Rhino Factoids: Morrissey Reflects on Seeing the Sex Pistols

39 years ago this week, New Musical Express ran a haughty missive composed by a young gentleman in Manchester named Steven Patrick Morrissey, who felt the need to put pen to paper and express how generally unimpressed he had been by the Sex Pistols.

“I pen this epistle after witnessing the infamous Sex Pistols in concert at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall,” wrote Morrissey. “The bumptious Pistols in jumble sale attire had those few that attended dancing in the aisles despite their discordant music and barely audible lyrics. The Pistols boast having no inspiration from the New York / Manhattan rock scene, yet their set includes ‘I’m Not Your Stepping Stone,’ a number believed to be done almost to perfection by the Heartbreakers on any sleazy New York night and the Pistols’ vocalist / exhibitionist Johnny Rotten’s attitude and self-asserted ‘love us or leave us’ approach can be compared to both Iggy Pop and David Johansen in their heyday. The Sex Pistols are very New York and it’s nice to see that the British have produced a band capable of producing atmosphere created by The New York Dolls and their many imitators, even though it may be too late. I’d love to see the Pistols make it. Maybe they will be able to afford some clothes which don’t look as though they’ve been slept in.”

Oh, that Morrissey. Ever the cut-up.

If you’d like you check out some more of Mozzer’s highly opinionated scribbling about various artists, you may enjoy “‘I’m Writing This to Say…’ 10 Artists Who Drove Morrissey to Compose Letters.” Then again, you might just enjoy pretending that you never read this piece and instead go listen to Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, so we’ll provide you with that option, too.