Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Sex Pistols Reunite For Guitar Hero III

Posted by Zonk on from the god-save-the-queen dept.

1up is reporting that the Sex Pistols are getting the band back together for at least one recording session. They're laying down a master track for the upcoming Guitar Hero III, for the song 'Anarchy in the U.K.'. "Original members John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), Steve Jones, and Paul Cook hit the studio together for the first time in 30 years, hooking up with original producer Chris Thomas to maintain the feel of the recording. Additionally, the original analog sound desk, built in 1969 for producer George Martin at Air Studios in London, was utilized for aural authenticity."

47 comments

  1. Sex Pistols Reunite... by WgT2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...to make some money.

    1. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      As a regular poster on a really active punk ban forum, I have a good guess as to what that community will say about all this.


      One half will flame "Zomg sellouts" and the other half will think to themselves "with next weeks allowance I can play it on Mom and Dads flatscreen..."

    2. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by scott_karana · · Score: 1

      Well, they've had some far better opportunities than this. They keep reuniting for one-off events, but never for good, and I admire them for that, at least.
      Lord knows the last thing we need is ANOTHER revived and lame old band.

    3. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by skammie · · Score: 5, Informative

      The entire band never shied away from money. Rotten has always said he does things for the money. Did you ever see the Bill Grundy episode they were on for crying out loud? For the record Glenn Matlock was the original bassist in the Sex Pistols, and it is his bass lines you here on all of 'Never Mind the Bollocks.' It's funny really. He was booted from the band weeks before the recording, and Sid could not play properly. So Glenn was hired back as a studio musician, and Glenn wound up with more money in his pocket then the rest of the band after the recording sessions were over.

      --
      "Fortunately, I'm adhering to a very strict drug regimen to keep my mind limber..."
    4. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by ThirdPrize · · Score: 1

      As long as it isn't to make another record. Can you just imagine ...

      --
      I have excellent Karma and I am not afraid to Troll it.
    5. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by Alcoholic+Synonymous · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As Rotten said on the big mid 90's reunion tour... what's more punk than only doing it for the money?

      I mean, if true, they will be the same musicians on the same (tired old) song and dance, even the same MONO equipment... probably not even with half the intensity that made the original famous. And best of all, they will be PAID to do it all over again.

      I can hear Rotten saying this on the final take: "There's your bloody pop song, now where's my fucking check?"

      Too many people seem to think that to be a real punk you must have this this thing called "integrity", which is defined as never moving out of your moms basement and dying young of a heroine overdose. Bollocks! If someone wants to pay you to do something, do it. Even if you suck, you still got paid for it. That's punk!

    6. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by dintech · · Score: 1

      It's great how this is pretty much an age split.

    7. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by Colourspace · · Score: 4, Funny

      If I had do die of a 'heroine' overdose - I hope it's the bionic woman. With the top half of the outfit still on. Spelling Nazi out...

    8. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by dghcasp · · Score: 2, Informative

      Are you surprised?

      If I remember correctly, their reunion tour about 10 years ago was titled "We want your money."

    9. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by AugstWest · · Score: 1

      Ever get the feeling you've been had?

    10. Re:Sex Pistols Reunite... by MojoStan · · Score: 3, Interesting

      For the record Glenn Matlock was the original bassist in the Sex Pistols, and it is his bass lines you here on all of 'Never Mind the Bollocks.' It's funny really. He was booted from the band weeks before the recording, and Sid could not play properly. So Glenn was hired back as a studio musician, and Glenn wound up with more money in his pocket then the rest of the band after the recording sessions were over. The record is a little hazy. No one seems to dispute that Glenn wrote almost all the bass lines on Bollocks. Heck, the song writing process was usually: Glenn wrote the music, Johnny Rotten wrote the lyrics.

      However, I think the most accepted version of events has guitarist Steve Jones playing Glenn's bass lines on Bollocks except for one song played by Glenn ("Anarchy in the UK") and one song by Sid ("Bodies"). Glenn did get proper song writing credits, so he got paid.

      I believe the story about Glenn being hired back as a studio musician came from John Lydon's 1995 autobiography, but others have denied this happened. The memories of creative musicians always seem hazy, even without alcohol.

      Anyhoo, Glenn's my hero. During the Grundy interview, he seemed more like a geek than a punk.

      --
      TO START
      PRESS ANY KEY

      Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...

  2. Reunite the Beatles! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It'd be even better if Guitar Hero III led to the reunion of the Beatles.

    1. Re:Reunite the Beatles! by adycarter · · Score: 4, Funny

      Even the "amazing powers of the cell processor" can't quite master Necromancy.

      --
      Witty Comment Here
    2. Re:Reunite the Beatles! by geminidomino · · Score: 2, Funny

      Who said that they had to be reunited in LIFE?

      *eyes McCartney and Ringo ominously*

    3. Re:Reunite the Beatles! by The-Bus · · Score: 1

      No, I'm pretty sure I saw that as a bullet point at a Sony conference. Isn't death the fourth dimension?

      --

      Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    4. Re:Reunite the Beatles! by freakmn · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Pete Best, the 5th Beatle. Rumor has it he was kicked out for having curly hair, and for being too popular with the ladies.

      --
      warning: This post is likely to contain gobs of dripping sarcasm. Consume at your own risk.
    5. Re:Reunite the Beatles! by MojoStan · · Score: 1

      Who said that they had to be reunited in LIFE?

      *eyes McCartney and Ringo ominously*

      I was about to suggest Paul, Sean (Lennon), Dhani (Harrison), and Zak (Starkey). I actually forgot Ringo was still alive. How embarrassing.
      --
      TO START
      PRESS ANY KEY

      Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...

  3. Their fans will be happy, regardless. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I think that most of their fans will be pleased, even if they did do this just for the money.

    All but one fan, I suspect. One of my hardcore punk friends was talking about disbanded, classic punk bands reuniting for one final go. He said that without Sid, the Sex Pistols would never reform. He was so sure of himself, that he even agreed to stick a watchmaker's screwdriver into his urethra.....

    1. Re:Their fans will be happy, regardless. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Um, the Sex Pistols already did reform for the "Filthy Lucre" tour.

      I saw them at Glastonbury during said tour and they were fucking rubbish.

      Of all genres, punk is one that really is better suited to young musicians.

    2. Re:Their fans will be happy, regardless. by Yoozer · · Score: 1

      Of all genres, punk is one that really is better suited to young musicians.
      And younger players, since you only need 3 buttons for the chords. Ey, Oh, Let's go!
    3. Re:Their fans will be happy, regardless. by nick.ian.k · · Score: 1

      Of all genres, punk is one that really is better suited to young musicians.

      Why? Because a pastiche is less obviously a pastiche if the people doing it aren't as old and withered as the style they're aping? Or because we're supposed to go, "Haw haw, clever kids, embracing the idea of the destruction of genre forms by...embracing a genre form..." Both seem pretty worn out and tired to me. Geriatric hip-hop would be positively original by comparison, and then that's only because we haven't had that many pushing-60s going for it (yet). And by comparison, of course.

    4. Re:Their fans will be happy, regardless. by drydirt · · Score: 1

      Of all genres, punk is one that really is better suited to young musicians.

      Eh, I don't know. Punk is a pretty vague term but there are quite a few bands who have been regualrly touring or reuniting since the 70's and 80's, still bringing in new fans and still playing great shows. Gang of Four, Buzzcocks, Social Distortion, Flipper, Fugazi are a few I've seen in the past few years, though by no means a comprehensive or accurate list so please don't flame me (my mind's working slow as I haven't had my coffee yet...)

      And if not for various deaths I think The Clash and The Ramones would still be playing incredible shows live.

      The problem with the Sex Pistols is that when all is said and done, they're a one-trick pony. Bollocks is a decent album made great by being shocking and revolutionary in its time. I don't want to take anything away from their cultural significance (which is immense!) but as artists they really had no future.

  4. What a bunch of sickos... by muecksteiner · · Score: 2, Funny

    Digging up Sid Vicious just to make a Computer Game.

    This kind of thing just shouldn't be allowed...

    1. Re:What a bunch of sickos... by meringuoid · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, it's a terrible insult to the Pistols' long tradition of good taste and common decency.

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    2. Re:What a bunch of sickos... by demented · · Score: 2, Informative

      Especially because Glen Matlock was the original bass player on Anarchy in the UK, and the man is still alive and kicking...

      Oh, wait... he is in this Sex Pistols 2007 lineup...

    3. Re:What a bunch of sickos... by tao · · Score: 1

      Yup. Much better to use a SID-chip.

  5. the funny thing is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the Rolling Stones, the target of McLaren/Lydon "geezer" barbs in the old days, are still together. Maybe the Pistols could open for them on their next stadium tour.

    1. Re:the funny thing is by flyneye · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sorry,but the Stones are officially Geezers.While they may still be a spectacle they quit being relevant in the early 80s.What have they done lately musically besides tour?Nothing new from them has "torn up the radio" for decades.
                Pistols,geezers as well,only put out ONE studio album that still starts more conversations than all Stones albums combined and are more likely to be listed as an influence to modern musicians than the Stones.
              Truth,like it or not.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    2. Re:the funny thing is by Charlie+Kane · · Score: 1

      I dunno, man -- without the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls I don't know if you ever even get to the Pistols. I'd challenge you on the subject of Never Mind the Bollocks as a conversation-starter, too, since I think of the Pistols' contribution as more about image and attitude rather than just those recorded songs. But Exile on Main Street and Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed? Yeah, people still talk a whole hell of a lot about those records. Not to mention that Mick Jagger was helping define in-your-face rock star attitude while John Lydon was just a schoolboy.

      Yeah, the Pistols were great. But the Stones laid the groundwork for a band like the Pistols to blow the culture wide open. Direct comparisons aren't really fair.

    3. Re:the funny thing is by flyneye · · Score: 1

      You're right apples and oranges.
      Yeah the Stones were great.But Muddy Waters and other blues acts laid the groundwork for bands like the Stones to blow the culture wide open.Direct comparisons really aren't fair.

      It is unfortunate tho that a plastic guitar with a few buttons and a karaokeness to it is offered to youth to fill coolness and the feel when you actually play well on an actual guitar.
      Some will be satisfied and never know the true feel because it actually requires time,work and talent.Thumbs down on this video lame.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
  6. They've reunited before - just not in studio by zgeist · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is a bunch of marketing hype. The Pistols have reunited and performed together several times in the last 10 or 11 years. In fact, they are about to have another reunion tour this fall. In '96 it was the Filthy Lucre tour or some such thing and sometime in 2002 or 2003 they had some other tour - the Piss Off tour, I think it was called. In addition, it's just re-recording a track they already originally recorded. It's not like they are about to release an actual new song. Nothing to see here, move along

    1. Re:They've reunited before - just not in studio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is a bunch of marketing hype.

      You mean like their entire career?

      A stain upon punk rock music.

  7. no glen matlock? by Potor · · Score: 1

    Original members John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), Steve Jones, and Paul Cook hit the studio together for the first time in 30 years, hooking up with original producer Chris Thomas to maintain the feel of the recording. Additionally, the original analog sound desk, built in 1969 for producer George Martin at Air Studios in London, was utilized for aural authenticity
    so they go to all that trouble (original producer, soundboard, etc.), but no glen matlock, who was responsible for their arrangements? hmmm...
    1. Re:no glen matlock? by MojoStan · · Score: 1

      so they go to all that trouble (original producer, soundboard, etc.), but no glen matlock, who was responsible for their arrangements? hmmm... ...and they're leaving Glenn out for the one song he actually played bass on? (Yes, he wrote the arrangements, but Steve Jones supposedly played bass in the studio.)

      Note that the press release came from Activision, so those publicists at that gaming company might not know the band's history. I wouldn't be surprised if most people thought Sid Vicious was an "original member" and assumed Glenn was "Sid's replacement" for the reunions. Sid represented the look and the attitude of the Sex Pistols. Glenn was the geek who created the music.

      --
      TO START
      PRESS ANY KEY

      Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...

  8. the stones ... Re:the funny thing is by damn_registrars · · Score: 1
    Yes indeed, these rolling stones have gathered plenty of moss since they first started touring in their Ford Model A's back in the 1920's.

    However, we have learned something from them. As Bill Maher said in his show:

    Airplane black boxes must now be made out of Keith Richards. The man, who has taken more drugs than Whitney Houston, Rush Limbaugh and Robert Downey, Jr., combined, recently fell out of a tree, and then crashed a jet ski. And yet, somehow, that cigarette never fell out of his mouth. What is this guy still running on? I've got to know. Because I'm beginning to think the future of medicine isn't injecting stem cells, it's injecting heroin.
    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
  9. Re:1/2 an hour and no comments. by BeerCur · · Score: 1

    Never Mind the Bollocks , move along

    --
    It's not what your Sig can do for you, but what you can do for your for your Sig.
  10. Pretty Vacant by amrust · · Score: 1

    They are listed on the soundtrack for the game Skate, as well. They redid "Pretty Vacant"

    --
    VOTE!
    1. Re:Pretty Vacant by Bud+Dickman · · Score: 1

      They licensed Pretty Vacant to EA. It was not re-recorded. (Not that I am impressed with this song for Guitar Hero being re-recorded but it is different than what is taking place for Skate.)

    2. Re:Pretty Vacant by amrust · · Score: 1

      Now I'm in a quandry...who do I believe?

      You, or Wikipedia?

      --
      VOTE!
    3. Re:Pretty Vacant by Bud+Dickman · · Score: 1

      Me, that information is incorrect.

  11. You commoner! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    producer George Martin
    That's Sir George Martin to you, you lowbred cunt.
    1. Re:You commoner! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's Sir George Martin to you, you lowbred cunt. COONT! It's pronounced COONT, you sorry excuse for a Brit.

      Your accent tags don't work when you post as Anonymous Coward.

  12. "Master track issues..." by 26reverse · · Score: 1

    FTA: "Master track issues pushed the band into the studio."

    And just what issues were they? Lost masters? Bad masters? (seeing as it IS the Sex Pistols, I doubt they'd argue "quality").

    Does anyone know?

  13. 3 chords? by freakmn · · Score: 1

    So, how does that work with guitar hero? Is this song only playable on easy? Or are they perhaps laying down this track while intoxicated, and the object is to hit all the same wrong notes they do? I'm confused! Can someone explain?

    Yes, I'm being facetious.

    --
    warning: This post is likely to contain gobs of dripping sarcasm. Consume at your own risk.
  14. Punks not dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Punk's not dead,
    But it's certainly aging fast.
    Trying to die a death,
    That lives up to it's past.
    Needs a walking frame to get around,
    Pace maker for it's heart,
    Punk's not dead.
    They're just boring old farts!