The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle

film by Temple [1980]

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July 22, 2026

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The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is a 1980 film directed by Julien Temple that presents a cynical, often satirical, history of the punk band the Sex Pistols. The film, largely driven by the vision of the band's manager, Malcolm McLaren, suggests that the band's primary goal was to defraud the music industry. It features interviews, staged scenes, and performance footage, offering a controversial and revisionist take on the band's rise and fall, including the tragic story of bassist Sid Vicious.12

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the Sex Pistols
…the film project that became The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle (1980), McLaren issued records with an increasingly uncontrollable Vicious as the vocalist. A cover version of Eddie Cochran’s “C’mon Everybody” became the group’s best-selling single following Vicious’s fatal heroin overdose in New York City in February 1979 while out…
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…the film project that became The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle (1980), McLaren issued records with an increasingly uncontrollable Vicious as the vocalist. A cover version of Eddie Cochran’s “C’mon Everybody” became the group’s best-selling single following Vicious’s fatal heroin overdose in New York City in February 1979 while out…
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Sid Vicious
Career with the Sex Pistols
…a sinister sneer—for the film The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle (1980).
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…a sinister sneer—for the film The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle (1980).
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