Customer Reviews

Destroy: A Photographic Archive of the Sex Pistols, 1977

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Stunningly beautiful black-and-white photos fill this book from cover to cover. Some are familliar, most were new to me. Most of the focus is on Rotten, although Sid and the rest of the band members each have their chance to shine. The book documents their travels and travails through the year 1977, ending just before the American tour when things went completely out the window. Poor Sid, you can actually see him going down hill. There is no text, only some very brief descriptions of each photograph at the very end of the book. I wonder about the amount of trouble each band member went to over the slovenly aspect of their appearance, because they all come off looking like very attractive young men. Many people seem to think of Rotten as ugly and gross (including Rotten himself, apparently). May I refer these people to page 28/29 of the book. I defy you to find one single thing ugly about this man. (sigh) Completely worth the money, this book lived up to all my expectations. Buy it now.

i though this book was amazing and was so happy i bought it! the pictures are great and tell so much about the individual members of the band, the band history, and the sad ending of everything. i especially liked the candid photos of rotten (page 89 is, well, what can i say? i love him) and the rest of the group (page 91 and 93 are halarious and kinda show the group dynamic), and the amazing photos of the original fans. this book is great!

There was so much written at the time about the Sex Pistols during their meteoric rise and blazing fall that it's refreshing to see the band being captured only in photographs.

Dennis Morris did a great job in detailing the band throughout 1977 - before the Pistols stumbled into the United States and imploded after a horrendous gig at the Winterland - in the reissue of his photo collection, Destroy.

John Lydon had asked Morris, 18, to photograph the group. The unprecedented access captures the band in promotional posturing, on stage and in legendary scenes, like "The Boat Trip," a short-lived gig on the Thames that police broke up and seemingly arrested everyone but the Pistols.

The closing pages can not hide that the band was in turmoil, with the members obviously straining to tolerate each other. One of the final photos shows Lydon talking with Jah Wobble, who months later was the bass player in Lydon's post-Pistols band, Public Image Ltd., while the other Pistols appear pretty vacant.

Punk meant so much more than what was captured on vinyl. Destroy is a collection that brings better focus to what the movement meant to so many.

being a big sid vicious fan, when i saw this book at tower records i knew i had to get it!! it wasnt grand spankin new but who really cares? i think this book is awesome!! definite recommendation for all those sex pistols fans out there! i wasnt alive in those days but this makes up for all of that!!

sex pistols images
the photographer is not a great one here, most likely early in his career, but for a visual documentary of the pistols, this is a decent book.

I learned alot about the band and how they started broke up and reunited I would recommend the book to any of there fans or any punk fans in general!