Interview: Sex Pistol Glen Matlock — Art School Anarchy

‘I met up with Glen Matlock, Bassist of the Sex Pistols to talk about that famous gig the band played Central Saint Martins. A pivotal role in the history of punk.

On 6 November 1975, four working class teenage rockers performed in public for the first time at Central Saint Martins College in Charing Cross Road. Little did they know this night sewed the seeds for the punk movement in the UK. Commemorating the 40th anniversary of their first ever performance, the college held a Sex Pistols themed evening called ‘Be Reasonable Demand The Impossible.’

Sex Pistols - Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Johnny Rotten and Glen Matlock, Leicester Square. 1976 (credit: Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock)

Attending the event was the original bass player from the Sex Pistols, Glen Matlock a Central Saint Martin alumni, along with his college friend Sebastian Conran who attend the gig that night. They talk of the events which happened along with a discussion from top fashion writers on how punk is still an influence in the fashion scene.

'We all assembled at Malcolm McLaren’s shop, he didn’t put us together it was just the location that we all came together'

UK art school alumni's who have moved across to the music scene has been consistent since the late 1950’s, notably to be the origin for many worldwide acclaimed bands. Ranging from John Lennon, The Stone’s Keith Richards, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, The Who's Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Freddie Mercury and Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett. More recent musicians, closer to home include Camberwell’s Florence Welch and Central saint Martins Grammy award winning M.I.A.

1965-1975 has been a decade when many of the most recognised musicians who have originated from art school, emerged a career into music. Central Saint Martins alumni, Jarvis Cocker known as the frontman for the band Pulp attended art school back in 1988. Speaking to the Will Hodgkinson from the Guardian back in 2009, he describes how studying fine art was the move to create the bands success, suggesting the reasons of how art school can be an advantage for musicians. Jarvis states ‘the experience of just being at art school gave me a lot to draw on, in a deeper level I was taught to think about things in a non-lateral way’. Ealing Art College graduate of 1961, Pete Townshend also notes the advantages of art school "The art schools from my time specialised in old-school teaching methods of brutalising your students with some wild thinking that was off the map’. This ‘wild thinking’ lead him to form early punk band The Who, a band known to be the early influence for the Sex Pistols.

'We [Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood] were all these people in the same place at the same time, it happened to us because everyone was looking for something. Everybody knew exactly what they didn't want but didn't know what they did want. When we arrived on the scene it was what we had been looking for but never knew we needed'

When speaking with the Sex Pistol, Glen Matlock during the event, he was very warm and welcoming, telling me to take a seat and he began talking to me about the difference of Central Saint Martins now from when he was a student. Looking up from outside the canteen he jokingly says ‘To me, it looks like a hospital, Northwick Park Hospital. I thought there would be a lot of art on the walls and there’s not. There is a nice coffee machine and a table tennis table but maybe the work goes on inside.’

Glen Matlock says how it was almost a trend to study art in order to form a band. He said ‘I went to art school because I could draw a bit. I agree that every band of any consequence had gone to art college and that's why I went. To get a band. But it happened to be that the band I got into I met outside of art school so I introduced them to art school things a little bit.’

SEX shop on Kings Road. The birth of McLaren and Westwood's creativity and making of the Sex Pistols. (credit: Unknown)

Whilst studying at Central Saint Martins Matlock worked in Malcolm McLaren's shop on 430 Kings Road, London. Malcolm McLaren was soon to be the Sex Pistols manager and clothes designer with his partner Vivienne Westwood changing the face of fashion which was known to become the punk movement in the UK. Matlock states ‘Punk didn’t exist, it just happened. We all assembled at Malcolm McLaren’s shop, he didn’t put us together it was just the location that we all came together’

'Just before the show Malcolm brought us a bottle of our favourite alcohol and that kind of kicked in as we started playing so that illustrates why John was a bit lairy'

After forming a band from Malcolm McLaren’s shop, the Sex Pistols wanted a venue to perform live, Matlock used his college as an advantage where the band could perform with the headline act Bazooka Joe. Young and penniless the band turned up equipment-less in the hopes the headlining act would let them borrow their equipment. After 20 minutes of what some people described as ‘horrific music’ the plug was pulled and the band were taken off stage. Looking back at the night Matlock tells me the reasons why the band were more lively than the headline act.

‘Just before the show Malcolm brought us a bottle of our favourite alcohol and that kind of kicked in as we started playing so that illustrates why John was a bit lairy.’ Undoubtably Central Saint Martins has changed since the Sex Pistols infamous gig. Matlock’s days at the college were spent in sipping beer in the drinking clubs in Soho where he found inspiration for his lyrics, in particular Pretty Vacant. ‘It was fantastic’ he said. ‘I was 17 and being in the middle of Soho is really quite exciting, a time to explore, it was the clasp of when things where beginning to change’.

Art school was a subsidy for those who did not want to attend university, according to Matlock it was a time for ‘breathing space’ for most 17 year olds. ‘When I started you needed O Levels to get in, before then, you didn’t have to. You would get ‘square pegs’ that could draw and were so concentrated in art school and I don’t think you get that so much now, you need maths and english qualifications, thats the difference.’

'[punk] was for the dissatisfied youth from the dissatisfied youth'.

Although the Sex Pistols were not the first punk band, they defined an image to the punk movement, with help from Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood in the ‘SEX’ shop on Kings Road. Like the music, the clothing introduced ideas of freedom and rebelling against the ‘normal’. McLaren’s quote ‘the look of music and the sound of fashion’ was part of the making of the Sex Pistols entwining fashion and music together to convert into another level for a band. This is seen by music artists by the likes of the psychedelic shirts of Jimi Hendrix, the glam and androgynous look of David Bowie, The Jam with Fred Perry mod jumpers and Elvis Presley all shook up in a blazer.

Malcolm Mclaren and Vivienne Westwood (credit: unknown)

Dean Mayo Davies a freelance fashion writer who has been editor to publications such as Dazed and Confused and i-D attended the ‘Be Reasonable Demand the Impossible’ evening. Speaking to him on the role punk has in the fashion scene, he explains how punk has been an ongoing influence.

'It was the clasp of when things where beginning to change.' (Matlock on Soho in the 70's)

Davies says ‘I suppose punk today is very different since back then they were the first ones to put a label and create the scene. Today its a lot more about subversion, particularly Japanese designers were inspired by them, you have Comme Des Garsons- It is a kind of language which is beyond western clothing and that's what Malcolm McLaren was doing’.

Co-organiser of the event Paul Gorman is currently writing a biography on Malcolm McLaren. Inspired by McLaren’s attitude of anti corporatisation and non-conformity ‘do it yourself’ attitude and honest creativity without being around money, are his reasons behind the making of Be Reasonable Demand the Impossible. He and his wife Caz Facey approached Central Saint Martins since they want to focus on art schools and their importance in the city and its impact on culture. With the previous Saint Martin college transformation into a luxury apartment, Gorman discovered the newer campus would be more suitable with the cultural equity still remaining here. He said ‘The old building wanted to celebrate in a commercial and corporate way and obviously we are all anti that kind of corporate adaption and corporatisation of London and Luxury apartments being in places of education.’

He explained how the Sex Pistols didn't want to reform like most acts would, ‘cashing in’ on the idea. So far we have seen the likes of The Police reforming in 2008 to celebrate their 30th anniversary, the remaining members of Nirvana celebrating one night only a 25 year anniversary just last year, and of course the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones shaped a worldwide tour in 2012. ‘It was 50p to go and see the sex pistols in 1975 its free to come here tonight,’ he says.‘Nobody is making any money from it. This sounds crap but it is quite punk to be doing this, sort of slightly off the radar because when they first played they were totally off the radar.’

Sebastian Conran a former Central Saint Martin alumni stood in the crowd the night the Sex Pistols entered the St Martins stage. Staying in his memory most is Johnny Rotten spending most of his time blowing his nose with a handkerchief into the microphone whilst playing many Monkees cover songs. Reminiscing back to the night he states, ‘Most respected people at the college really liked it, others were really shocked and horrified describing them as ‘revolting’ as it went on it felt like some great art movement. I was unbelievably naive as Malcolm McLaren said it was an attitude thing.’

The Sex Pistols went on to become the image of punk, their fame erupted after their interview shown on live prime time on the Bill Grundy Today Show. The next day headlines dedicated to the Sex Pistols filled national newspapers enhancing their musical career. Glen Matlock states how everything in the band changed after appearing on the the show. He says, ‘It all completely changed overnight. It was different and none of us were equipped to deal with it, Malcolm did most of it. Instead of it being a band by the kids for the kids like in the early days before The Who it became a media exercise.’

The more outrage and controversy the Sex Pistols caused amongst the older generation and the public eye, the more they became the voice of youth. The Sex Pistols were celebrating the amateur with a very honest creativity with a focus on rebelling against the corporate in the country. As Matlock expressed 'it was for the dissatisfied youth from the dissatisfied youth'. He ends telling me how the band never planned what they wanted to accomplish.

‘We (Sex Pistols, Matlock and Westwood) were all these people in the same place at the same time, it happened to us because everyone was looking for something. Everybody knew exactly what they didn't want but didn't know what they did want. When we arrived on the scene it was what we had been looking for but never knew we needed.’