20 Greatest British Rock Bands

[Jimothey]

Could you really consider the sex pistols as “greatest” their career only lasted 3 years apart from a short lived reunion in the mid 90’s but the sex pistols wouldn’t ever be about if wasn’t for the likes of the Small Faces, the Who and I know they aren’t British but the New York Dolls and Iggy and the Stoogies who they heavy took influences from

Don’t get me wrong I really like the sex pistols I grew up listening to punk but in reality they could barely play their instruments 

[discreet]

11 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

Could you really consider the sex pistols as “greatest”...

Greatest Rock 'N' Roll swindle... as perpetrated by Malcom McLaren.

 

[Bassassin]

Very much depends what you mean by "greatest". If you grew up with this stuff (as I did) you know the impact they had on the music scene at the time - many of the other bands in the list would never have existed/had careers without the influence of the Pistols!

They weren't virtuosos but anyone with a pair of ears knows the "couldn't play their instruments" line was, to coin a phrase, bollocks. And (speaking as an unrepentant prog rocker) great rock music isn't about technical ability!

[Jenny_Innie]

8 hours ago, Jimothey said:

Could you really consider the sex pistols as “greatest” their career only lasted 3 years apart from a short lived reunion in the mid 90’s but the sex pistols wouldn’t ever be about if wasn’t for the likes of the Small Faces, the Who and I know they aren’t British but the New York Dolls and Iggy and the Stoogies who they heavy took influences from

Don’t get me wrong I really like the sex pistols I grew up listening to punk but in reality they could barely play their instruments 

In terms of impact on the music scene, yes.  Way, way before my time - but didn't they (and their contemporaries) ...... with the assistance of Malcolm McLaren yes ......break the mould of a turgid scene of flared-trousered tedium of supergroups and 10 minute solos.  

There a lots of what people call "seminal" albums - but NMTB was a game-changer for music.

[discreet]

2 hours ago, Jenny_Innie said:

NMTB was a game-changer for music.

Yes, without NMTB there would be no Never Mind and the rise of Nirvana, Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters. Which may or may not be good news depending on how you feel about those bands. The Foos are maybe just a little over-exposed and don't really adhere to the punk ethic (whatever that means), but hey.

Edited November 15, 2017 by discreet

[No lust in Jazz]

14 hours ago, Jimothey said:

Don’t get me wrong I really like the sex pistols I grew up listening to punk but in reality they could barely play their instruments 

The Sex Pistols could play - no doubt about it..

There's a programme on BBC IPlayer at the moment called something like 'Christmas '77 with the Sex Pistols' which bears this out, but is worth watching anyway as a taste of how different 1977 Britain was.

 

[Jimothey]

1 hour ago, No lust in Jazz said:

The Sex Pistols could play - no doubt about it.

 

Sorry what I meant to say was compared to other bands around at the time they weren’t up the same standard with their playing 

if you did a top 20 bassist in the 70’s Sid Vicious would be nowhere to be seen 

I agree that NMTB was a game changing album because it challenged “The Man” and people’s attitudes but musically is wasn’t exactly groundbreaking IMO

[Bassassin]

33 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

if you did a top 20 bassist in the 70’s Sid Vicious would be nowhere to be seen 

I agree that NMTB was a game changing album because it challenged “The Man” and people’s attitudes but musically is wasn’t exactly groundbreaking IMO

On the other hand Glen Matlock was a pretty damn good player. And Steve Jones (who played bass on most of NMTB) was absolutely rock-solid. Sid was never a musician and was never meant to be.

When I heard that album, aged 15, I'd never heard anything like it. I may never have thought about playing music myself if it hadn't been for the DIY ethos of the bands that came out of Punk. Pretty groundbreaking to me & millions of other kids who suddenly realised they could be in bands too.

[No lust in Jazz]

40 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

Sorry what I meant to say was compared to other bands around at the time they weren’t up the same standard with their playing 

if you did a top 20 bassist in the 70’s Sid Vicious would be nowhere to be seen 

 

I think one of the Punk movements saving graces was that it didn't matter whether you could play or not - it was more along the lines of get up give it a go..

 I also think Sid Vicious was a troubled soul more than a Bass player

One thing about the Sex Pistols and a lot of other Punk music which is lost at this remove, is that largely due to the monopoly that the BBC had on Radio and TV in those days is that it was really hard to hear the music on the main steam media

 

Edited November 15, 2017 by No lust in Jazz
adding some stuff

[Misdee]

11 hours ago, Jenny_Innie said:

In terms of impact on the music scene, yes.  Way, way before my time - but didn't they (and their contemporaries) ...... with the assistance of Malcolm McLaren yes ......break the mould of a turgid scene of flared-trousered tedium of supergroups and 10 minute solos.  

There a lots of what people call "seminal" albums - but NMTB was a game-changer for music.

This is exactly what I mean by a propagandised version of music history.

I was about at the time and yes there was plenty of crap music before punk rock. However, there has been just as much  crap music since the advent of the Sex Pistols and their supposed salvation of popular music from the demon of self-indulgence. So what then, exactly did this seismic change bring about? 

The Sex Pistols were essentially a media event not a musical one. There was nothing remotely new about the sound of the band. Their significance was all about context. They have been turned into something that they never actually were, in reality, by people with their own agendas.

[T-Bay]

20 hours ago, Bassassin said:

Very much depends what you mean by "greatest". If you grew up with this stuff (as I did) you know the impact they had on the music scene at the time - many of the other bands in the list would never have existed/had careers without the influence of the Pistols!

They weren't virtuosos but anyone with a pair of ears knows the "couldn't play their instruments" line was, to coin a phrase, bollocks. And (speaking as an unrepentant prog rocker) great rock music isn't about technical ability!

This^^^^ I still listen to never mind the bollocks most weeks. It is my favourite album. I first heard the six pistols when I was about 6. They were totally different to anything else around at the time. They started my interest in non mainstream music which has continued to this day. I still don’t think any other album has ever surpassed it for sheer energy levels.

[dmccombe7]

Being into heavy rock when the Sex Pistols appeared i remember them taking the music scene by storm. People couldn't get enough of them. 

Even tho they weren't 1st class musicians they had so much raw energy and i would have to agree they did have a massive impact on the music scene unlike many of the bands that then followed suit. Sex Pistols were first to become famous in the popular Punk movement. 

I quite enjoyed them and still have NMTB and few of their early singles. Would never admit that at the time to my long haired rock mates tho 

I always blamed Punk for killing one of my all time fav bands Lone Star with John Sloman. Brilliant band but the advent of punk killed the rock scene for a few years just as they were starting to get recognised. Shame. Great band of very talented musicians. Had the good fortune to meet John Sloman at the Uriah Heep gig in Glasgow. Great guy.

Dave