Some say it started the night Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the gift of the blues. Others reckon Elvis The Pelvis was the one. And for some it all began when the Sex Pistols swore on the Bill Grundy Show.
Whatever, rock’n’roll in all its feisty manifestations has been bugging the arse off straight society for a good few decades now… with a little help on the side from your NME. So we think it’s fitting, with a new millennium in sight, to revisit some of those cathartic moments when an off-the-cuff comment, just one snort too many, or a sly misdemeanor changed the landscape of popular music for better… and, often, for worse.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be chronicling the 100 Ways Rock Shook Up The World. Pooled from the addled memories of NME staff past and present, these moments of genius and madness are the ones we think have altered our consciousness forever, the ones that made mere human beings like us into immortals.
PS. Attention mad people. These aren’t in any particular order, so don’t e mail us with any hissy fits about The Wedding Present‘s triumphant 73rd gig at the Rayleigh Pink Toothbrush where Dave Gedge had a good hair day not being included in the top 10. OK? OK!
We also want your nominations for rock’s greatest moment. We’ll be collating the best nominations into a polling form to vote on in the coming weeks. Click here to nominate what you think is rock’s finest moment. Click here to go to the first batch of 100 Ways Rock Shook Up The World.