The Rise and Fall of ... - 1. No Future

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“Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” spat a deflated Johnny Rotten before walking off stage in San Francisco. The Sex Pistols were finished. One album, a handful of singles, and a trail of chaos that changed British music.

But where did it all begin? How did a green-haired kid from Finsbury Park, nearly killed by meningitis and raised in poverty, end up fronting the most incendiary band in British history?

In Episode 1 of The Rise and Fall of Sex Pistols, Gina Birch, a founding member of The Raincoats, and Steve Lamacq drag you back to the murky mid-70s and dive into the turbulent origins of punk’s most iconic band.

From stolen Bowie gear to backroom pub auditions, this is a story of disillusioned youth, of a fetish shop on the King’s Road, of a snarling, short-sighted teenager, and of a chaotic Britain. The perfect breeding ground for a cultural revolution that the Sex Pistols were being primed to lead.

Featuring archive interviews with: John Lydon, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, Paul Cook, Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne Westwood and Bob Geldof.

Presented by Gina Birch and Steve Lamacq

A BBC Audio Production

Published on Monday, 27th October 2025.

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