Bill Grundy - The Today Show Incident

The Today Show Incident

Grundy became notorious in a matter of two minutes owing to an incident that occurred when the punk band Sex Pistols and their entourage appeared at short notice on the Today show of 1 December 1976. They were a last minute stand-in for Queen, who had been forced to cancel. The Today show was broadcast live and uncensored at 6.00pm on weekdays and at a time when obscenities were forbidden.

The interview began with Grundy introducing the band but he then began to provoke his guests. As he introduced them, he made what was probably a tongue-in-cheek comment that he was under the influence of alcohol: "...they are as drunk as I am!" Initially, he received mocking but relatively innocuous responses from Glen Matlock. However, Steve Jones, when asked by Grundy what the band had done with the £40,000 given to them by their record company, said: "We fuckin' spent it ain't we?". The obscenity was overlooked by Grundy at the time. Following this, John Lydon, in response to a question about Mozart, muttered the word "shit" under his breath. When challenged by Grundy, Lydon said (rather sheepishly) that it was nothing but a "rude word" and asked Grundy to go on with the interview. Grundy insisted that Lydon repeat what he had said. When Lydon did so, Grundy mocked him.

Next, Grundy jokingly made advances on Siouxsie Sioux, who appeared as part of the band's entourage, by saying "let's meet afterwards shall we?" An angry Steve Jones responded by calling Grundy a "dirty sod" and a "dirty old man." Grundy further goaded Jones to "say something outrageous", a challenge that Jones met by calling Grundy a "dirty bastard" and a "dirty fucker". Grundy mockingly responded "what a clever boy" and Jones retorted "what a fucking rotter." As the show ended and the credits rolled, Grundy mouthed "oh shit" as the band began dancing to the closing theme.

Although Today was only shown in the London ITV region, it became a national story due to coverage and comment by the tabloid press. As a result, Grundy was suspended for two weeks and Today was cancelled two months later. In a 2008 poll conducted by Freemantle Media, the Today show interview was the most requested TV clip ever.