January 6

The Sex Pistols, a punk rock band that flourished in the midst of controversy and, how shall I put it, unfavorable press, somehow managed to get signed by music industry giant EMI, a remarkable feat for a group of minimally talented musicians. However, they did do a fantastic version of God Save the Queen. The band formed in England in 1976 and after signing with EMI, they were to begin touring the world in support of the album Anarchy in the UK, the first stop outside of England being at the Paradiso in Amsterdam early in 1977. It rather figures that Amsterdam would be on the tour itinerary. On January 6, the band members were in a lounge at Heathrow Airport waiting for their flight to the Netherlands. Apparently, something happened, though I can only find sketchy reports as to just what it was, but apparently, a small matter of vomiting on fellow travelers was involved. For some reason, EMI found it necessary to cancel the deal with the Pistols. The killing of the deal with EMI left the Pistols unable to understand what went wrong. Johnny Rotten tried to explain the bands’ intentions by stating, “All we’re trying to do is destroy everything.” I simply cannot understand why EMI’s check didn’t clear.