The Sex Pistols are heading back to Australia this year, and while the chaos around them never quite went away, their live show has tightened into something surprisingly focused.
They’re playing Never Mind the Bollocks in full, so there’s no surprise there. It’s the only proper album they released, but it still hits harder than most discographies twice the length. That’s 12 tracks of pure sneer, still unfiltered after 45 years. Based on their most recent sets, fans can expect the album played more or less front-to-back, with a few extra surprises thrown in.
Recent shows have opened with a warped, orchestral version of God Save the Queen (Symphony)—a tongue-in-cheek warm-up before the band tears into the real thing. From there, the full run of Bollocks staples makes an appearance:
- Holidays in the Sun
- Seventeen
- New York
- Pretty Vacant
- Bodies
- Liar
- God Save the Queen
- Satellite
- No Feelings
- Problems
- E.M.I.
- Anarchy in the U.K.
It’s a tight set, but not just a museum piece. Satellite, an early B-side, is often worked in, and they’ve been known to break into No Fun, a raw Stooges cover that suits their DNA perfectly.
There’s no filler. No reunion-era attempts to reinvent the sound. Just the Pistols doing what they do best. Which as we all know is loud, antagonistic, and still sounding like they want to start something. The set’s short, sharp, and aggressive. And when you’re dealing with a band that blew up rock from the inside out, that’s exactly what it should be.
It’s been decades since the Pistols last rattled stages in Australia. Back then, the shows barely made it off the ground. Now, there’s no riot, no scandal—just the legacy of a band that never overstayed their welcome. And somehow, Never Mind the Bollocks still feels like a middle finger that means something.
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