NEVER MIND THE JUBILEE HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS
MARION McMULLEN LOOKS AT THE RETURN OF PUNK ANTHEM, GOD SAVE THE QUEEN, 45 YEARS AFTER ITS CREATORS SHOCKED THE UK
Be irresponsible. Be disrespectful. Be everything this society hates.” Malcolm McLaren’s credo
BUNTING, street parties and punk rock. The Sex Pistols marked the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in 1977 with the release of their anti-authority hit God Save The Queen... and the BBC promptly banned it.
Their colourful manager Malcolm McLaren once advised: “Be childish. Be irresponsible. Be disrespectful. Be everything this society hates.”
Stores like WH Smith and Woolworths also refused to sell the single which shocked parents nationwide with singer Johnny “Rotten” Lydon screaming out the refrain “No future, no future, no future for you”.
The controversial record still reached number two in the UK singles chart despite the lack of airplay and it is the only time in chart history that a track was listed with a blank title to avoid offence.
The subversive take on the national anthem was kept from the top spot by Rod Stewart’s far more sedate – and in the circumstances somewhat ironic – I Don’t Want To Talk About It.
To combat the media blackout the band promoted the record on their own jubilee boat trip along the Thames which ended in their arrest when they tried to play the track on the River Thames outside Westminster Palace.
The promotional stunt by Malcolm McLaren was described as an attempt to circumvent a “ban” by playing on the river instead of setting foot on ground, but the performance never took place as they were thwarted by the authorities.
The furore saw the group dropped by their record label A&M and the band released the single through Virgin after signing a new deal. This prompted the destruction of 25,000 unreleased copies of the song. Only a handful of copies of the original A&M pressings remain, with one selling for £13,000 in 2019. The punk rock anthem has now been re-issued 45 years later to mark the Queen’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee with 4,000 copies being re-released through Virgin, and 1,977 copies of the rare A&M version also being made available. The band were described in newspapers as “the group you love to hate” after they swore live on TV during an interview with Bill Grundy. They also tried to pour a bottle of whisky over the heads of newspaper photographers at a press conference to sign a new recording contract outside Buckingham Palace in 1977. Sid Vicious was present having replaced Glen Matlock. Sid died at the age of 21 in 1979.
John Lydon has said he is always surprised that people are shocked by what he does. “I just said it as feel it and see it and understand it, and that is about it really,” he said. “I don’t involve any personal agendas so my motivation would never be to shock.”
When God Save The Queen was released, the monarch was 51. The year 1977 also saw Star Wars breaking cinema box office records, the death of Elvis Presley and Red Rum winning the Grand National for a record third time.
Queen Elizabeth’s first jubilee saw her travel 56,000 miles visiting 36 countries in more than 10 weeks to mark her 25 years on the throne. Street parties were held across the country and beacons were lit in her honour.
The Union Jacks flew, but the Sex Pistols T-shirt was also seen widely across the country as it was snapped up by young punks.
Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle’s new six-part TV series about the Sex Pistols also starts on Disney+ on May 31. Pistol is based on guitarist Steve Jones’ memoir, Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol and features Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Malcolm McLaren and Game Of Thrones star Maisie Williams as punk model Jordan.
Steve Jones is played by Toby Wallace, John Lydon by Anson Boon and Louis Partridge is bassist Sid Vicious. Talulah Riley, best known for roles in St Trinian’s and Westworld, portrays punk fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood.
Last year the members of the Sex Pistols were embroiled in a High Court legal battle over the punk band’s songs being used in the television series and ex-drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones successfully sued John Lydon to allow their music to be used in the
TV drama.
Pistol will explore the rise of the punk band and Danny Boyle says:
“Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent. This is the moment British society and culture changed forever.
“It is the detonation point for British street culture… where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion, and everyone had to watch and listen, and everyone feared them or followed them. The Sex Pistols.”