The Sex Pistols are re-releasing ‘God Save The Queen’ in time for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The anti-establishment purveyors’ 1977 hit was released amid the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations, and now it’s set to make a comeback in the same month Queen Elizabeth marks 70 years on the British throne.
The punk rock classic was infamously banned by the BBC, and narrowly missed out on the number one spot in the Official UK Chart.
For the first time in chart history, due to its notoriety, chart bosses refused to list its title, while many record shops refused to stock the record.
What’s more their label A+M destroyed 25,000 copies of the record, with a handful left.
Released on May 27, fans of John Lydon’s band can get their hands on one of just 1,977 copies of the re-released A+M version.
The ‘Pretty Vacant’ rockers were later signed by Virgin, and 4,000 copies of the Virgin re-release will also be on sale to fans.
Both versions boast the original artwork, with the A+M edition featuring its generic company sleeve and pressed on silver/platinum vinyl. The Virgin single’s artwork is designed by Jamie Reid.
The B sides also reflect the original releases with ‘No Feeling’ for A+M,’ and ‘Did You No Wrong’ for Virgin.
A new 20-track Sex Pistols compilation is also being released as a companion to the Disney+ series ‘Pistol’.
In celebration of Danny Boyle’s six-episode limited series on the streaming service, the notorious punk rockers are releasing 20 of their recordings from 1976 to 1978 on ‘The Sex Pistols: The Original Recordings’ for the first time in more than two decades.
decades.
The release includes the hits from 1977’s highly influential ‘Never Mind The B*******’ LP; ‘God Save The Queen’, Anarchy in the UK’, ‘Pretty Vacant’, and ‘Holidays In the Sun’.
The collection also features covers from ‘The Great Rock and Roll Swindle’ album, the soundtrack to the Pistols’ 1980 post-split documentary of the same name.
Plus, a host of B-sides in ‘I Wanna Be Me’ (the flipside of ‘Anarchy…’), ‘Satellite’ (the b-side of ‘Holidays In The Sun’) and ‘Did You No Wrong’ (from ‘God Save The Queen’).
The compilation will be available as a double vinyl, digital and CD and limited edition double transparent green vinyl and also limited edition yellow vinyl, and collectors’ cassettes.
‘Pistol’ is based on guitarist Steve Jones’ 2017 memoir ‘Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol’.
Toby Wallace plays Steve Jones, Jacob Slater is drummer Paul Cook, Anson Boon is frontman John Lydon, Christian Lees is bassist Glen Matlock, and Louis Partridge is the late bass player Sid Vicious.
The compilation is released on May 27, while ‘Pistol’ premieres on Disney+ and Hulu on May 31.