claiming that they "were all long-haired and of no interest to me. I didn't like their image, what they stood for, or anything about them".
{{sfn|Lydon|2008|p=118}}{{sfn|Robb|2006|p=182}} Cook also denied being influenced by their music, stating, "the Ramones and the Pistols were different animals, with a different flavour. They were more basic, three-chord rock’n’roll", but added that the release of the album made the Pistols think, "We’d better crack on here.”<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Lester |first1=Paul |last2=Lester |first2=Interviews by Paul |date=2016-02-02 |title=Forty years of the Ramones: 'They were the smartest dumb band you ever heard' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/feb/02/forty-years-of-the-ramones-they-were-the-smartest-dumb-band-you-ever-heard |access-date=2025-01-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>  

On 11 May, the Pistols began a four-week Tuesday night residency at the 100 Club.{{sfn|Gimarc|2005|p=30}} They devoted the rest of the month to touring small cities and towns in the north of England and recording demos in London with producer and recording artist [[Chris Spedding]].{{sfn|Gimarc|2005|p=30}}{{sfn|Robb|2006|pp=160–162}}{{sfn|Savage|1992|pp=173–174}} The following month they played their first gig in [[Manchester]], arranged by Devoto and Shelley. The Sex Pistols' 4 June performance at the [[Lesser Free Trade Hall]] set off a punk rock boom in the city.{{sfn|Sex Pistols Gig|2006}}{{sfn|Morley|2006}}

On 4 and 6 July, respectively, two newly formed London punk rock acts—[[the Clash]], with Strummer as lead vocalist, and [[The Damned (band)|the Damned]]—made their live debuts opening for the Sex Pistols. On their off-night on the 5th, the Pistols attended a Ramones gig at [[Dingwalls]], like virtually everyone else at the centre of the early London punk scene.{{sfn|Robb|2006|pp=199–201}} During a return Manchester gig on 20 July, the Pistols premiered a new song, "[[Anarchy in the U.K.]]", reflecting elements of the radical ideologies to which Rotten was being exposed. According to Savage, "there seems little doubt that Lydon was fed material by Vivienne Westwood and Jamie Reid, which he then converted into his own lyric".{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=204}}

"Anarchy in the U.K." was among the seven original songs recorded in a demo session overseen by the band's sound engineer, [[Dave Goodman (record producer)|Dave Goodman]].{{sfn|Strongman|2008|pp=118–119}}{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=205}} McLaren organised a major event for 29 August at [[The Screen on the Green]] in London's [[Islington]] district, with the Buzzcocks and the Clash opening for the Pistols.{{sfn|Savage|1992|pp=207–209}}{{sfn|Robb|2006|pp=212–215}}{{refn| Quote: Savage, Jon, ''England's Dreaming''{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=207}}|group=note}} Three days later, the band were in Manchester to tape their first television appearance, for [[Tony Wilson]]'s ''[[So It Goes (TV series)|So It Goes]]''.{{sfn|Nolan|2009|pp=38–45}} The Pistols played their first gig outside Britain on 3 September, at the opening of the Chalet du Lac disco in Paris. The Bromley Contingent were in attendance and Siouxsie was harassed by locals due to her outfit with bare breasts.{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=37}} The following day, the ''So It Goes'' performance aired.{{sfn|Gimarc|2005|p=37}}{{sfn|Sex Pistols Appear|1977}} On 13 September, the Pistols began a tour of Britain.{{sfn|Gimarc|2005|p=38}} A week later, back in London, they headlined the opening night of the [[100 Club Punk Special]]. Organised by McLaren (for whom the word "festival" had too much of a hippie connotation), the event was "considered the moment that was the catalyst for the years to come".{{sfn|Strongman|2008|p=135}}{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=317}}{{sfn|Gimarc|2005|p=39}} Belying the common perception that punk bands couldn't play their instruments, contemporary music press reviews, later critical assessments of concert recordings, and testimonials by fellow musicians indicate that the Pistols had developed into a tight, ferocious live band.{{sfn|Coon|1976|p=unknown}}{{sfn|Ingham|1976}}{{sfn|Savage|1992|pp=176–177, 206, 208}}{{sfn|Robb|2006|pp=119, 156, 162}} As Rotten tested out wild vocalisation styles, the instrumentalists experimented "with overload, feedback and distortion{{nbsp}}... pushing their equipment to the limit".{{sfn|Savage|1992|p=177}}