Who was the original bassist for the Sex Pistols?

The original bassist for the Sex Pistols was Glen Matlock.

Matlock joined the developing band after meeting Steve Jones and Paul Cook while working at Malcolm McLaren's clothing shop, Sex, in London. He played bass during the group's formative period and was part of the original lineup before John Lydon became known as Johnny Rotten.

Matlock was also a major songwriter for the band. He is credited as a co-writer on 10 of the 12 songs on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, although he had left before much of the album's final recording work. Sid Vicious replaced him in 1977 and became the group's most famous bassist in the public imagination.

That replacement explains the most common quiz mistake: Sid Vicious was the later bassist, not the original one. Matlock subsequently formed Rich Kids and later returned for several Sex Pistols reunion tours, including the 1996 Filthy Lucre Tour.