Respect The Shooter: Janette Beckman

01.14.2015

ART & DESIGN

Sex Pistols

“I got the job to photograph the Sex Pistols, and they were pretty much unknown before their stardom. A friend of mine, Carol, and I had got this job to photograph the Sex Pistols, and we were both following them around for the day. So we were in Hyde Park, and I have the picture of them sitting in the dumpster and kind of knocking around. They just seemed like these guys that were just playing around really. They weren’t really hardcore, let’s put it that way. Yet. Although, you know, Johnny looked so cool in his bondage outfit, I’ve got to say. So we just went to where they were practicing in the Tin Pan Alley part of London, and this is just them in their rehearsal room. You know, they couldn’t really play their instruments that well yet. It was just in their beginning time, but they definitely had something. And you know, “Anarchy In The UK” was really an iconic song that pretty much summed up quite a lot of what punks were feeling in the early years. So, it was a great moment to be watching them. They were punks and they were fun. I mean, they were kind of political in some matters, but I know they were being managed by Malcolm McLaren but they still…they had something for sure. They really do symbolize English punk in a certain way.”

Continue to next page →