Bill Grundy

William Grundy (born February 20, 1923 in Manchester , † February 9, 1993 ), called " Bill ", was an English television presenter who led, among other things, by the Thames television program Today . He is best known for a chaotic appearance by the Sex Pistols on his show, which resulted in his dismissal.

resume

Grundy was born in Manchester . He began his career as a journalist there and then worked for Granada Television . On October 17, 1962, he was the first television presenter to announce the Beatles . He appeared on various programs such as People and Places or Man About the House . He achieved most notoriety, however, as the presenter of the Today program and through the "Sex Pistols incident" in 1976.

His son Tim Grundy was also a presenter in Manchester . He died on February 1, 2009. His other son, Nick Grundy, lives in France and works as an English teacher there.

The Sex Pistols Incident

Grundy suddenly became famous in a strange way, namely through a scandal when the English punk rock band Sex Pistols appeared on his show on December 1, 1976, along with their followers. You were brought onto the show at the last minute to represent Queen . The whole event was broadcast in the afternoon, where swear words are forbidden on English television.

When Grundy introduced the band, he provoked them at the same time in his ironic way. He claimed, “... they're just as drunk as I am.” When Grundy asked Steve Jones what the band had done with the £ 40,000 they had received from the record company, he replied, visibly upset: “We did the shit money spent! ”Jones then repeated the word“ fuck ”two more times, which is a rarity on English television. Then Johnny Rotten babbled the word “shit” as Bill Grundy cited Beethoven , Mozart and others as good music.

Next, the host started a chat with Siouxsie Sioux , who was among the Sex Pistols' entourage. He asked her if she would like to meet him after the show. Now Jones was pissed off, he called Grundy a "dirty bastard" and a "dirty old man", but he uttered these harsh swear words in a very calm way. Grundy then incited Jones to throw a few more abusive words at his head, which he insisted on; he called the showmaster a "dirty bastard", an "asshole" and a "dirty scoundrel". Without showing any indignation, Grundy ended the show, and you can still hear him say "Oh, you shit" as the band started dancing to the closing melody.

Although the show only aired in London , the episode became a national scandal. This resulted in Bill Grundy's expulsion from the broadcaster two months later.

The incident became the inspiration for the 1978 song Where's Bill Grundy Now? from the Television Personalities .

Web links

• Manchester celebrities, Bill Grundy is featured.
• The script of the Sex Pistols interview
• Bill Grundy in the Internet Movie Database (English)