Deeper Digs: Sex Pistols: The End is Near with Kevin Cummins
Christian sits down with Ex-NME photographer Kevin Cummins to discuss his new book, SEX PISTOLS: The End is Near 25.12.77.
On Christmas Day 1977, the Sex Pistols played their final UK gig. Kevin Cummins was the only professional photographer to document the event. He stood with the band onstage, captured the raw energy of the Sex Pistols at the top of their game. Just three weeks later, after a brief US tour, the band imploded.
By the end of 1977, the Sex Pistols had been banned from virtually every town in Britain. But at Ivanho's nightclub in Huddersfield they found a receptive audience. They played two charity gigs on Christmas Day, raising money for the families of striking firemen. The afternoon shift was for the kids, with expletives removed from lyrics and Christmas presents and cake given out - and paid for by the band. In the evening, with Kevin Cummins in their midst, the Sex Pistols thundered through their setlist. Forget the lurid headlines, the righteous outrage, this was the real Sex Pistols, playing from the heart.
Kevin Cummins is an internationally renowned British rock photographer, known for his collaborations with Mick Jagger, Ian Curtis, Morrissey, The Smiths, Bowie, Joy Division and more. He was chief photographer at the New Musical Express for ten years, then the world's biggest selling rock weekly. His portraits feature in the collections of The National Portrait Gallery and The V&A. Kevin has also published several critically acclaimed monographs on the artists with whom he has worked.