.
31/08/15
"Without doubt the best tribute band we've ever had at the Fleece,
14/03/14
Always nice to meet up with some old friends when SPE play London. I have seen them around 20 times including some of their Thames Boat gig parties and they always put on a fantastic show. They are regulars at this legendary venue but tonight ends up being their first ever sold out show here. From the start to finish their 90 mins set is one Pistols related classic after another with the front stage area a mess of sweaty dancing bodies. The singer gives out plenty of Lydon type one liners to the crowd which is great fun. Sid on bass is teasing the crowd and the band just whizz through the songs. They are both deadringers for the real Sid and Johnny. Tonight really was one of those nights were everything just clicked. The classic Pistols songs,the sold out crowd all up for it,a legendary punk venue, a band who are playing the songs soooooo good it's unreal. TONIGHT WAS NOT JUST THE BEST TIME I HAVE SEEN SPE BUT IT WAS THE BEST TRIBUTE BAND SHOW I HAVE EVER BEEN TOO AND I HAVE SEEN ALL THE BEST TRIBUTE BANDS OUT THERE.! http://www.raysgigs.com/
17/02/14 Previously, it was announced that the venue would be packed. The pre-selling tickets were completely sold out and there were only very few left at the box office. The Indra was just bursting at its seams. "Menace" and "The Sex Pistols Experience" were going to bring the atmosphere in St. Pauli to a boiling point. At about 10 pm three elderly men took the stage. "Menace", probably not one of the most famous punk bands ever, but yet with quite some success during their long career. I must admit that I actually did not realize that they were still performing. Nevertheless they are still very much alive and kicking! They gave us great old school punk rock! Great shabby sound, political lyrics and great vibe in the audience. The temperature at the Indra kept rising. A whole hour of punk rock, not even broken strings could stop them, and the crowd was happy to answer with applause, shouts and pogo. These guys were a lot of fun. It's a good thing that bands like "Menace" still exist. "Menace" presented themselves and their new song material with a lot of raw power.The temperature had easily passed 30° C. The crew behind the bar were incredibly busy and were struggling to maintain the drink supply. That is how it should be. After rebuilding the backline the other main act of the night entered the stage. A band I have been longing to see live for ages. There is no doubt about why "The Sex Pistols Experience" is the most successful Sex Pistols cover band on the planet. Johnny Rotter and his mates are as authentic as possible. Johnny does not only sound like the original, he also moves, talks and he even looks like young John Lydon. The whole presentation is perfectly arranged from sound to looks. Bassist Kid Vicious even looks like his role model. I actually can not think of superlatives to describe this perfection. Taking pictures during the first three songs was actually a challenge, was great fun and left me with quite a few bruises. Just as if somebody had flipped a switch, the crowd went completely crazy. There was so much pogo and dancing and it felt like someone had turned on a sauna. You could actually feel the air humidity and water was almost dripping from the ceiling. Just like in the old days. It was fantastic. Johnny Rotter pushes his role even further. He was even telling the audience that they were all cunts and look like Rostock Fans (which is not the nicest thing to call people who live in St. Pauli) and very rarely smiled. Always looking disgustedly at the partying audience, he really acted out his anger and arrogance on stage. Whoever had the privilege of watching the real Sex Pistols live or at least seen a concert on DVD will be able to confirm this. It was almost the perfect copy. I can only recommend going to see them if they perform in your vicinity.They are touring Germany presently, so check their homepage for shows!
18/08/13 `"I never thought tribute bands were worth much consideration, but, the Sex Pistols Experience changed all that for me - absolutely blown away. See it to believe it. And deserving of the accolade of any true fans presence.
"I fucking love this band. Seen them a few times and NO ONE, in any tribute, carries it off as perfectly in music & stage presence. They are more like the Pistols than the Pistols are!!.. exactly what you want as a fan when you go & see them, which you all should."
25/04/12 'Metal Box in Dub' April 2012,
07/09/11 Liverpool Mathew Street Festival September 2011:-
18/08/10
Sex Pistols Experience - Cardiff Barfly
Most of the plethora of tribute bands have a fundamental floor in that whilst the sound like Green Day, U2 etc, they look very little like their heroes. This is not something that can be said of the Sex Pistols Experience, and I defy anyone to look at their Rotten/Vicious combination and not get a shiver down their spine. They take pride in presenting a vision of the Sex Pistols in all their pomp and glory (circa 1977) and every detail is minutely and lovingly recreated. But pride of place must go to Johnny Rotter who has every gesture, mannerism and idiosyncrasy of John Lydon down to a tee, and shows why he was once truly a voice of a generation (and not as he now appears some ego manic of an old duffer who flogs butter in the ad break of Coronation Street).
Their sound is perfect, and a lot of this must be down to the imperious musicianship of their 'Cook and Jones' who effortlessly recreate the quintessential Pistols sound that everyone knows and loves. They take you through a Sex Pistol history from the early halcyon days of Never Mind the
04/03/10
THE SEX PISTOLS EXPERIENCE: Ljubljana Media Park.
This story started for me in the beginning of May. Some friends and I were checking out the well-known shop amongst young punks, rockers, and metal-heads: Master of Metal. The guy working there greeted us and let me in on the best news I've had for such a long time: "The Sex Pistols Experience were coming to Ljubljana!" To give you a bit of background, The Experience are the only Sex Pistols tribute band worth watching. I discovered them approximately two years ago on myspace. The detail of the band was so well done; I thought that the whole website was merely a fansite to the Sex Pistols, and the Mp3 flash player was simply playing some live gig recordings. I was impressed when I finally found out they were actually a tribute band, and those sneering pictures of the man I thought was Sid Vicious happened to be his replica, Kid Vicious, I immediately sent them some messages begging them to come to Ljubljana. A huge part of May, 2008 was trying to get the permission, and get some friends to go. I got the permission with loads of effort, and I got two of my best friends to go with me: Jure and Janko (we also joined up with a few more friends at the actual concert place, Tony and Matej). We planned it all out and on May 31, there we were, on our way to Mediapark, ready to give the Sex Pistols Experience a pleasant welcome to Slovenia There was an opening punk band with a female singer called Drek U Pest (which apparently means Shit in Fist), and the entire crowd (not much at the time) were simply sitting there on the seats. We, on the other hand, rushed to the front and rocked out with them. You'll never have any idea how moshing with approximately 5 people is until you actually give it a try. It felt weird having all that space in between ourselves, but other than that, I can say from my part I enjoyed it way more than an actual-sized pit. I was simply out of it, like I usually am at a concert, only this time I felt more positive than that kick-some-ass state of mind I usually get myself into (due to people punching, kicking, biting, and jumping on me) at a concert. When the opening band ended, the drummer chucked a drumstick at me, and I ran fast enough to get a hug from the singer before she left. After that, I walked back to the stage, waiting eagerly for the long-awaited Experience. Smoke appeared on the stage and my friends and I nearly pissed ourselves with excitement. Within seconds, Johnny Rotter, Kid Vicious, Steve Bones, and Paul Crook appeared out of nowhere, and began their first song. We were immediately back in the 70's, jumping up and down and shouting out lyrics with the Sex Pistols. There we were at last, and all I could think was, quoting Steve Jones "They really are the Sex Pistols!" which is exactly what I shouted out as soon as they had finished a song. Johnny Rotter simply scowled and said "No we're not!" Rotter stood there, and said "You're a quiet crowd tonight! Get off your asses!" I choked up a laugh and turned around, yelling "That's right! Get off your fucking asses!" as loud as I possibly could, and Kid went over to his microphone and asked "You American?" I shouted "Yeah! Fuck all Americans!!!" jokingly back at him. As much as I don't agree with that statement, we WERE back in the Sex Pistols era, where dumb redneck Americans chucked trash at them, so I considered it appropriate. Rotter simply said "If you want to!" and began the next song. EMI is somehow becoming my favorite Pistol song now, because what Rotter did made this concert even more perfect: He held out the microphone for me and let me sing along with him. The ending part "Hello EMI, goodbye A&M!" is still stuck in my head. These kinds of little miracles happened throughout the whole concert. Rotter tossing me a water bottle, Jure and I nicking their beer, and the absolute cherry on the cake: Kid came over and swung the bass onto the top of my head lightly. Only one per Experience concert gets that, and I felt honored (As a matter of fact, he could have messed up and literally hit me with the bass. I don't think I would have cared). Jure's braid tore off and he threw it at Bones, who took it. When the concert had ended, we managed to talk a bit with Rotter, who was simply a great guy. He burned a cigarette hole into my ticket, and tore off a bit of Janko's with his teeth as signatures. When the photo-taking had come to mind, however, we got chucked out by security. We playfully protested and yelled at them, just to get the last word, but when you come to think of it: What better way to end an amazing concert than getting thrown out by a guy who looks 100% like Sean Connery in a uniform? THE DAY AFTER THE CONCERT: Jure and I were sitting outside of a little pizza restaurant, when all of the sudden, he points at some guy not too far away from us, saying "Hey, is that Trmit?" I looked, and immediately saw that the "some guy" was not a fellow punk friend (Trmit). I said "No, but it's Johnny Rotter! Come on!!" We left all our stuff at the table and dashed in order to once again talk to our heroes Rotter, Vicious, Crook, and we even got to meet Nancy Pungent, Spungen's replica. Bones, however, was nowhere to be seen. We talked for a little more this time, and Jure wanted to know if Bones still had his braid. Rotter jokingly (or not) said "He probably smoked it. Either that or put it in his pants to make it look bigger". As we walked back to Metelkova like we usually did, we spotted Steve Bones sitting in the grass. He waved and told us to sit down. We were simply honored to be able to talk with him face-to-face with no disturbances, and believe it or not: we didn't talk about the band as much as fans usually do. This time it was friendly-talk, which was even better. Steve was getting ready to leave, so we bid him goodbye, and carried on with our path to Metelkova, and who did we meet not too far away from Steve? Kid, that's who, and, like with Bones, we were there with yet another perfect Sex Pistol replica and an amazing person. He expressed a bit of shock due to the fact that I didn't flinch a bit when he swung the bass at me (he said usually people back away and stuff). I actually felt proud for not using my human instinct that enables me to avoid getting hurt (after all, if you don't get at least a little hurt, what kind of concert is it? Can never be a good one in our eyes). When we said goodbye to Kid, we finally reached Metelkova, and I must say: we were shocked and at how much luck we had those two days, we 99% didn't even believe that had just happened! The Sex Pistols Experience are not a bunch of high-classed bastard s. They're just like us. From Rotter denying their amazing attention to details, and Steve and Kid hanging out with us. They could have told us to fuck off more times than I can count, and yet they happily granted us the time of our lives. I'll never forget that band, or that concert, because it was the best damn gig I've ever been to. My friends and I will await the next Experience gig we can attend, and the one after that, and the one after that. This will become a ritual to us. Nearly two years of waiting for them to come to our town. Was it worth it? You bet Bambi's corpse it was! Whoever has the chance to go see the Sex Pistols Experience, I encourage them to go by all means necessary! Do not choose them over any band! You will not regret it. There is not a single good reason not to go. Find one good reason not to go, and I'll buy your ticket for you!
25/10/09 Review from a roving reporter in Milton Keynes...
08/05/09 Sex Pistols Experience in Plymouth (review)
Maybe it was the fear of swine flu which kept people from turning up to watch this tribute to Johnny, Sid and company, but whatever, it was their loss because the Sex Pistols Experience are terrific.! The brave 100 or so who did troop out into Plymouth enjoyed an evening of high-calibre Punk-Rock mayhem delivered with panache by a band that would be fantastic even if they were pretending to be the Brotherhood of Man. But they’re not. They’re paying tribute to the Sex Pistols, one of the greatest bands ever to walk the earth and certainly the greatest ever to sing about a girl from Birmingham called Pauline. And to think, this gig was going ahead almost on the very spot where the real Pistols played in 1977. Yes, almost the very spot, give or take a couple of hundred yards and a £200million shopping arcade. And inside the sweltering human cattle-truck that passed for the bit in front of the stage it was like going back in time 32 years. You could almost smell the Denim aftershave as you pogoed to brilliant opener Pretty Vacant. The Pistols Experience, for those who missed them. are exactly like the real Pistols, exactly like them. For a start they have a guy playing Johnny Rotten who is within a razor blade’s width of being the real thing. He’s got the voice, mannerisms, body posture and tartan bondage strides off to a tee. And when he rips the proverbial out of the aging new wavers down the front it’s just like being insulted by the real McCoy. What an honour.! “Good to see Jimmy Saville’s turned up,” he jibed at one snow-capped geriatric punk to a heart-warming applause. Then there’s Sid Vicious. This bloke’s honed Sid’s charming, perpetually amazed, head shaking routine to perfection, although, and this is a minor criticism, he does actually seem able to play the bass and looks like he’s not held together by safety pins and phlegm. Naturally, these fellas are the stars, but don’t underestimate the Steve Jones and Paul Cook. That lad can’t half play guitar, and the drummer drives the whole thing like he’s helming a super tanker during a tsunami. And the music. Wow. I know it’s hard to go wrong when your material includes the best song ever written, Holidays in the Sun, the country’s other national anthem, God Save the Queen, and that old family favourite Bodies, but the Experience delivers them with brio and brilliance, and even find time for My Way and Public Image. And it hit the spot with the fans, an eclectic mix of aforesaid pensionable punks and youngsters who couldn’t stop filming everything on mobile phones, even in the lavs. What would Sid have made of that, eh? Kids today. The Experience are at Plympton’s Volksfest on May 22, and only if you’ve contracted the influenza C virus, possess a note from your doctor and your mum, and are confined to an iron lung should you be excused for missing them. WILLIAM TELFORD
05/11/08 We had a really nice review in the Banbury Guardian recently thanks to roving reporter Steve Miller who caught The Sex Pistols Experience supported by our good friend Ed Tudor Pole at the Mill (5th September 08).
09/05/08
21/01/08
15/11/07
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The Sex Pistols Experience - Granada Theater, 1/28/06
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PUNK SOUNDS OF THE SEVENTIES RETURN TO THE WINTER GARDENS
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We got a nice review in a French 'Inrocks' magazine, the last issue, November, was a Punk 30th anniversary edition featuring all the important & influential punk bands of the 70's, bang in the middle of the 4 page pistols spread was a write up of our first 100 Club gig back in April (which was filmed by onto Dvd by a German production company, soon to be released) & a paragraph or two about the Sex pistols Experience, we don't understand French so have no-idea what it's on about, but we were told "it's good!", maybe someone could email a Translation..
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GARDENS TARGETED PISTOLS' LOADED ANARCHY |
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MATT JOHNSON Anarchy in the UK was a lot more localised in 1976. This year marks the 30th anniversary of that legendary December night when the Sex Pistols and the Clash performed at the Cleethorpes Winter Gardens. Tickets to the Winter Gardens show are £7.50 in advance, available from Solid Entertainments on Wellowgate, Grimsby, by calling (01472) 349222, or £8.50 on the door.
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Sex Pistols Experience - May 4, 2006 - Baltimore! |
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The Sex Pistols Experience are playing the Ram's Head Live in Baltimore on Thursday, May 4, 2006, & if you are a huge Sex Pistols fan, this is the closest thing you're gonna ever get to seeing the band in their prime! The Sex Pistols Experience recreates the vibe, mood, energy, & looks of the original Sex Pistols with an un-canny likeness & devotion. I had the chance to ask the guys a few questions, & here's what they had to say: Rock N Roll Experience: Why did you choose to start a Sex Pistols cover band?
Drummer Paul Crook:- We're not a 'cover' band, its far more than that, any half arsed musician can be in any old cover band, this is more of a show, or a piece of theatre. It had been on my mind since the early 90's when the tribute band scene started up in the u.k, all the bands were being done, the Who, the Beatles, ABBA, Queen, you name it, but no-one had done the Sex Pistols, one of the u.k's most visual , exciting and influential bands of all time.! I had to do it, being as i was a huge Pistols fan, & had learned to play the drums at the age of 12yrs by playing along to their album 'Never Mind The Bollocks'. But all the four charecters had to look right, & have the right chemistry,& contary to popular oppinion, they, the Sex Pistols band, could really play their instruments too, listen to Glen Matlocks bass lines on the early stuff, and Steve Jones's guitar sound is still today, unique, and incredibly powerful. And the drumming is that of the Beatles, straight down the line, simple, yet effective. The Beatles wouldnt be anything like they were without Ringo, and the same can be said of the Pistols without Paul Cook's drumming. After being involved with other bands over the years it wasn't until 2000 when i found myself free to be able to persue my idea, so i began to advertise & start the auditioning process. I soon found the right mix of people, also mad pistols fan's, who not only could play very well, & knew the songs inside-out, but also looked the part so well too. Then off we went. Rock N Roll Experience: Has Johnny Rotten/Lydon acknowledged your cover band?
Johnny Forgotten:- We know for sure he know's of us, we sent him a live Dvd some time ago, and he sent some of his close friends over to see us perform on our last U.S.A tour when we played in L.A, - they loved us, thought the show was fantastic, came out the back stage area to meet us & were going crazy about it all..! Then we were invited to appear on Steve Jones's Radio show in L.A, 'Jonesy's Jukebox on indi 103.1, we had a great time on air with him, singing & playing the song's on air, it was only a couple of day's later that Johnny Rotten Lydon then came on his show too, & Steve would most certainly have talked to him about us. So we've had good feedback from Glen Matlock, Steve Jones & Paul Cook, but no direct word from Rotten yet, we hope he'd see it as a huge compliment, that anyone would go to so much trouble to do what were doing. At least he can rest assured that we do it well enough to tour the world on it!! I'm sure he'd have something to say if we were doing it badly & therfore not doing the Sex Pistols any justice.!? There was rumer, in fact Steve Jones asked us, to go along to the Rock'n'Roll hall of fame awards to collect the induction award on their behalf, Johnny would have had to have been in on that, we saw it a great 'joke' on the ceremony, turn up secretly, as the announcement was made "here's the Sex Pistols" we then would of walked out..! but in the end we ran out of time to get it all arranged. We're heading back out to L.A this fall, so perhaps he might cross paths with us then. But we oftern expect him to turn up at one of the England show's, just unnexpectedly turn up, that'd be cool... so long as he liked us..!? Rock N Roll Experience: What do you think of the "new" punk bands like Greenday & the Offspring?
Steve Clones:- Call them what you like, but they've kept the 'Punk' flag flying on both side's of the atlantic for far longer than the sex pistols did.! They've also been responsible for turning a whole new generation onto the Pistols, the Clash, Ramones etc, & that can only be a good thing, without bands like these the 'spirit of punk' might be just that, a spirit, an old long forgotten ghost.!? They keep music exciting, keep it alive, their live show's are great, and its all good entertainment. Green Days 'American Idiot' is probably THE best album i've heard in the last 5 years. Nothing wrong in that.
Kid Vicious:- Too much eye make-up for my likes, are they gay or what?
Rock N Roll Experience: Does the band also write & record original material, or are you strictly a cover band?
Paul Crook:- We're the worlds No'1 Sex Pistols Tribute show, there's no room to deviate at this level, although we are all capable of writing & performing our own stuff should we ever need to in the future, but & all of us have been down that road to varing degree's of success, and on the whole its very difficult to get the breaks, especially coming from the northern regions of England, there's just not the audiences there, no money in it, no talent scouts, it a constant up-hill battle that most likely will lead to nowhere. I spent 12 years with a good band doing all original stuff, paying money to play at most venues! To next to no audience, waste of time unfortunatly. But that was in the early 90's, a time before computers & scanners, before email, everything was done by telephone, and much harder to get the word out. Which is why i decided that the Tribute band thing would be a way forward, you have an instant audience, all the hard work making a name for yourself has been done. So its not like we didnt try that route, to be original, come up with new material, but at our age, we're all almost 40yrs of age, whats the point?? We just want to have some fun with the music now, & there's nothing better than seeing a full crowd going nuts to something we're doing, all -be-it to another (great) bands music. I know for a fact that I'd never of been able to tour the world & wouldnt have so many great stories & experiences had it not for playing in a covers/tribute band, so to my mind this is/has been a successful music career for me.
Rock N Roll Experience: Have you seen the KISS, led zeppelin, queen, etc., cover bands & what do you think of them?
Johnny Forgotten:- We dont often get a chance to see too many of them as were always out playing ourselves, but we do occasionally get to see them if we're sharing the bill at a festival or something. Generally, most of them at our level are great, it really is a good way to experience your favorite band up close for less than half the ticket price.! The problem is though, there's so many of the Kiss, Queen, Led zep bands out there, all doing the same music, fighting over who's going to play the venues first, some are good, and most are terrible, there's varing degree's to the quality of these bands. Some are just 'cover bands', 4 or 5 guys hammering out the music, not always correctly, so long as it sounds something like it should, then it'll do..! Thats not good enough to my mind, it has to be done right & presented well, with attention to detail, solid rehearsals to be sure that everthing is spot-on, then you rise above that 'cover band' status, and become a worthwhile tribute show. Set a high standard for yourself & the band, that way your ensuring people who come to see the show will be impressed & return again & again, and go away from the show talking about your band for days afterwards. Thats what we want, the whole Sex Pistols 'Experience'.! By having these high standards your also doing justice to your chosen band. With the Sex Pistols - there is only 'us' out there doing it as far as i know, or the 'real' sex pistols...! But you won't see them playing live anymore, the sex pistols torch is now in our hands & we'll continue to do our best to portray it as 'they' would like it to be, powerful, dynamic, exciting and most of all, just down-right good fun.!
Rock N Roll Experience: What is the most chaotic thing that has ever happened on stage during one of your performances?
Kid Vicious:- Every show something happens, we get so many incidents, you just never know whats coming next, all the gigs tend to get quite lively, we get quite a few involving 'girls' type incidents, which is always nice.! But i don't want to go into too much detail about some the crazy things that happen through not wanting to encorage any repeate actions.! The exciting part, for the crowd, is not knowing whats going to happen next, maybe nothing.!?? Who know's.
Rock N Roll Experience: What did you think of the Sex Pistols "reunion" tour?
All band:- We all though it was great, they still had relevence in 96 as much as they did in 76'.
J.Forgotten:- And good on them for admitting it was all for the money -the'filth lucre'. They we're long overdue their pay day, their ex manager took off with all their money at the end of the 70's, so i'm happy for them that they did the tours, healed old wounds, earned some money, and raised their status to a whole new generation. AND gave a chance for all those who missed out the first time to get a 2nd chance to see the band. I'm also glad that they didnt keep quiet over the Queens golden jubilee celebrations.! There was more uk press about the Sex Pistols playing in London, than there was about the Queen turning 103 or whatever she is..!?
Rock N Roll Experience: Do you have a favorite Sex Pistols song?
Paul Crook:- The whole of the Never Mind the Bollocks album has stood the test of time, every song is a classic, one after another. It still sounds fresh today, and still influences bands the world over, if i had to choose one, purely on a favorite to 'play' on drums - 'New York'.
Johnny Forgotten:- 'Bodies', say's it all to me.!
Kid Vicious:- 'Belsen was a gas' just cos it gets the best reaction, we played it recently in Berlin, Germany, we though the place was going to explode..! or "Holidays in the Sun", when the guitar solo come's in, makes all the hairs stand up..!
Steve Clones:- I dunno, im just in it for the beer & women...and not in that order..!
And on that note, I don't think you could end an interview more appropriate than that! The Sex Pistols Experience are playing May 4, 2006 at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore...you can check out the bands web site at: SEX PISTOLS EXPERIENCE. & you can get show in at Ram's Head Live. Tix are $10 in advance & $12 the day of show...See you guys at the show!
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Review from Dallas Texas show, By Stuart
Kincaid Thursday, February 02, 2006 The Sex Pistols Experience Over the weekend we had the opportunity to break
up the Waldo's Hawaiian Holiday focus for a few days by shooting a live Sex
Pistols tribute band in Dallas. |
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Review page from 'Harderbeat' magazine. http://www.harderbeat.com/html/live_reviews.html The Sex Pistols Experience - Granada Theater,
1/28/06 |
They
Wanna Be Them
Get
ready to gob, because the Sex Pistols Experience is ready for your spit
By
Rob
Patterson
Article
Published Jan 26, 2006
Which
of the following is an omen of the impending apocalypse? A) The Sex Pistols
playing Dallas' Longhorn Ballroom, once the home of Bob Wills, in 1978. B)
The re-formed Sex Pistols playing the Trump Marina Casino during their 2003
tour. C) The Sex Pistols Experience-- a tribute band that looks and sounds
like the real thing, complete with a "Johnny Forgotten," "Kid
Vicious" and even girlfriend "Nancy Spunked'on" (selling
merch, natch)--playing the Granada Theater this weekend on the second date of
their "Anarchy From the UK" tour. Never
mind the bollocks, you decide. The English foursome plus one that make up the
Experience started emulating the four horsemen of punk rock "just for a
bit o' fun more than anything," says drummer "Paul Crook."
They've now been at it nearly three times as long as the real Pistols'
original run, touring throughout the U.K. and Europe and now the U.S. Depending
on your viewpoint, it could be a great rock 'n' roll swindle and/or a cheeky
way for some lads to make a few quid. "Tribute bands started out to be a
big deal over here, like, 10 years ago," says "Malcolm
McDonalds," the band's "manager" (who sounds suspiciously
similar to Crook via transatlantic phone). "I always knew that the Sex
Pistols would be the real one to conquer. With bands like The Who and all
that such and that, you can more or less pull any pub musician out of any
band across the U.K. and put together a Who tribute. But with the Sex
Pistols, because of the four strong characters and the music was so unique, it
would be difficult for just anyone to do." The
key sales point of the Experience is how much they resemble the real deal
(check out sexpistolsexperience.co.uk
to judge for yourself). And as a result, they stir up at least a semblance of
the Pistols ruckus of yore. "It's
just mental down at the front," Crook says. But what about the '70s punk
sport of gobbing (spitting) at the band? "Funnily enough, that's one
thing that didn't survive. We're glad about that." The
Experience, who will record the Dallas show for a CD and DVD release, sees
their market as two-fold. One segment is "the people now in their late
30s and 40s who want to go back to when they were kids and catch up on the
music they were listening to," McDonalds says. On the other hand,
"the younger generation want to know who all these bands were that
influenced the bands they like today." Crook
falls into the former bunch. "I was only 12 years old when they played
my hometown. And I wasn't allowed to go in the venue. But I saw them arrive
in their old beat-up van and pull up outside. And Sid and Johnny were doing
their rude signals through the window at the crowd. I think that's what
stirred up my curiosity. I wanted to know what all the fuss was all about.
Because I wasn't allowed to see them, I've since made up for it now, doing it
myself with this band." These
Pistols, however, aren't out to spread anarchy and mayhem or transform rock
'n' roll. "That's not really the direction we're coming from,"
Crook says. "We've come to appreciate that we're not the Pistols."
Somehow, so has everyone else. |
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posted by Matt/Sarah # 11:45 PM So I hooked up with the guys from Antstuie
Productions to do a multi-camera shoot of the Sex Pistols experience. It was
very very fun. A rockin', truly 'punk' good time. I got up close for good shots
of the band on stage and in the crowd. 'Kid' Vicious flipped me off. They
showed their appreciation for the crowd by hurling nasty insults, and the
audience showed their appreciation by throwing things at the band. I was
always at the right place at the right time with the camera. Got good shots
of securtiy dragging off drunk crowd members who jump on stage and take over
their microphones. Somebody right in front of me threw a tshirt at Vicious
and he threw it back into the camera. Before the show we had a good time just
chatting it up with Tony and Stuie. Sarah and I went across the street to get
a delicious gyro. Sarah has no punk in her but has since learned to
appreciate the pistols. She had a blast and likes them now! |
Interviews
Interview with 86 magazine
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This is a Transcript on an email interview done with 'Paul
Crook @ the 'Edmond Sun' newspaper in Tulsa What is your stage name and what got
you started in the Sex Pistol Experience? - Paul Crook, the drummer. I was blown away at the age of 12yrs when they made their first apperance on Top Of the Pops here in the u.k, i guess it was a bit like when the Beatles did the Ed Sullivan Show for you guys!? It made me want to play an instrument & be in a band, which i did, took up drumming, played in lots of bands over the years, but something kept pulling me back to the Pistols, i always had a desire to do a full blown pistols tribute show when the time was right, and it took me a long time to find the right guys to do the job. Given the brief run of the Sex
Pistols, how did you prepare for the role? - I didnt really
prepare, i , personally speaking, didnt have to, as i'd grown up learning to play
the drum kit whilst listening to the 'Never mind the Bollocks' album on the
headphones, so i naturally took to playing the sex pistols way from an early
age, of course as i got older i developed on the basics i'd learnt
& became more accomplished, but i can always revert back to those early
days, except now i play with more power & confidence! Then when we
started out with the Sex Pistols Experience band, we got all the live
recordings, dvd's, videos and any film footage we could and studied
that, to fine tune, get the look & movments down as best we could. We lso
spoke with Dave Goodman (sex pistols early sound producer & engineer) He
became a good friend, and was very helpful in our formative years. What do fans expect from a Sex
Pistols tribute band? -I dont really know, they
all differ in oppinions i think. I do know that people setting out to see us
for the first time dont really expect much, they dont have very high
expectations of us, i guess they think " how can anyone pull that off??"
and belive me, its not easy! i dont think just any musician could do
it, there is a very definate style, and way of playing the music that has to
be studied, otherwize its just not going to sound right, and fans ogf the
pistols will certainly let you know about it if its done wrong or badly.
Fourtunatly we leave no room for any mistakes of crittisizm! How is it different than others(like a Beatles tribute or
Kiss?) -There's hundreds of Beatles
bands out there, it easy to do that, or to hide under make-up and be like
Kiss, literally anyone could do that and make it acceptable & reasonably
entertaining. The difference with the Pistols is, we're up there facing
people with nothing to hide behind, musically stripped back to the bare
essentials, it has to be good & it has to be right, or your likely to get
a bottle of beer thrown at you! It a very easy band to get wrong, and
when its wrong it sticks out like a sore finger, and with pistols fans who
are passionate about their heros, they'll let you know it, ..and stamp on
that finger! What is more important for a tribute
band, playing the music percisly or looking the part? This is where
many many bands go wrong, ...they are eaqually important. I saw a very good
Beatles tribute only a few weeks back, sounded perfect, got all the music
& harmonies down great, there was Ringo sat behind a Chromed-up, made in
Japan, Pearl export kit.! it just undermines the band before they've even
played a note. If you look the part, all of the band and equipment,
then it allows you the freedom to not have to play note perfect, because
people can see that the effort has been put in, and will be enjoying the show
all the more, relaxed and subconciously not looking for faults. While in a tribute band, do you see
yourself as an actor or a musician? - Absolutly BOTH. what
we do has been likened to a piece of theatre. It requires both attributes. What is the historical impact of the
Sex Pistols? - their impact is still influencing
bands today who are just starting up. Saying to kids 'you dont have to be
great to get on a stage and have a go, if you want to do something, get out
there and do it, dont let anyone tell you you can't!' And the music sounds so
simple (but in fact it is not!) it inspires, and still sound so fresh today.
Where does "Nevermind the
Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" stack up with the greatest
albums of all time? - Well without doubt its up the in
its historical importance alone. But i saw in the U.K's 'Q'
music/band magazine a couple of yrs back it had been VOTED by the
readers upto No2, just behind the Beatles sgt Peppers! So thats not so bad.
But a top ten list of all time greatest albums without the Bollocks album in
there somewhere, at least somewhere in the top five, can'not be lent any
credability to my mind? Will the Sex Pistol Experience
implode with the same grandeour as the Sex Pistols? -We live day to day,
accepting whatever comes our way & make the most of any oppertunities,
who knows what fate will throw at us? But we'll ride this beast as long as
we're still enjoing it, and whilst people enjoy to watch it, if & when
the rot sets in, hopefully we'll be old enough & wize enough to see the
signs and call it a day before we start killing eachother!?? Why are you starting your tour in
Tulsa at the Cain's Ballroom? - This being the first tour
of the states for us, we wanted to kind of pick up where they left off in the
70's, winterland is gone now in San Fran', and that held bitter memories
anyway for the pistols, the night before winterland they played Cains, so
this seemed to us the ONLY place to start for us, imagine what might of been
if Sid had'nt of got on the drugs, and the band had all gotten along, they
may well of followed a similar route to us, come to our gig, come up close,
set your mind back 30yrs, and enjoy to show, ...this is where we pick up the
story. How have the surviving Sex Pistols
reacted to your tribute? - We have only ever had
posative feedback, i hope they'll be flattered that we've gone to all the
trouble to pay them this tribute!? We have yet to hear from John, but
how can you not see it as a compliment? Also, we're doing all the hard work
for them, sweating our guts out every night, on the front line, firing line,
promoting their music, but it is tremendous fun, it a great gig to play,
exciting, you just never know what could happen next.!? maybe nothing. Maybe
its the last time we'll ever be on stage together, who knows'?? But for
now, whilst the venues keep on selling out, and we're enjoying it, we'll
continue. But remember, to quote our singer:- "we're not there for your
entertainment, YOUR there for OURS'!!" |
In Print (Click On Article To Enlarge)
On Line
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15th
April 2005 The Sex
Pistols Experience, the Standard, Walthemstow, London. At last the country’s top
pistols tribute band play a couple of London shows. They play an 80 min set
that was just superb. All the classic "EMI", "God Save The
Queen”, "Bodies", "Pretty Vacant", " Holidays in the
Sun", with all the sneering vocals and wall of sound just like the
originals. If your a pistols fan they are a 'must see' band! You'll be
surprised at just how good they are. The also play Acton soon, and a
special Thames boat gig in June, see you at both of them...!? Ray
Morrisey www.raysgigs.com
2005 |
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23rd
April 2005 Sex
Pistols Experience, King Arms, Acton, London. It’s a hot, sweaty St Georges
day atmosphere. The SPE do a superb 90 min set of all the best-known pistols
songs. Their singer 'Johnny forgotten' is on top form tonight. A stunning
encore of 'Silly Thing', 'god Save The Queen' & 'Pretty Vacant' was just
MEGA! Like I’ve said, if you like the pistols you MUST go check this
lot out. Ray
Morrisey www.raysgigs.com
2005 |
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12th June
2004 The Sex
Pistols Experience, on the river Thames on the original boat used by the
pistols in 1977, this was a great event to celebrate a legendary day in punk
rock history. Plenty of fun gestures to bemused tourists, rowers &
passers-by as we sail down river. I was on both the afternoon and the evening
sailing. They played 90min's over two set's on both the day's trips. The band
has been playing all over the U.K for some time now, and all the tunes sound
great. Virtually every song the pistols ever recorded as well as all the
covers the pistols did. Great to be amongst so many die-hard pistols fan's
who'd travelled from all over he U.K to be here today. A really enjoyable
& totally different way to see a band. Ray
Morrisey, www.raysgigs.com
2004. |
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11th
June 2005 The Sex
Pistols Experience boat trip party, River Thames London, Even though I had
tickets to see the 'Download' festival to see Black Sabbath & Velvet
Revolver I simply could not miss this great event. The Sex Pistols No1
tribute hiring out the same boat used by the pistols in 1977. On-board is a
150 people sell-out and a unique atmosphere. First up Tenpole Tudor does a
warm up set & goes down really well, then the SPE take to the stage for a
brilliant 90min's set of pistols anthems. The whole boat is rocking in every
sense. Tenpole joins them for the encore of 'Swords of a Thousand men, there
are great gigs, & great events, this was both! See you there on the
boat this time next year!? Ray
Morrisey, www.raysgigs.com
2005. |