COCK PISS PARTRIDGE

I don't know about a match made in heaven, but there seems to be a certain symbiosis whenever a can of spray paint meets a brutalist building. In July of this year my friend Steve and I went to see Generation Sex at the newly refurbished Wulfrun Hall. Between our digs and the venue is an absolute behemoth of Brutalism - Wolverhampton Station Car Park; so much so it's something of a Modernist icon.

However, at some point between when the above photo was taken (and now residing in my office - thank you, James - a most splendid birthday present), and the snap I took in the Summer, this happened; so much to unpack. Maybe another time.

Our figurehead

Monday night, still on a high from my recent Belfast jolly-up, and it's off to Wolverhampton; not the most glamorous of cities, I grant you, but legends know no borders when it comes to treading the boards and letting the world know they're still kicking a ball. Steve Jones, for it is he, has spent the last few weeks with his mates Billy Idol, Tony James and Paul Cook schlepping round Europe under the Generation Sex moniker - half Gen X, half Sex Pistols - and, as you'd imagine, playing a veritable live punk jukebox in front of sell-out crowds. And tonight they're at the recently refurbished Civic Hall.

Whilst Jones has always been happy to let vocalists like Idol and John Lydon hog the microphone, the sheer firepower he provides (courtesy of his iconic Les Paul Custom) is nothing short of  staggering. Totally self taught he has never been hamstrung by the 'rules' of music, and as the clip below attests, his prowess then, and now, ensures that the Pistols will always be seated at the head of punk's top table - no ifs, no buts. And yes, he still plays Pretty Vacant as if his life depends on it, including the two majestic power chords right at the very end. Once a legend, always a legend.  

Steve Jones - How to play all the Pistols' riffs.