Happy Birthday today (Jan. 31) to John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. He’s 61. Also celebrating is former Whitesnake guitarist Adrian Vandenberg (63) and in remembrance today, Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman would have been 53.

John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) is best known as lead singer for Sex Pistols from 1975-1978. He also fronted the band during various reunions in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Sex Pistols are one of the most influential of all time, and they started the U.K. Punk movement in the 70’s. The original lineup featured Lydon on vocals along with guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and bassist Glenn Matlock. Matlock would be replace by Sid Vicious in 1977. The band’s album Nevermind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols is a punk classic. Describing the album, Rolling Stone critic Charles M. Young stated: “Nevermind the Bollocks changed everything. There had never been anything like it before, and really there’s never been anything quite like it since. The closest was probably Nirvana, a band heavily influenced by the Sex Pistols.”

The original Sex Pistols lineup was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, but band members refused to attend the ceremony calling the museum quote “a piss stain”. I always liked Motley Crue's cover of the Sex Pistols tune "Anarchy in the UK". Check out the video clip below. (Warning* Strong Language)

Adrian Vandenberg
Adrian Vandenberg and Steve Lukather attend the Classic Rock Roll of Honour at The Roundhouse on November 13, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Jo Hale/Getty Images)
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Jeff Hanneman
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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