Roger Waters Slams the Sex Pistols as “Noise, Not Music”

Waters Voices Strong Criticism

Roger Waters, the former bassist and songwriter for Pink Floyd, has made it clear over the years that he holds very strong views about the Sex Pistols. Waters has said he does not think their music has much real value. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he said: “The Sex Pistols were just trying to make noise. It was so clearly contrived. You know, they were managed by a bloke who ran a shop selling silly clothes!”

Waters explained that he saw the band as more interested in shocks and attention than in making meaningful music. His view was that their image and actions were staged, rather than coming from deep artistic thought. This criticism gets to the heart of how different the Sex Pistols were from the kind of music Waters made with Pink Floyd, which was known for complex themes and sound design.

On Punk and Legacy

Waters also spoke about how the death of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious affected how people remember the band. He said: “And then one of them died, so you got that iconic thing that lives on. If somebody dies, that’s always good. Except for him, obviously, and his mom and dad, and [his girlfriend] Nancy; but for everybody else, it’s brilliant.”

He suggested that Vicious’s death helped turn the Sex Pistols into symbols, even if Waters did not agree with the idea that their work deserved that status. Waters pointed out how death can change a musician’s image and reputation, especially among fans and critics.

Different Views Within Rock

Not everyone from Waters’s circle shares his strong opinions. David Gilmour, Waters’s former bandmate in Pink Floyd, had a different take on punk and the Sex Pistols. Gilmour said: “I don’t think we felt alienated by punk, we just didn’t feel it was particularly relevant to us. We weren’t frightened by it.”

Gilmour added that while there were positive parts of the punk movement, some people joined it only for fame and then moved on once they found success. He said this was common during the rise of punk, and that not all of its followers stayed committed to its ideas.

Roots of the Disagreements

There are stories about early tensions between Pink Floyd and the Sex Pistols before Waters ever spoke publicly about them. One famous tale says John Lydon, the Sex Pistols’ singer, was discovered partly because he wore a ragged Pink Floyd T-shirt with “I Hate” written on it. That moment highlighted the clash of styles and attitudes between the two groups.

Water’s dislike for the Sex Pistols also fits with his broader feelings about punk rock. He has said in other interviews that he never truly understood or connected with punk music when it first appeared. Waters has described himself as focused on other artists and styles, saying that much of modern music simply “passed him by.”