Sex Pistols never mind the bottles

So what makes a 52-year-old grandfather want to stand in front of a baying crowd and be covered in spit for an hour and a half?

That's what John Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten – endured until the searing heat of Birmingham's Academy finally parched the throats of the front rows midway through last night's show.

"Ello Villans! Ello Zulus! Ello Wolves!" he bellowed through pantomime sneer and hunchback gait. Wot no Baggies John?

It's 32 years since the most controversial band ever last played Brum. Back then, less than 100 witnessed their show at the now-defunct Bogart's before a legendary thrash at Wolverhampton's Lafayette club.

Last night's crowd looked old enough to remember those days, with the vast majority being 40-something blokes happily reliving their snotty youth; sometimes a bit too literally.

But Lydon, who's been quick to walk off in the past, held back from complaining about the constant bombardment from plastic bottles and instead turned what's left of his ire on the Government, George Bush, the sound man and finally the crowd itself, which wasn't making enough noise for his liking.

Problem is John, they were probably knackered after the very first track – Pretty Vacant – was hammered out like a wall of noise and created a seething crush of bodies from front to back which barely eased all night.

Played out on a sparse black stage devoid of a single prop, the set was largely culled from their one – yes, one – studio album.

But what an album; from its iconic sleeve to its era-defining racket, the Sex Pistols will always be known as the most important band of the 1970s.

What's interesting is that despite sound problems last night, they look a pretty tight unit.

Steve Jones is a man mountain still capable of executing an earthmoving growl from his guitar, while Paul Cook has barely changed at all.

Glen Matlock showed why he never quite fitted in and still looks like he belongs in Spandau Ballet, but believe it or not, these boys can actually play. And you don't get to be this big without decent tunes; Holidays in the Sun, God Save the Queen and, of course, Anarchy in the UK were given the full shoutalong treatment as sweat dripped from the walls.

Once upon a time they were a social phenomenon. Nowadays they are simply a legendary rock band getting ready to headline 20 festivals across Europe over the next three months.

"I'm not your Rolling Stone!" bickered Lydon at one point.

Like it or not Johnny boy, it's getting that way.

Review by Keith Harrison.

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