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Monday 14 January 2013

Sex Pistols - Winterland Ballroom 14th Jan 1978


So it's the anniversary of the final Sex Pistols show today (well final until they got back together again in 1996). The Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco was the final date on their ill-fated American Tour. Malcom McLaren had purposedly book a whole bunch of "Red-Neck" venues in order to provoke a hostile reaction toward the band. And that's exatly what happenend with Vicious getting into serious trouble from the stage at various shows.

Lydon's actions on the night of the Winterland show demonstrated just how disillusioned he was with the whole thing. They performed The Stooges 'No Fun' as the set closer. At the end of the song, Rotten, kneeling on the stage, chanted an unambiguous declaration, "This is no fun. No fun. This is no fun—at all. No fun." As the final cymbal crash died away, Rotten addressed the audience directly—"Ah-ha-ha. Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? Good night"—before throwing down his microphone and walking offstage.

Four days after the show the band would officially split up with Jones and Cook continuing to make music under the Sex Pistols banner before launching out and forming The Professionals, Lydon would put together  Public Image Ltd and Vicious would end up in jail charged with the murder of his girlfriend Nancy before losing his own life on the 2nd February 1979 from a drugs overdose.


Setlist:

1. God Save The Queen

2. I Wanna Be Me

3. Seventeen

4. New York

5. E.M.I.

6. Belsen Was A Gas

7. Bodies

8. Holidays in the Sun

9. Liar

10. No Feelings

11. Problems

12. Pretty Vacant

13. Anarchy in the U.K.

14. No Fun 

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