The Routledge Handbook of the Sex Pistols
John Schofield editor Mike Dines editor Paul Graves-Brown editor Gabriela Gelain editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:27th Oct '26
£260.00
This title is due to be published on 27th October, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
The Routledge Handbook of the Sex Pistols offers a dramatic new perspective on the cultural significance and legacies of an iconic punk band. In the early-mid 1970s, punk and the Pistols were instrumental in creating a cultural transition from the staid ‘black-and-white’ authorized era of post-war austerity to what was to become a more radical and creative future in which everybody had agency and a do-it-yourself ethos that transformed social norms. This book investigates how this transition occurred, and why the Sex Pistols were so influential in reshaping public life at this critical time in cultural history. On the occasion of the band’s 50th anniversary, the book reflects critically upon their influence, and why it has persisted.
With 33 original, in depth, and often highly-charged contributions from across five continents, and spanning multiple disciplines, perspectives, and areas of practice, the book draws out the band’s relevance and legacies through a diversity of topics arranged under four thematic headings: global geographies, style and media, sociological perspectives, and heritage and influence. Following a growth in punk writing over recent years, this book goes back to the roots, using the thematic approach to investigate one of punk’s formative and best-known proponents, and arguably the most controversial band ever to grace a stage: the Sex Pistols.
This valuable collection will appeal to those interested in and working across Music, Sociology, Media Studies, Cultural Geography, Social and Cultural Anthropology; Archaeology and Critical Heritage Studies; Fashion and Design, Politics and Communication Studies.
"As we reckon with the impact that five decades of punk continue to have on the cultural zeitgeist in 2026, The Routledge Handbook of the Sex Pistols is a timely addition in the collective scholarly efforts to historicize punk and pay homage to those who were there at its inception. This handbook prioritizes the Sex Pistols as punk pioneers, with credit to their norm-shattering antics and headline-grabbing proclamations—behaviors that brought the band to mainstream consciousness. Through a range of academic perspectives, methodologies, and approaches, the handbook invites readers to explore The Sex Pistols’ clash with the cultural, political, and musical landscapes of the time, as their controversies helped to forge a lasting influence not only on music, but on fashion and mainstream culture as well. It is a significant impact that appears contradictory when considering the band’s short-lived and self-destructive career.
While punk is often contextualized through the visual and the physical, readers are invited to consider the analytical. Through a critical analysis of the internal and external factors that shaped The Sex Pistols’ impact on punk and the band’s continued influence within the genre and beyond, readers gain insight into the global influence of a few London punks and their entrepreneurial manager who saw an opportunity to create controversy, much to the delight of a generation of eager fans who were given permission to raise a middle finger to the ongoing existential crisis brought forth by the status quo.
While The Sex Pistols aggressively proved themselves to be the posterchildren for no future, The Routledge Handbook of the Sex Pistols postulates a compelling counterargument to that premise—readers will enjoy the contradiction in this duality, one that is posited by ardent contributors who have considered the band’s impact via a range of methodologies and approaches in efforts to immortalize the Pistols in perpetuity."
Ellen Bernhard, Assistant Professor of Communication, Georgian Court University (USA).
ISBN: 9781032788371
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
584 pages