Before forming the Sex Pistols and writing ‘Anarchy In The UK’, Glen Matlock worked as a 'Saturday boy' at Let It Rock - the Malcolm McLaren/ Vivienne Westwood boutique on the Kings Road. One of Glen's first tasks was measuring Ian up for a new suit. 'I was the bloke with the tape measure,' says Glen. '"I’m free!" I was the John Inman of the punk generation.' Glen recalls discovering that Ian was a polio victim: 'Most peoples' shoulders are about seven inches, but one side was half the width. I realised how withered he was down one side and how my granddad must have been – he had polio – and I felt a little bit more of a connection with Ian than if I’d just seen him on stage. It made him a bigger bloke in my eyes, what he had to put up with.'
I remember once seeing Ian with his shirt off, in a hotel room in Buffalo, I think. Despite myself, I found I was taken aback by just how withered one side was. It couldn't help but give you a sharper perspective on his daily struggles.
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