What year did the Sex Pistols break up?

The Sex Pistols broke up in 1978.

The band’s initial breakup occurred during its January 1978 tour of the United States. After a troubled performance in San Francisco, vocalist Johnny Rotten announced that he was leaving the group on January 18, 1978. The tour had been plagued by poor planning, internal conflict, hostile audiences, and growing problems surrounding bassist Sid Vicious’s drug use.

Although the announcement effectively ended the Sex Pistols as a performing band, the group’s story continued for several months. Guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and Vicious participated in recordings connected with Malcolm McLaren’s film project The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle. The band did not resume live performances with Rotten during that period.

The year can be confused with 1977, when the Sex Pistols released their only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. It can also be confused with later reunion periods: the surviving members reunited for tours in 1996 and again in later years, but those events did not change the band’s original breakup date.