Album Review

The Sex Pistols – There’ll Always Be An England Blu-Ray

• 7th Jun 2011

Far from Vera Lynn’s country cottages and grain fields, the Sex Pistols’ resurgence at the grimy Brixton Academy seems to be focusing more on the Motherland’s abundance of bulging, middle-aged paunches and unfortunate receding hairlines. The Sex Pistols Live at Brixton Academy is a showcase outing for these ageing punksters , who stroll onto stage as casually as though they’d never left it. “Allo Lundun, ow da fuck are ya!?!” serves as crazed, ex-Jungle jail mate Johnny Rotten’s (aka Lydon) introduction, before launching in with Pretty Vacant, sending an already crazed crowd to new heights of hysteria.

Now, I never saw the Pistols at their mental-asylum ‘70s peak, but I’d say it’s a fair assumption to say that their performance style has toned down considerably since their Royalty-bashing, society-smashing heyday. Nowadays the most extreme measure they can pull out of the bag (although some would say equally horrifying) is Lydon stripping to the waist and parading about in all his sweaty, middle aged glory. Although, when he’s not forgetting the words or screaming like a rabid tom-cat, Lydon delivers a performance worthy of any hero of the bygone era of freedom of expression.

It hardly seems worth mentioning their choice of repertoire. They’ve very much taken the crowd pleasing approach, delivering such ‘timeless’ classics as Seventeen, EMI, Problems and of course God Save the Queen. As is to be expected, watching all this on the small screen is no substitute for the live experience, although I count myself lucky that to have been spared the aromatic experience which comes with it. The blu-ray format seems a bit lost on a live recording with only two extras but I suppose the Sex Pistols have to at least attempt to keep up with the times.

Speaking of extras, the blu-ray comes with a couple of interesting features: A Unique Guide to London by the Pistols and John Lydon’s Open Top Bus Ride, both of which seem to be little more than a trip down memory lane for these ageing relics as they stroll around London recounting tales of ladies of the night and creaking early days shows. There are some nice trivia bits which will keep die-hard fans happy but for the most part they are little more than home video quality.

There’ll always be an England – “as long as we exist, there always fucking will be” boast Lydon. Well, whilst it’s great to see some of SAGA’s most famous members reliving their youth, I daresay that England may have moved on a fair way since the days when the Sex Pistols were at the top of their game but if there’s one certainty it’s that their music will always attract those pretty vacant, seventeen year old few on the fringes of society.