The Beatles and The Sex Pistols are two of the most studied bands in the history of popular music. They share similarities in how they changed and challenged perceptions of popular culture and this is perhaps why academics have seen these two bands as worthy of further study. The relationship between the media and The Beatles has been looked at in some detail by the likes of Ian Inglis.[1] Similarly, The Sex Pistols have been analysed in some depth by Jon Savage.[2] Very few works however have considered the relationship between the press and The Sex Pistols in significant depth.
In this study I hope to take this analysis further. This essay will focus upon three general themes: the reporting of the bands’ music; the reporting of scandal; and the representation of fashion. In focussing the analysis on these key themes it should allow for more general conclusions to be drawn about how particular images of The Beatles and The Sex Pistols were portrayed. In order to consider these themes the source base has been focussed primarily upon the Daily Mirror. By restricting the sources base, more succinct comparisons will be drawn between the two bands.
Music
The tabloid press did not pay particular attention to the reporting of The Beatles’ music. Nevertheless, the early tabloid coverage of The Beatles has a stronger focus on the actual music of the band. However, with fame came the demand for more Beatles stories. Anything about The Beatles was effectively newsworthy. On the other hand, the music produced by The Sex Pistols always brought more attention because of the overtly opinionated and controversial nature of their lyrics. Although much of the musical and lyrical analyses of the bands’ songs was left to the music press, there were notable instances where the tabloids focussed upon the music of both bands.
The Daily Mirror’s attention to Beatles music was evident in their early years. The musical reporting of The Beatles was usually confined to editorials devoted solely to the reporting of the Pop 30 music charts. An article in January 1963 advises readers to ‘watch The Beatles, a guitar-based instrumental quartet from Liverpool with a style of their own.’[3] Similarly amidst the controversy and bad press, some column space was devoted to an analysis of The Sex Pistols’ music and punk rock more generally. The editorial ‘Pop Plus’ considered the emergence of punk rock and suggested that ‘the seventies has had little to offer in the way of brightening up the musical lethargy left over from those exciting day (the 1960s)’ until The Sex Pistols. [4] Despite experiencing a significant amount of negative press the tabloids did occasionally appreciate the musical contribution that punk and The Sex Pistols made to the popular music scene, describing it as ‘raw, gutsy and packed with vitality.’[5] However, such articles were few and far between amongst the scandalous stories of drugs and violence. The music produced by popular bands was not a priority for tabloids in the 1960s and therefore these brief incursions into the realm of musical analysis was left to a few small articles on the inside pages.
The banning of A Day in the Life (The Beatles) brought these stories to the front pages. The Sex Pistols faced similar bans. They were banned from appearing on television following an infamous interview with Bill Grundy, and then their single God Save the Queen was banned by BBC radio. This type of scandal put the actual music and lyrics of the bands under the microscope. ‘Top of the Punks!’ was the headline when the BBC lifted the television ban on The Sex Pistols. The article reports upon the upcoming appearance of The Pistols on Top of the Pops considering how the single leapt to the top of the charts despite the provocative lyrics. The Daily Mirror ran a similar story on the ban imposed upon A Day in the Life, ‘Beatles Hit Back At BBC Ban on Song’. McCartney claimed that ‘the BBC has misinterpreted the Song. It has nothing to do with Drugs. It’s only about a dream.’[6] These instances demonstrate some of the few instances when tabloid articles have delved into the meaning of songs and lyrics. However, such forays into musical analysis were limited in the tabloids.
Although there are a few instances where the tabloid press report upon the actual music being produced by the two bands, this was not the primary concern of the tabloid press in their reporting of The Beatles and The Sex Pistols.
Scandal
The Beatles catapulted the reporting of bands into the newspaper columns of national press. That being said reporting of The Beatles was confined to certain issues and topics. Scandalous rumours surrounding The Beatles were often disregarded by the tabloids in their early years; as Inglis recognises ‘decisions about the systematic inclusion and exclusion of certain categories of stories became embedded in the routine coverage of The Beatles.’[7]Even John Lennon’s remark about The Beatles being ‘bigger than Jesus’ was unable to trigger a response from the tabloid press. The newspapers played up to the popularity of The Beatles. Beatles fans did not necessarily want to read scandalous stories about them in the early part of their careers. As their Press Officer, Tony Barrow, recognised ‘editors agreed that their younger readers wanted good news stories about their favourite pop stars so there was scarcely any of the nasty dirt-digging that goes on today. Fleet Street co-operated by simply not running the type of personal stuff that we wanted to play down.’[8] Between 1963 and 1964 the reporting of The Beatles was confined to positive stories, about their music success and their activity as a group. The exclusion of certain stories was mutually beneficial for the band and the press at the beginning of The Beatles career.
There were however instances towards the end of the 1960s where the tabloids began to run stories of Beatle scandal. The police raid on George Harrison’s home in which they found an abundance of cannabis made it to page seven of the Daily Mirror.[9] Similar drug-related stories were published by the tabloids, ‘Beatle Paul, MBE LSD and BF’, in which McCartney is accused of ‘behaving like an irresponsible idiot.’[10] The progression of The Beatles from a band that sings about ‘superficial clichés about love and romance’, in their early years, to a more philosophical and lyrical band in their later years influenced the style of reporting of The Beatles.[11] They had changed as individuals and their direction as a group had evolved. Subsequently the reporting of the band was adapted. Their ventures into the world of drugs brought a negative response from the tabloids and this was the primary source of scandal for the band.
We therefore see a distinct development in the reporting of The Beatles. In the early years the articles considered their music and their musical activity. We then see the development of a style of reporting not too dissimilar from the ones that we see today in the reporting of celebrity. The tabloids became interested in all the activity of The Beatles. Finally, in the second half of the decade we see the continuation of the tabloid preoccupation with everything to do with The Beatles which culminated in the reporting of scandal. Such developments in the reporting of The Sex Pistols were less prominent. Although only active at the end of the seventies, there is an abundance of scandalous articles about The Pistols.
Scandal followed The Sex Pistols everywhere. Their PR mastermind Malcolm McLaren wanted The Pistols to fill tabloid column space, whether it was principally negative press or otherwise. The reporting of scandal was essential to the rise of The Sex Pistols and punk rock as it forced an otherwise small subculture into public consciousness. The headline ‘Night of the Nasties’ appeared the day after the infamous Bill Grundy TV interview which was described in the Daily Mirror as ‘the punk rock horror show’. Interestingly however, the article is accompanied by a ‘Mirror Comment’ in which the tabloid suggests that the bosses of Thames Television share the blame with Bill Grundy. The newspapers, although disapproving of some aspects of The Pistols and the punk movement, actually claim that the four letter words ‘are punk rock style’.[12] Whereas the tabloid press put blame and ownership on The Beatles in stories concerning scandal (in calling McCartney an ‘idiot’ for his comments of LSD for example), The Sex Pistols did not receive such direct criticism from the press simply because it was expected from them. The Beatles on the other hand were measured against the pristine image that was created of them in 1963 and 1964.
Although the band’s infamous boat trip along the Thames playing God Save the Queen outside the Houses of Parliament went somewhat unnoticed in the daily press, it was one of the few instances where the tabloids did not pay significant attention to outrageous antics of The Sex Pistols.[13] The tabloid press however continued to run scandalous stories even beyond the breakup of the band in 1978.
There is a noticeable development of the styles in which the tabloid press reported upon The Beatles. On the other hand there is a consistency with which the tabloids approached The Sex Pistols, and this was dominated by the reporting of scandal.
Fashion
Fashion was one of the defining features of The Sex Pistols and punk rock.[14] Similarly The Beatles’ attire was frequently referenced in tabloid articles. The study of these articles allows us to see the development of The Beatles’ image and fashion throughout the 60s, while they capture the individualism of punk and the punk image in the late 70s.
Early articles of The Beatles portrayed a professional public image of the band, and this was reflected in their clothing. Our first introduction to The Beatles in the Daily Mirror features a shot of the band in typical uniformed style of black suit and tie.[15] This style was not particularly unique to The Beatles in the first half of the 1960s. An article on ‘thirteen of the most listened-to young men in Britain,’ is headed by an image of The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, all dressed uniformly smart in ‘slim line trousers’ and ‘elastic-sided boots’.[16] This ‘suited’ style fed off the prominent mod youth culture that emerged in the 1960s, and from around 1964 it became a common style for new incoming bands to adopt. At a time of significant change in British fashion, clothing became an integral part of a bands image and it was therefore something to which the press gave some attention.
Towards the end of the 1960s we see the development of a greater individualism in the dress of The Beatles. In one article John Lennon was described as wearing ‘the most way-out gear…a green lacey shirt and a sporran over his corduroy trousers.’[17] This peculiar individual style had developed significantly from the uniformity of The Beatles between 1963 and 1965. As The Beatles’ attitudes and ideas changed so did their fashion style. By the end of the decade the suits were gone and we saw the development of a hippie and Indian-influenced style of dress. As this development occurred the tabloids became more interested in their style and would comment more frequently upon their clothing.
On the other hand punk fashion had been a point of real interest for the tabloids ever since The Sex Pistols burst onto the scene. Punk fashion was somewhat intended to be individual and ‘out-there’. Malcolm McLaren had first met John Lydon when he was hanging around in Vivienne Westwood’s and his Sex boutique, and this shop came to influence the direction of punk fashion in the 70s. The tabloids usually used photographs to portray a particular image of the band. The outrageousness of the band was reflected in their clothing, as the Daily Mirror acknowledged, ‘Steve Jones, the only handsome member of The Sex Pistols band, resplendent in tight black trousers, a beautiful pink patterned shirt and an immaculate matching leather jacket, stands up, thumbs his nose and blows a raspberry.’[18] The use of fashion to make a statement and shock was a defining feature of the punk movement and the media provided a medium to relay these statements to the masses.[19] Punks presented themselves as ‘catatonic street urchins through intentionally ripped and torn clothing,’ this being said, ‘they did so with a sense of self-consciousness and even vanity.’[20] This awareness allowed The Pistols to use the tabloids effectively and pushed them into the public eye. They were perhaps one of the most effective bands in their use of the press in order to gain a public image.
Fashion played a significant role in the way in which the tabloids portrayed the image of both The Beatles and The Sex Pistols. Tabloid photographs played a huge role in this portrayal. Although on some occasions the tabloids did directly comment upon the clothing of band members it was the visual sources which displayed the attires so commonly associated with The Beatles and The Sex Pistols. The tabloid press provided another medium from which these two bands could exert an influence on popular fashion and popular culture more generally.
Conclusion
The three themes explored in this paper provide an insight into how tabloids presented The Beatles and The Sex Pistols. By investigating these particular areas it has allowed us to explore how particular images of the band were created by the press. In the case of The Beatles this image changed and developed.[21] In 1963, when they became nationally recognised there was a particular focus on the creation of a clean and professional image. This extended into 1964 when the band toured the USA. During these years although The Beatles image remained clean. Any story involving The Beatles, however banal, became a headline. From around 1966 onwards however there is a distinct shift in the attitudes of The Beatles and subsequently a shift in attitudes towards The Beatles, as exemplified by the tabloids. Stories of scandal became commonplace and there is the development of a style of celebrity journalism which is not too dissimilar from the style we see today.
Where there was a change in the reporting of The Beatles which reflected the changing attitudes of the band, the tabloids faced a different challenge with the reporting of The Sex Pistols. The reason that they featured so heavily in the daily press in 1976 and 1977 was singularly because of the scandal that surrounded them. It was as much about their attitudes, actions and the punk movement more generally as it was about The Sex Pistols’ music. The image that the press created of The Pistols therefore reflected this. They were portrayed as outrageous, disrespectful and violent individuals.
It is important to consider however who really determined the portrayal of these bands. The image of The Beatles in 1963 and 1964 can be primarily attributed to the band and their support team, particular Brian Epstein. Similarly, The Sex Pistols were so outrageous and controversial because it was part of their characters as punk rockers. The bands and their support teams were therefore the instigators in the portrayal of particular images of the bands. The media simply provided a medium to reach the public.
Bibliography
Books
Baur, M. and S.A. Baur (eds). The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Think That Can't Be Thunk (Chicago, IL: Open Court, 2006).
Frontani, M.R. The Beatles: Image and the Media (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2007).
Hebdige, D. Subculture: The Meaning of Style (London : Routledge, 1979).
Savage, J. England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock (London : Faber, 1991).
Articles
Anonymous. ‘All Together Now’, Daily Mirror, 21 June 1963, pp.14-15.
Beam, R. and J. Jackson. ‘Night of the Nasties’, Daily Mirror, 3 December 1976, pp.16-17.
Doncaster, P. ‘Popland Goes British’, Daily Mirror, 24 January 1963, p.15.
Inglis, I. ‘‘I Read the News Today, Oh Boy’: The British Press and The Beatles’, Popular Music and Society 33, 4 (2010), pp. 549-62.
McLeod, P. ‘The Good Punk Guide’, Daily Mirror, 4 July 1977, p.22.
Moore, R. ‘Postmodernism and Punk Subculture: Cultures of Authenticity and Deconstruction’, The Communication Review 7, 1 (2004), pp.305-27.
Short, D. ‘Beatles Hit Back At Ban On Song’, Daily Mirror, 20 May 1977, p.3.
Stewart, G. ‘Never Mind the Filth, Here’s The Sex Pistols!’, Daily Mirror, 19 December 1977, p.11.
Wilson, J. ‘Beatle Paul: MBE, LSD and BF’, Daily Mirror, 19 June 1967, p.2.
Wright, D. ‘‘Party Night’ For The Drug Squad At Beatle Home’, Daily Mirror, 1 April 1969, p.7.
[1] See I. Inglis, ‘‘I Read the News Today, Oh Boy’: The British Press and The Beatles’, Popular Music and Society 33, 4 (2010), pp. 549-62.
[2] See J. Savage, England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock (London : Faber, 1991).
[3] P. Doncaster, ‘Popland Goes British’, Daily Mirror, 24 January 1963, p.15.
[4] P. McLeod, ‘The Good Punk Guide’, Daily Mirror, 4 July 1977, p.22.
[5] Ibid.
[6] D. Short, ‘Beatles Hit Back At Ban On Song’, Daily Mirror, 20 May 1977, p.3.
[7] Inglis, ‘‘I Read The News Today, Oh Boy’’, p.556.
[8] Tony Barrow cited in Inglis, ‘‘I Read The News Today, Oh Boy’’, p. 554.
[9] D. Wright, ‘‘Party Night’ For The Drug Squad At Beatle Home’, Daily Mirror, 1 April 1969, p.7.
[10] J. Wilson, ‘Beatle Paul: MBE, LSD and BF’, Daily Mirror, 19 June 1967, p.2.
[11] David Detmer, ‘That Is I Think I Disagree: Skepticism and Epistemology in The Beatles’, in M. Baur and S.A. Baur (eds), The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Think That Can't Be Thunk (Chicago, IL: Open Court, 2006), p.3.
[12] R. Beam and J. Jackson, ‘Night of the Nasties’, Daily Mirror, 3 December 1976, pp.16-17.
[13] The Daily Mirror did not run an article on the now infamous boat trip story.
[14] See D. Hebdige, Subculture: The Meaning of Style (London : Routledge, 1979), p.63.
[15] Doncaster, ‘Popland Goes British’, p.15.
[16] ‘All Together Now’, Daily Mirror, 21 June 1963, pp.14-15.
[17] Short, ‘Beatles Hit Back At Ban On Song’, p.3.
[18] G. Stewart, ‘Never Mind the Filth, Here’s The Sex Pistols!’, Daily Mirror, 19 December 1977, p.11.
[19] See R. Moore, ‘Postmodernism and Punk Subculture: Cultures of Authenticity and Deconstruction’, The Communication Review 7, 1 (2004), p.309.
[20] Ibid., p.311.
[21] See M.R. Frontani, The Beatles: Image and the Media (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2007). This work focusses on The Beatles’ image and the media in the USA, but proposes an interesting insight into the evolution of The Beatles’ image and its cultural impact.
In this study I hope to take this analysis further. This essay will focus upon three general themes: the reporting of the bands’ music; the reporting of scandal; and the representation of fashion. In focussing the analysis on these key themes it should allow for more general conclusions to be drawn about how particular images of The Beatles and The Sex Pistols were portrayed. In order to consider these themes the source base has been focussed primarily upon the Daily Mirror. By restricting the sources base, more succinct comparisons will be drawn between the two bands.
Music
The tabloid press did not pay particular attention to the reporting of The Beatles’ music. Nevertheless, the early tabloid coverage of The Beatles has a stronger focus on the actual music of the band. However, with fame came the demand for more Beatles stories. Anything about The Beatles was effectively newsworthy. On the other hand, the music produced by The Sex Pistols always brought more attention because of the overtly opinionated and controversial nature of their lyrics. Although much of the musical and lyrical analyses of the bands’ songs was left to the music press, there were notable instances where the tabloids focussed upon the music of both bands.
The Daily Mirror’s attention to Beatles music was evident in their early years. The musical reporting of The Beatles was usually confined to editorials devoted solely to the reporting of the Pop 30 music charts. An article in January 1963 advises readers to ‘watch The Beatles, a guitar-based instrumental quartet from Liverpool with a style of their own.’[3] Similarly amidst the controversy and bad press, some column space was devoted to an analysis of The Sex Pistols’ music and punk rock more generally. The editorial ‘Pop Plus’ considered the emergence of punk rock and suggested that ‘the seventies has had little to offer in the way of brightening up the musical lethargy left over from those exciting day (the 1960s)’ until The Sex Pistols. [4] Despite experiencing a significant amount of negative press the tabloids did occasionally appreciate the musical contribution that punk and The Sex Pistols made to the popular music scene, describing it as ‘raw, gutsy and packed with vitality.’[5] However, such articles were few and far between amongst the scandalous stories of drugs and violence. The music produced by popular bands was not a priority for tabloids in the 1960s and therefore these brief incursions into the realm of musical analysis was left to a few small articles on the inside pages.
The banning of A Day in the Life (The Beatles) brought these stories to the front pages. The Sex Pistols faced similar bans. They were banned from appearing on television following an infamous interview with Bill Grundy, and then their single God Save the Queen was banned by BBC radio. This type of scandal put the actual music and lyrics of the bands under the microscope. ‘Top of the Punks!’ was the headline when the BBC lifted the television ban on The Sex Pistols. The article reports upon the upcoming appearance of The Pistols on Top of the Pops considering how the single leapt to the top of the charts despite the provocative lyrics. The Daily Mirror ran a similar story on the ban imposed upon A Day in the Life, ‘Beatles Hit Back At BBC Ban on Song’. McCartney claimed that ‘the BBC has misinterpreted the Song. It has nothing to do with Drugs. It’s only about a dream.’[6] These instances demonstrate some of the few instances when tabloid articles have delved into the meaning of songs and lyrics. However, such forays into musical analysis were limited in the tabloids.
Although there are a few instances where the tabloid press report upon the actual music being produced by the two bands, this was not the primary concern of the tabloid press in their reporting of The Beatles and The Sex Pistols.
Scandal
The Beatles catapulted the reporting of bands into the newspaper columns of national press. That being said reporting of The Beatles was confined to certain issues and topics. Scandalous rumours surrounding The Beatles were often disregarded by the tabloids in their early years; as Inglis recognises ‘decisions about the systematic inclusion and exclusion of certain categories of stories became embedded in the routine coverage of The Beatles.’[7]Even John Lennon’s remark about The Beatles being ‘bigger than Jesus’ was unable to trigger a response from the tabloid press. The newspapers played up to the popularity of The Beatles. Beatles fans did not necessarily want to read scandalous stories about them in the early part of their careers. As their Press Officer, Tony Barrow, recognised ‘editors agreed that their younger readers wanted good news stories about their favourite pop stars so there was scarcely any of the nasty dirt-digging that goes on today. Fleet Street co-operated by simply not running the type of personal stuff that we wanted to play down.’[8] Between 1963 and 1964 the reporting of The Beatles was confined to positive stories, about their music success and their activity as a group. The exclusion of certain stories was mutually beneficial for the band and the press at the beginning of The Beatles career.
There were however instances towards the end of the 1960s where the tabloids began to run stories of Beatle scandal. The police raid on George Harrison’s home in which they found an abundance of cannabis made it to page seven of the Daily Mirror.[9] Similar drug-related stories were published by the tabloids, ‘Beatle Paul, MBE LSD and BF’, in which McCartney is accused of ‘behaving like an irresponsible idiot.’[10] The progression of The Beatles from a band that sings about ‘superficial clichés about love and romance’, in their early years, to a more philosophical and lyrical band in their later years influenced the style of reporting of The Beatles.[11] They had changed as individuals and their direction as a group had evolved. Subsequently the reporting of the band was adapted. Their ventures into the world of drugs brought a negative response from the tabloids and this was the primary source of scandal for the band.
We therefore see a distinct development in the reporting of The Beatles. In the early years the articles considered their music and their musical activity. We then see the development of a style of reporting not too dissimilar from the ones that we see today in the reporting of celebrity. The tabloids became interested in all the activity of The Beatles. Finally, in the second half of the decade we see the continuation of the tabloid preoccupation with everything to do with The Beatles which culminated in the reporting of scandal. Such developments in the reporting of The Sex Pistols were less prominent. Although only active at the end of the seventies, there is an abundance of scandalous articles about The Pistols.
Scandal followed The Sex Pistols everywhere. Their PR mastermind Malcolm McLaren wanted The Pistols to fill tabloid column space, whether it was principally negative press or otherwise. The reporting of scandal was essential to the rise of The Sex Pistols and punk rock as it forced an otherwise small subculture into public consciousness. The headline ‘Night of the Nasties’ appeared the day after the infamous Bill Grundy TV interview which was described in the Daily Mirror as ‘the punk rock horror show’. Interestingly however, the article is accompanied by a ‘Mirror Comment’ in which the tabloid suggests that the bosses of Thames Television share the blame with Bill Grundy. The newspapers, although disapproving of some aspects of The Pistols and the punk movement, actually claim that the four letter words ‘are punk rock style’.[12] Whereas the tabloid press put blame and ownership on The Beatles in stories concerning scandal (in calling McCartney an ‘idiot’ for his comments of LSD for example), The Sex Pistols did not receive such direct criticism from the press simply because it was expected from them. The Beatles on the other hand were measured against the pristine image that was created of them in 1963 and 1964.
Although the band’s infamous boat trip along the Thames playing God Save the Queen outside the Houses of Parliament went somewhat unnoticed in the daily press, it was one of the few instances where the tabloids did not pay significant attention to outrageous antics of The Sex Pistols.[13] The tabloid press however continued to run scandalous stories even beyond the breakup of the band in 1978.
There is a noticeable development of the styles in which the tabloid press reported upon The Beatles. On the other hand there is a consistency with which the tabloids approached The Sex Pistols, and this was dominated by the reporting of scandal.
Fashion
Fashion was one of the defining features of The Sex Pistols and punk rock.[14] Similarly The Beatles’ attire was frequently referenced in tabloid articles. The study of these articles allows us to see the development of The Beatles’ image and fashion throughout the 60s, while they capture the individualism of punk and the punk image in the late 70s.
Early articles of The Beatles portrayed a professional public image of the band, and this was reflected in their clothing. Our first introduction to The Beatles in the Daily Mirror features a shot of the band in typical uniformed style of black suit and tie.[15] This style was not particularly unique to The Beatles in the first half of the 1960s. An article on ‘thirteen of the most listened-to young men in Britain,’ is headed by an image of The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, all dressed uniformly smart in ‘slim line trousers’ and ‘elastic-sided boots’.[16] This ‘suited’ style fed off the prominent mod youth culture that emerged in the 1960s, and from around 1964 it became a common style for new incoming bands to adopt. At a time of significant change in British fashion, clothing became an integral part of a bands image and it was therefore something to which the press gave some attention.
Towards the end of the 1960s we see the development of a greater individualism in the dress of The Beatles. In one article John Lennon was described as wearing ‘the most way-out gear…a green lacey shirt and a sporran over his corduroy trousers.’[17] This peculiar individual style had developed significantly from the uniformity of The Beatles between 1963 and 1965. As The Beatles’ attitudes and ideas changed so did their fashion style. By the end of the decade the suits were gone and we saw the development of a hippie and Indian-influenced style of dress. As this development occurred the tabloids became more interested in their style and would comment more frequently upon their clothing.
On the other hand punk fashion had been a point of real interest for the tabloids ever since The Sex Pistols burst onto the scene. Punk fashion was somewhat intended to be individual and ‘out-there’. Malcolm McLaren had first met John Lydon when he was hanging around in Vivienne Westwood’s and his Sex boutique, and this shop came to influence the direction of punk fashion in the 70s. The tabloids usually used photographs to portray a particular image of the band. The outrageousness of the band was reflected in their clothing, as the Daily Mirror acknowledged, ‘Steve Jones, the only handsome member of The Sex Pistols band, resplendent in tight black trousers, a beautiful pink patterned shirt and an immaculate matching leather jacket, stands up, thumbs his nose and blows a raspberry.’[18] The use of fashion to make a statement and shock was a defining feature of the punk movement and the media provided a medium to relay these statements to the masses.[19] Punks presented themselves as ‘catatonic street urchins through intentionally ripped and torn clothing,’ this being said, ‘they did so with a sense of self-consciousness and even vanity.’[20] This awareness allowed The Pistols to use the tabloids effectively and pushed them into the public eye. They were perhaps one of the most effective bands in their use of the press in order to gain a public image.
Fashion played a significant role in the way in which the tabloids portrayed the image of both The Beatles and The Sex Pistols. Tabloid photographs played a huge role in this portrayal. Although on some occasions the tabloids did directly comment upon the clothing of band members it was the visual sources which displayed the attires so commonly associated with The Beatles and The Sex Pistols. The tabloid press provided another medium from which these two bands could exert an influence on popular fashion and popular culture more generally.
Conclusion
The three themes explored in this paper provide an insight into how tabloids presented The Beatles and The Sex Pistols. By investigating these particular areas it has allowed us to explore how particular images of the band were created by the press. In the case of The Beatles this image changed and developed.[21] In 1963, when they became nationally recognised there was a particular focus on the creation of a clean and professional image. This extended into 1964 when the band toured the USA. During these years although The Beatles image remained clean. Any story involving The Beatles, however banal, became a headline. From around 1966 onwards however there is a distinct shift in the attitudes of The Beatles and subsequently a shift in attitudes towards The Beatles, as exemplified by the tabloids. Stories of scandal became commonplace and there is the development of a style of celebrity journalism which is not too dissimilar from the style we see today.
Where there was a change in the reporting of The Beatles which reflected the changing attitudes of the band, the tabloids faced a different challenge with the reporting of The Sex Pistols. The reason that they featured so heavily in the daily press in 1976 and 1977 was singularly because of the scandal that surrounded them. It was as much about their attitudes, actions and the punk movement more generally as it was about The Sex Pistols’ music. The image that the press created of The Pistols therefore reflected this. They were portrayed as outrageous, disrespectful and violent individuals.
It is important to consider however who really determined the portrayal of these bands. The image of The Beatles in 1963 and 1964 can be primarily attributed to the band and their support team, particular Brian Epstein. Similarly, The Sex Pistols were so outrageous and controversial because it was part of their characters as punk rockers. The bands and their support teams were therefore the instigators in the portrayal of particular images of the bands. The media simply provided a medium to reach the public.
Bibliography
Books
Baur, M. and S.A. Baur (eds). The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Think That Can't Be Thunk (Chicago, IL: Open Court, 2006).
Frontani, M.R. The Beatles: Image and the Media (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2007).
Hebdige, D. Subculture: The Meaning of Style (London : Routledge, 1979).
Savage, J. England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock (London : Faber, 1991).
Articles
Anonymous. ‘All Together Now’, Daily Mirror, 21 June 1963, pp.14-15.
Beam, R. and J. Jackson. ‘Night of the Nasties’, Daily Mirror, 3 December 1976, pp.16-17.
Doncaster, P. ‘Popland Goes British’, Daily Mirror, 24 January 1963, p.15.
Inglis, I. ‘‘I Read the News Today, Oh Boy’: The British Press and The Beatles’, Popular Music and Society 33, 4 (2010), pp. 549-62.
McLeod, P. ‘The Good Punk Guide’, Daily Mirror, 4 July 1977, p.22.
Moore, R. ‘Postmodernism and Punk Subculture: Cultures of Authenticity and Deconstruction’, The Communication Review 7, 1 (2004), pp.305-27.
Short, D. ‘Beatles Hit Back At Ban On Song’, Daily Mirror, 20 May 1977, p.3.
Stewart, G. ‘Never Mind the Filth, Here’s The Sex Pistols!’, Daily Mirror, 19 December 1977, p.11.
Wilson, J. ‘Beatle Paul: MBE, LSD and BF’, Daily Mirror, 19 June 1967, p.2.
Wright, D. ‘‘Party Night’ For The Drug Squad At Beatle Home’, Daily Mirror, 1 April 1969, p.7.
[1] See I. Inglis, ‘‘I Read the News Today, Oh Boy’: The British Press and The Beatles’, Popular Music and Society 33, 4 (2010), pp. 549-62.
[2] See J. Savage, England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock (London : Faber, 1991).
[3] P. Doncaster, ‘Popland Goes British’, Daily Mirror, 24 January 1963, p.15.
[4] P. McLeod, ‘The Good Punk Guide’, Daily Mirror, 4 July 1977, p.22.
[5] Ibid.
[6] D. Short, ‘Beatles Hit Back At Ban On Song’, Daily Mirror, 20 May 1977, p.3.
[7] Inglis, ‘‘I Read The News Today, Oh Boy’’, p.556.
[8] Tony Barrow cited in Inglis, ‘‘I Read The News Today, Oh Boy’’, p. 554.
[9] D. Wright, ‘‘Party Night’ For The Drug Squad At Beatle Home’, Daily Mirror, 1 April 1969, p.7.
[10] J. Wilson, ‘Beatle Paul: MBE, LSD and BF’, Daily Mirror, 19 June 1967, p.2.
[11] David Detmer, ‘That Is I Think I Disagree: Skepticism and Epistemology in The Beatles’, in M. Baur and S.A. Baur (eds), The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Think That Can't Be Thunk (Chicago, IL: Open Court, 2006), p.3.
[12] R. Beam and J. Jackson, ‘Night of the Nasties’, Daily Mirror, 3 December 1976, pp.16-17.
[13] The Daily Mirror did not run an article on the now infamous boat trip story.
[14] See D. Hebdige, Subculture: The Meaning of Style (London : Routledge, 1979), p.63.
[15] Doncaster, ‘Popland Goes British’, p.15.
[16] ‘All Together Now’, Daily Mirror, 21 June 1963, pp.14-15.
[17] Short, ‘Beatles Hit Back At Ban On Song’, p.3.
[18] G. Stewart, ‘Never Mind the Filth, Here’s The Sex Pistols!’, Daily Mirror, 19 December 1977, p.11.
[19] See R. Moore, ‘Postmodernism and Punk Subculture: Cultures of Authenticity and Deconstruction’, The Communication Review 7, 1 (2004), p.309.
[20] Ibid., p.311.
[21] See M.R. Frontani, The Beatles: Image and the Media (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2007). This work focusses on The Beatles’ image and the media in the USA, but proposes an interesting insight into the evolution of The Beatles’ image and its cultural impact.