The Pistols are a full on tribute to The Sex Pistols, recreating the sound and the look of the 1970's punk phenomenon that literally changed the face of British music.
Formed in 2004 by Paul: a self confessed Sex Pistols fan ever since he was a youngster. Having been in several original and cover bands over the years he set off on a mission: to form a tribute band to legend that is The Sex Pistols.
Paul didn't know any musicians that fitted the bill - all he knew was that he had the voice, and with the help of a few tubs of gel and some orange dye, the look, of John Lydon. He was Rotten to the core!
Paul placed ads on the internet and in the local music press, and within a few weeks had met up with Jon from Watford, another Sex Pistols fan and top notch guitarist.
They met in a rehearsal studio and played along to a drum machine and, after one run through of God Save The Queen, he knew this would be the man to don the Les Paul guitar and play the riffs of Steve Jones.
The pair then set about finding a bass player and drummer, which proved to be more difficult. They eventually found a bass player, but he was a bit young, hadn't really heard much of the Sex Pistols, and looked nothing like Sid Vicious (or Glen Matlock!). Still, he could play, and as the sound was the main thing on the agenda he joined the band.
They then auditioned a couple of drummers. The first was good. A real fan, knew all the songs, but he had one volume and one speed. Paul Cook is a great drummer and there was something missing so they carried on and auditioned Toby. As soon as they started Pretty Vacant things started sounding different.. The tempo was spot on, as was the anticipation of the building drums on the intro. By the first cymbal crash they knew they'd found the right drummer. “Always on time, he had to provide the beat!”
After rehearsing for a few months the bass player went awol, not answering any messages or phone calls. Toby mentioned that he knew a guy, Tim who might play bass for the band. He was predominantly a guitarist, but was at a loose end bandwise so he asked him to come along to a rehearsal. As soon as Tim walked in the rest of the band could saw a potential Vicious. He had the height and the build of Sid. He could also play (unlike Sid!). After a few tracks they all agreed this would be the final lineup.
With the lineup complete the band then spent the best part of 6 months rehearsing and perfecting the first batch of songs that would make up the early sets. It was everything from Never Mind The Bollocks: Pretty Vacant, God Save The Queen, Anarchy In The UK etc, plus a few other classics. By the time they started gigging the sound was perfect, and after a few gigs the look and attitude started to come through.
The band have been going strong ever since, and their set now consists of almost 2 hours of material. They play just about everything the Sex Pistols ever recorded or played live, plus some PiL tracks, some Sid Vicious croonings and songs from the aftermath of the Pistols like Silly Thing.
Venues the band have played include the legendary Standard Walthamstow, The Hope & Anchor Islington, Plinston Hall Letchworth and The Marquee Hertford.
Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? Not with these guys.
Find out more at http://www.thepistols.co.uk/ and to book this unique band, contact Astrid at Headline Management.
