Bill Grundy
Journalist and hostWikipedia
15
MENTIONS
7
EPISODES
7
PODCASTS
Search complete. 15 mentions across 7 episodes found for "Bill Grundy".
Oct 13, 2026
Dave LiebermanHOST
The track served as a manifesto for British youth frustrated with class division and economic collapse.
Dave LiebermanHOST
In December, drafted as a last-minute replacement for Queen on Thames Television's Live Today show, the band, egged on by host Bill Grundy, uttered a string of profanities on air.
Dave LiebermanHOST
The incident sparked national moral panic, plastered the band on front pages across the UK, caused venue bans nationwide, and launched punk into mainstream notoriety.
Dave LiebermanHOST
The Sex Pistols did not just define the sound of British punk rock, but they created a blueprint for modern subculture.
10 MINS LATER
Michael HuntsmanHOST
Later that year, their show at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall would become Stuff of Legend, as Dave referenced, as it inspired an audience that included future members of Joy Division, The Smiths, Buzzcocks, and The Fall, all becoming some of Britain's greatest ever bands.
Michael HuntsmanHOST
In December 1976...
Michael HuntsmanHOST
The band became national tabloid news after swearing during a live broadcast of Bill Grundy's show.
Michael HuntsmanHOST
The controversy transformed them from an underground band into a cultural flashpoint.
Penny PepperGUEST
That was the reality then.
Penny PepperGUEST
Um, so when I, when I first encountered punk, I did see the Sex Pistols on the famous telly thing they did, Bill Grundy, where they're all swearing, and I was terrified and excited.
Penny PepperGUEST
And I, I-
Andy McCabeHOST
[laughs]
Scott LippsHOST
... cursing on whatever that talk show was.
JohnGUEST
What, the Bill Grundy one?
Scott LippsHOST
Yeah, the Bill Grundy one.
JohnGUEST
Yeah.
Scott LippsHOST
Yeah.
Mark SloperGUEST
And we've all put it down to the 100 Club Festival in the autumn of 1976, which was the springboard.
Mark SloperGUEST
It's when the Bill Grundy interview came out.
Mark SloperGUEST
But punk, for most people, would be 1977 and the Jubilee.
Mark SloperGUEST
So I'd probably get two years out of the
speaker_8HOST
Yeah, and that was that.
Glen MatlockGUEST
The funny thing was, everybody moans about Steve swearing, but nobody really moans about Bill Grundy trying to chat Susie, you know, live on TV.
Glen MatlockGUEST
I could see Malcolm, the other side of the cameras, it was a very small studio, and he went white when Steve swore.
DaveHOST
Oh, okay.
6 MINS LATER
Glen MatlockGUEST
so i think we i think with the pistols and maybe those other bands at the time, you had a chance to do your homework and kind of hone what you was going on about, and your act, or your music, or your art, a little bit of everything, really, and now people just put up the idea that they've just had, and...
Glen MatlockGUEST
If it's a good one, that's cool, but if it's a little bit half-baked, which a lot of them are, you don't get that breathing space.
Glen MatlockGUEST
When we did get our break, I suppose, the day after the Bill Grundy show, we were ready to go, but we'd already knocked everything into shape, I feel.
DaveHOST
Was there a jukebox at Sex? Was this Vivian Westwood?
speaker_4UNKNOWN
The funny
Glen MatlockGUEST
thing was, everybody moans about Steve swearing, but nobody really moans about Bill Grundy trying to chat Susie, you know, live on TV.
Glen MatlockGUEST
I could see Malcolm, the other side of the cameras, it was a very small studio, and he went white when Steve swore.
DaveHOST
Oh, okay.
6 MINS LATER
Glen MatlockGUEST
thing so i think we i think with the pistols and maybe those other bands at the time, you had a chance to do your homework and kind of hone what you was going on about, and your act, or your music, or your art, a little bit of everything, really, and now people just put up the idea that they've just had, and...
Glen MatlockGUEST
If it's a good one, that's cool, but if it's a little bit half-baked, which a lot of them are, you don't get that breathing space.
Glen MatlockGUEST
When we did get our break, I suppose, post or the day after the Bill Grundy show, we were ready to go, but we'd already knocked everything into shape, I feel.
DaveHOST
Was there a jukebox at Sex? Was this Vivian Westwood?
Paul CarmichaelGUEST
He'd be like, "Eh, dirty old man." And then you had the Sex Pistols' famous interview, didn't you?
Tyler AdamsHOST
Oh, Bill Grundy.
Paul CarmichaelGUEST
You-
Tyler AdamsHOST
Yeah