Legendary SEX PISTOLS Concerts From 1978 Released For First Time Ever

January 14, 2025

"Ah-ha-ha. Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? Good night."

SEX PISTOLS fans will finally be able to judge for themselves with the release for the first time of three full live albums from the band's legendary 1978 U.S. tour.

SEX PISTOLS singer and lyricist Johnny Rotten signed off with the immortal words on stage at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on January 14, 1978 — the band's final show until they reformed in 1996.

This year will see the San Francisco show and performances in Atlanta (South East Music, January 5, 1978) and Dallas (Longhorns Ballroom, January 10, 1978) given special edition colored vinyl releases before all three are made available in a three-CD set and for digital download.

Even had the band not imploded soon afterwards, the tour would still have had a place in rock and roll history, the band's reputation preceding it across America's conservative heartlands.

John Rotten (a.k.a. Lydon),Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sid Vicious were sent into venues primed for confrontation, police ready to clamp down on any signs of anarchy and religious protesters rallying to see off the unholy Brits.

Audiences were provoked, objects flew, tensions brewed, cracks widened among the PISTOLS themselves — but amidst it all was delivered some of the rawest and most honest music that the country that birthed rock and roll had ever seen. "God Save The Queen", "Bodies" and the re-targeted "Anarchy In The USA" — all launched at the crowds and the onlooking authorities.

"Now, we came to dance — what did you come for?" says Rotten before the band rip into "God Save The Queen" in Atlanta, and then: "That was the new British national anthem."

The newly mastered recordings put the listener right amongst the sweating, bellowing crowd. "Aren't we the worst thing you've ever seen?" asks Rotten — but in truth the roar of Jones's guitar and the raw snarl of his vocal are exactly what they want.

A radio advert for the Dallas show proclaims: "They said no one could be more bizarre than Alice Cooper or more destructive than KISS. They have not seen THE SEX PISTOLS…Banned in their own home country, England's SEX PISTOLS denied admittance to the United States — THE SEX PISTOLS bring the new wave to the Metroplex this Tuesday night in the Longhorn Ballroom."

After the band crashed through THE STOOGES' "No Fun" in San Francisco, Rotten challenged the crowd directly: "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

Within days, he announced his departure and THE SEX PISTOLS explosion, detonated in the turmoil of the late 1970s, was over. These primal recordings document the final shockwaves of a band that changed pop culture forever.

"Sex Pistols: Live In The USA 1978" release dates:

Friday, February 28
1LP (Red Vinyl)
"Sex Pistols - Live In The USA 1978"
Great South East Music Hall, Atlanta, 5th January 1978

Friday, March 28
1LP (White Vinyl)
"Sex Pistols - Live In The USA 1978"
Longhorns Ballroom, Dallas, 10th January 1978

Friday, April 25
1LP (Blue Vinyl)
"Sex Pistols - Live In The USA 1978"
Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, 14th January 1978
3CD - all 3 shows
Digital - all 3 shows

Find more on Sex pistols
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).