John Wicks was almost a Sex Pistol. Well, that’s a little bit of a stretch but not as much as one might think. After all, he was one of the first, if not the first, to interview for the job.

Long before having founded The Records with Will Birch or joining the Kursaal Flyers, John was in a cover band. Having grown tired of doing other’s material, he began looking for opportunities elsewhere. Shortly after, he read an ad in NME looking for a lead singer.

John didn’t recognize the voice at the other end, peppering him with questions. More than likely, they were all answered adequately until he got to the one about hair length. He was told he’d have to cut his hair to fit the image. For John, that as a deal breaker. The conversation ended.

It was only a couple of years later, after the Sex Pistols took shape, that it would dawn on John that the voice at the other end was none other than Malcolm McLaren. With that, the legend of “Johnny Wicked” was born.

So, if John had been willing to cut his hair, the Sex Pistols would have been an entirely different band. Or perhaps, we would have found out how good an actor John was. Because, rotten, he was not.