It's always been a miracle to me that a casted band that not even existed for a year and only made one album has had this much of an impact on pop culture for half a century. What an amazing piece of music history.
It's funny how much of what you said is also true about NWA (and almost, but not quite, Nirvana and "Nevermind"). It's like there are times the universe brings forces of change to 'restore the balance'. WHERE THE F*** is the one we need Now? LOL!!
Mind-blowing indeed. And yet the flip side seems to be all the even better, potentially even MORE influential, Zeitgeist-perfect bands out there who DIDNT break thru for whatever reason. So much seems to depend on luck, breaks, whims, etc. Some say the band "Big Star" SHOULD have been gigantic, but are only now being recognized. Culture is utterly fascinating.
@@joescott8877 Big Star did have a mini revival among indie kids in the 90s, but overall it's a tragedy music of their caliber never quite got the recognition it deserved.
@@meadish Interesting, yeah, that's what I heard, I remmeber leafing thru a book about it one time. Have heard two of their songs, and they DO seem great!
It didn't make number 1,it was held off the top spot by Rod Stewart's double A-side "The first cut is the deepest" & "i don't want to talk about it",speculation that it was kept off the top spot deliberately,more than likely it was,but it made number one on the NME chart though
"The king is gone but he's not forgotten This is the story of Johnny Rotten, It's better to burn out than it is to rust The king is gone but he's not forgotten" - Neil Young "Hey Hey, My My" (into the black) Check it out!!
They straight up lifted that riff from The Jam "In The City," another highly influential punk to new wave band that didn't get as much commercial success in the U.S.
I cannot understate just how much moral panic this band and this song caused in the uk when it came out in the queens jubilee year of 1977… questions in Parliament, councils refusing the Pistols licences at gigs so they couldn’t play , I was a die hard punk and loved the trauma and chaos this short lived movement caused …. Awesome and aggressive pure rock n roll 👍🏴
How many gigs did I go to, that were supposed to be the Sex Pistols (unannounced gig)? Never seen them, but some of the bands I did see were also really great because of it. More cynical in my old age, I think the "established" venues were spreading these rumours to fill up halls with what they thought were going to be less than half empty. In their defence, I think some of the bands we saw benefitted from this ruse. Just wish one of the 'rumours' had been true.
@@brok328 yup, sounds like cynical grifter promoters jumping on the bandwagon there , but at least you got to see sone bands you wouldn’t normally have ventured out for , still annoying though eh ? 👍🏴
@@markcourson3151 really appreciate that mark 👌, we got to see the birth of the pistols , but San Francisco got to witness the unexpected and brutal end with the words “ ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated ? “ Great while it lasted though ! Cheers Mark 👍🏴
@@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering No worries, i love your square to the ground commentary on a really incredible era for music. As fate would have it, I live in the SF Bay Area. Be well and let's all rage against the machine! Never go gently into that good night!
This is the first album I ever bought without hearing a single note of the music beforehand. There was so much hype about them in the rock press, and I wanted to hear what all the fuss was about, because they weren't played on any radio station (in my area at least). I was only about 14 or 15, so an album purchase was a major investment The music hit my ears like a jackhammer. It sounded SO raw and abrasive to me. It seemed like just noise at first, but there was something about it that intrigued me. I kept playing the album until I "got it". I can't say it turned me into the biggest punk fan on Earth, but they definitely taught me to appreciate the genre.
I actually bought this cassette, in the middle of my years long abuse/theft of the Columbia House 12 free records for a penny deal. The penny taped to the ad, is the only money they ever got from me, but they didn't have this release, so I had to buy it.
Glen Matlock wrote Anarchy in the UK, God save the queen and Pretty vacant. He was sacked for liking the Beatles, or claiming in an interview that he based Pretty vacant on the bassline from ABBA´s SOS. He was replaced by Sid Vicious and the rest was chaos and no more good songs. Glen Matlock formed the Rich Kids with Midge Ure who later went to fame with Ultravox. Rich Kids made one ( great ) album "Ghosts of princes in towers". Check it out.
Steve Jones hated Matlock because he thought Glen was a whiney mama's boy and was doing too much of the writing. It was Jones who forced him out of the band. I think jealousy had a lot to do with it. Jones is a good guitarist, but not that great a songwriter.
VdGG being a prog band, which is pretty funny! I read once that Rat Scabies (the Damned) saw Keith Emerson in an airport, and went over to him to tell him he was a huge fan. So much for prog being a dinosaur by 1975.
@@myrrhfishify7743 It goes to show how complicated music can be. "This guy" is supposed to hate THAT music, but he loves it.. "This guy" is supposed to love THAT music, but he hates it. I guess it just goes to show how personal music is and how difficult it is to explain why we like what we like and hate what we hate. As far as prog goes, in my world, prog will never die! I still listen to Gentle Giant, King Crimson and PFM and all the others. Call me outdated.....I don't care. I love dinosaurs!
YESS! As a little kid, when I heard this odd looking man yelling that the queen 'Ain't a Human Being!' I fell in love! The Pistols showed up at the right time to take it back to basics of Rock. We need that moment Today! A Pistols or Nirvana to just slap the hell out of people.
The Sex Pistols not only saved rock and roll from disco and insipid soft rock, they did something most bands only dream of: they legitimately threatened authority. There's a famous video of them playing live on a boat on the Thames, blasting "God Save the Queen" at the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebration on the nearby shore (before the police shut them down). Every attempt to stifle them only added to their legend.
That time-travelled me. Thatcher's Britain was likely the most tumultuous western era since US-1968. Lydon and Malcom McLaren made a few bob, but for the first time since that American era's protest songs, music was a force for change.
@@danmayberry1185 1997, pre-Thatcher. But it must be remembered that the late 70s had global stagflation/recession and repeating oil shocks caused by OPEC, so energy crises. Didn't really matter which government was in power anywhere. So time was perfect for social upheaval, as was the music industry, which had succumbed to the pop excess of disco and the prog excess of Yes, ELP and friends unleashed. Sex Pistols: perfect time and place.
I'm not a Brit. I kind of think this song fits better now. Ol' chuck spent too much time and money with his friend jim savile. There's no damn way I can stand behind the pig-eyed prince, it's pretty well known jim's was an open secret. There's no way I'll believe chuck didn't hear something. You can't trust any of these royals, you can't keep skeletons in the closet during the information age. Time for the monarchy to morph into something less skeevy.
Actually, disco was the answer to groups like Earth, Wind & Fire or Parliament / Funkadelic who while great musicians, got stagnated like the prog did back then. The disco phenomenon was a gay underground thing before breaking out to the mainstream. Disco was the other ingredient along the energy of punk that spawned bands like ABC, Duran Duran, Human Legue that took over the world.
All their songs are from this album, because this is the ONLY studio album they ever released. Yes, one of the seminal groups of punk that changed the course of modern music did it with just 12 songs.
The album is a banger, a sign of the times, with social unrest, strikes and the development of a punk culture. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is one of the most important albums of all time, and needs to be heard in full.
Bought this album in 1979 shaved my head went home dressed all punk rock and got kicked out of the house…not joking! Pretty Vacant , No Feelings, Submission are some great tunes too!
I'd argue that it it did ... for about 5, maybe 10, years then the world moved on or reverted back to the music prior to 1977. Punk fashioned other music but no more. I was there and as I've said before, it didn't impress me then and doesn't impress me now 45+ years later.
Gotta thank the Sex Pistols for revitalizing R&R. The whole Punk movement forced it's way into the music scene - built from the underground up by itself.
I loved prog rock then and I still love it. But that doesn't mean I didn't like punk. Ironically, Johnny Rotten was hugely influenced by prog singer Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator. John has stated many times he thought Peter Hammill was the best singer and songwriter in the history of rock. He also loved Kate Bush.
@@lashedbutnotleashed1984 I love prog too. But what I said still stands. It made a lot of people think it had gotten very self indulgent. I mean they weren’t wrong. Rick Wakeman on stage with ice skaters pretty much says it all
@@demonhoopa Well, I certainly can't disagree with you that prog did become a bit too self-indulgent in it's later years. But early on, I was madly in love with it. I loved prog and punk almost equally and was in a punk band in the early 80s. Not all prog bands became that self-indulgent. King Crimson stayed pretty sane while ELP and Yes became parodies of themselves.
Steve Jones's guitar can strip wallpaper. And Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) has the most vitriolic wit, expressed perfectly in his lyrics and voice. This song came out during the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations, and The Man (everyone from the news media to the police) went crazy. "Pretty Vacant" next? Or maybe "EMI"?
@@davidconnor5136 Are you sure? If that's the case my apologies to Chris! I'd always thought it was Steve. It certainly sounds like him... and, having checked, online sources say it's him, too.
Mind blowing how this single album from the band made history and influenced so many others. No technical gymnastics, just pour, raw punk. Love this band so much! :) You guys should do Pretty Vacant and/or Holiday In The Sun next.
You also have to remember that this came in the late '70s at a time when disco was all the rage. There were nothing but bangers on this album. Every single one of them. This is a special album from a special group.
One album and inducted into the RnR HOF. They were that important. Much to say about this band, but I’ll just mention that John just recently lost his long time wife to Alzheimer’s so peace to John. He’s a force of nature. God bless him. You should do the whole album. I did not intend to like this album or the Pistols when it came out, but it was so good, I became a fan. ‘Bodies’ is my favorite song. It’s a shocker. Or ‘Problem’.
OH no, I didn't realize about his wife. That's devastating. A few years ago I read an interview where he said he hoped they died together because they couldn't live without each other.
Pistols guitar player Steve Jones said that while they were recording songs like this and Anarchy in the UK, he was secretly listening to bands like Journey and ELO.
I love that when this song went number one in England, the listing was BLANK, there was literally no mention of them or the song. Hearing this now, you still get the energy and power, but not the danger, this wasn’t “punk”this was a fucking PROBLEM(another Sex Pistols song, in fact)that legitimately scared those that it didn’t mobilize.
It's a miracle that these 2 haven't ever heard this song before. How, as music fans with all the parties, films, tv shows, documentaries & gigs experienced, have they achieved that?
This is the song that made me fall in love with punk. First time I heard the ending, the hair was standing on my arms. I found the rage and despair very moving. It sounded so authentic
Just to say that Sid Vicious came into Queen’s rehearsal saying to Freddie “have you succeeded in bringing ballet to the masses”? (Freddie loved the ballet, he even danced with the Royal Ballet, and they took part in the video of “I Want to Break Free”) anyway back to the story, Freddie grabbed Sid by the lapels, called him “Simon Ferocious” and said “what are you going to do about it”? and pushed him out the door...Sid was really taken aback, he never expected that from Freddie....the thing is that Freddie was a boxing champion...there’s a pic of him with the huge silver trophy that he won...when you see Freddie perform onstage he has a boxer’s stance...there will never be anyone like Freddie, ever again🤩
@@smcgmail8238 "No future for you!" LOL...yeah "punk" was replaced by "New Wave", but appreciate the reference to Iggy Pop. Talking Heads, Eurythmics, The Cult, Blondie (who was one of the first rappers (with "Rapture"), and the like. Ramones to me were just a more metal version of Beach Boys.
I wasn't in London last week, but I KNOW this was being played in some places and homes during the coronation! LOL!! This is S-tier, because it does all it can do, and more! You should listen to Sid Vicious singing his version of "My Way"!!
'Alternative Ulster ' by Stiff Little Fingers has a similar vibe 'Into the Valley' The Skids, New Rose The Damned and Something Better Change The Stranglers
Four more comments: 1) I wouldn't recommend hitting any other individual tracks - you've done the two essential ones. But I would recommend hitting the album at some point. It's an essential historical document. And works as a whole. 2) Worth doing some reading about just how much outrage engulfed the entire British Isles when these two singles came out. It wasn't just their parents. It was a cultural inferno. lol 3) Also worth noting......this came out right when the whole country was engulfed in (or preparing for, I forget) the Queen's 25 year celebration 4) It was damn near impossible to hear this (or any other punk) here in the Us at the time without specifically seeking it out
The Pistols were seen as a back-to-basics response to Prog and Glam. By 1975 no one wanted a triple album of songs written in Elvish and played on a nose-flute Glitter heels an Tinsel had also lost its sparkle. She's probably still warm in the coffin btw...
I was studying at Leeds Polytechnic in 1975 and went to see upcoming bands when a young group of lads came on stage, the sex pistols, the amplifiers were cranked up and they started the singing. You just knew you were in the presence of something new and vibrant. Beer was being sloshed around while we had a wild party. The house was electric
Yea well they were just poor working class lads like oasis.they didnt study at polytechnic.the working class have more drive more talent more brains and more bottle than any fooking little toff at little polys and univirsitys.
And our lot have to push 5 times harder than some spotty little thick white privelaged dumbell that even after thousands and thousands of quid paid for by mummy n daddy and still couldnt pass a fooking exam.
The white do gooding prvelaged lot are very quick to let us know our place beneath them in society well we let them know what a bunch of untalented thick pricks they are.yea its a class war alright.fooking liberals and torie boys starving our kids kicking us out our houses cracking the whip for shit wages while they live it up like the fooking parties in downing street while the poor were dying like flies during covid.THATS THE REAL CLASS WARFARE.
I remember my friends and I purchasing the very first copy of this song when it hit our record store. We were expecting even more chaos, but we dug the rawness and energy. As the group went on, they were doomed to implode. What an impact though.
Say what you will about other popular songs in 1977 by the likes of Rod Stewart, Abba, Eagles and Jimmy Buffet, but when this song came on the radio, what a breath of fresh air it must have been. Punk and the attendant new wave of Joe Jackson, The Police and Elvis Costello was the kick in the pants rock music needed at the time and it was glorious!
This is the album ( Never Mind the Bollocks...) that changed my entire perspective on music. Picked it up back in 1983 when I was 12, and I've never stopped exploring music since...
I think I said this last time you reacted to the Sex Pistols: Their seminal album is titled "Never Mind The Bollocks ..." and 14 years later, Nirvana's seminal album is titled, "Nevermind." Both albums were seismic game-changers - and the later band was clearly influenced by the first.
Regarding your question as to whether or not this song is off the same album as the last one you listened to - All of their songs are off this album. It was their only release.
Yes, the Sex Pistols! Thank you for reacting to "God Save The Queen"! Both the Pistols and the Ramones punk music stirred up the music scene. I love the "in your face" lyrics and performance by the Pistols. Please react to the Sex Pistols version of "My Way". Cheers.
Such an amazing album. Since you're curious about their home life, there are some excellent documentaries about the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten. And there's a movie, "Sid and Nancy" as well, for Hollywood's version.
AT LAST! One of the most powerful songs out there. This record shifted the course of the music industry. Pretty much carried by vocalist Johnny Rotten and Guitarist Steve Jones (who also played bass in the studio). The infamous Sid Vicious was in practice a non-entity who was drugged out, could hardly play bass, didn't do it in the studio, and died soon after. And check out the production. NOT garage. This has amazing tone to it for every part.
I played this through twice after I bought it. You can't believe the impact it could have on a first listen back when it came out. There is also an incredible cover by Motorhead.
It's hard to imagine what it must have been like to hear this for the first time in 1977. Nothing sounded like this. And the great thing about your reaction is seeing you experience how viscerally thrilling this still is.
People were well used to it by the time this album came out in 1977. On the other hand, when the anarchy single came out in 1976, it caused a music revolution.
One and only studio album. That’s all they needed to light a fuse for a revolution. It stands the tests of time because where there’s an authoritarian form of governance there’s going to always be angry youth to take it on. This whole album is not afraid to take on all kinds of “taboo” subjects. I love it!
You clearly both get it, and can quite clearly imagine the impact this album had on young teenagers like myself in the UK in 1977. FYI, their Artwork was by Jamie Reid. His design for the cover of the God Save the Queen single is legendary, and was described as "the single most iconic image of the punk era"
I know I'm a broken record, but you liking the vocals by Johnny Rotten makes me want you to hear Black Francis of Pixies. Not the same, but sometimes he's so unhinged.
I was so glad to be around for some of that. I was into all kinds of stuff but this and many other bands were a big part of it. Check out Richard Hell & the voidoids
You should check out the story of their gig at the lesser free trade hall in 1976. About 40 people attended, but more than 10 times that, say they were there 😂
@@RevStickleback Perhaps, the way I see it, punk launched new wave and that pretty much defined a good chunk of 80s music. Punk also enabled smaller bands to get a toehold where they may have struggled before. It rejuvenated the spirit of rebellion in music that was beginning to wane in the mid 70s.
@@philvallee645 I agree. The Two-Tone bands, for example, would have found it much harder to get noticed without the DIY ethos that punk largely gave birth to. Punk might have been a short-lived niche in terms of popularity, but it definitely shaped music for the next decade, with a grittier edge to it. Unfortunately the music industry has a habit of squeezing out anything genuinely interesting in favour of mass appeal music. It's probably not a coincidence that the next wave of English music came out of Manchester, well away from London, where it had room to grow and to be appreciated for being different.
Interesting story about the name of the album "Never mind the Bollocks". It actually went to court to be decided if "Bollocks" is an obscene swear word and shouldn`t be allowed. The high court decided it wasn`t .😐
You had to be there as a fourteen year old in 1977. The album NMTB, is underappreciated now for the effect it had on the stagnation of the scene at the time, ie dinosaur rock and disco.
Holidays in the Sun and E.M.I. (1st and last songs from this album). It was their only album - it's amazing the impact they had with such a short career.
When this came out, for the only time in history, the number 1 in the charts had a blank space, because it was this. They were banned from playing it in the UK, so jumped on a canal boat and played it live in the middle of the River Thames going through London at full volume. It was a protest against the Monarchy, and the machine of the British Government at the time. I'm glad to finally see Andy & Alex experience The Sex Pistols. You guys really may as well just do the entire album. Welcome to Punk History in 38 minutes.I also HIGHLY recommend you guys listen to The Jam too. 👏🤘
I was just an adolescent skateboarder in California in the 80s . The back of thrasher magazine always had band shirts you could order. Mostly punk and synth wave / pop bands . We would skate to the record stores and go digging never really heard what these bands sound like , the Sex Pistols were my first exposure to punk and I was hooked! Many bands would follow ! The good old days
The early days of punk, in the UK, was just a kind of agresssively stripped back rock & roll. It was still tuneful. America then took it and went hardcore, and did away with a lot of the melody as well - which to me is a shame, but many like it that way.
HIO Andy and Alex I really enjoy your reactions. in 1977 (I was 17) it was the queen's silver jubilee and this song was banned from ANY airplay the length and breadth of the UK, but it still got to number 2 in the charts, we all knew it actually got to number 1, but the state couldn't allow that. people think that punk was a just couple of years of boys and girls making loud, fast and politically aware songs, but all the the punk bands were unable to play in the vast majority of venues, by establishment figures who had probably never even heard them, actual censorship of a musical art in 20th century Britain. (btw a REAL BANGING tune you might like to consider reacting to is JESUS BUILT MY HOTROD - MINISTRY, whenever I feel the need to blow away the mental cobwebs this is what I put on)
One of the greatest rock albums of all time! The playing is ferocious. Steve Jones & Paul Cook are so tight. Guitarist Steve Jones plays all the bass on this album. Definitely check out the documentary the Filth & the Fury.
The Sex Pistols only had one album and existed (Originally) for less than two years. And here we are still talking about them and their impact 47 years later.
I watched a doc on the making of this album, not sure if it was the great albums series but always blew my mind that Steve Jones was learning to play guitar as they recorded the album. So great.
Thanks for covering A+A! The LP cover is a take on making flyers. Cutting out words from different magazines and papers (like a kidnapper) was a big underground way of posting show info, I believe it is still used. Not a bad tune on that lp. I am partial about their jab at a label (EMI), or Pretty Vacant, Holidays in the Sun is a blast as well.
When I was 3 years old, I remember two things about music... 1. My grandmother was broken up that Elvis died. 2. My family talked about how much the Sex Pistols were a dangerous influence. And when I was 15, hanging at the mall... I aaw the name of that band andI bought this cassette tape with my allowance money. Because parents never understand that if they tell us to stay away from something as a child, we're ALL IN as soon as we can be. 😎💯 This is one of the reasons I am the man I became. 💯 And like most kids that heard it... its the reason I started playing in a band. It was 1987... and I was NOT alone in wanting real music again. I wouldn't realize that until we all started playing in bands in 1992. 😎💯
The Sex Pistols only had one true album, so there isn't that much more to hear, but since you do want to hear another song, "Pretty Vacant" should be next. But you have now heard their 2 most classic songs.
Pretty Vacant should be next, if not the whole album.
My thoughts exactly
This is a perfect album. Completely agree
When I first heard that i thought they were saying "pretty bacon," but then again I was huffing glue at the time
Absolutely!
Bodies !
It's always been a miracle to me that a casted band that not even existed for a year and only made one album has had this much of an impact on pop culture for half a century. What an amazing piece of music history.
It's funny how much of what you said is also true about NWA (and almost, but not quite, Nirvana and "Nevermind"). It's like there are times the universe brings forces of change to 'restore the balance'. WHERE THE F*** is the one we need Now? LOL!!
@@scottboswell6406 A.I.: Here I am! Kidding. But maybe not. Shit's gettin real, and real cool, and real scary, REAL QUICK!
Mind-blowing indeed. And yet the flip side seems to be all the even better, potentially even MORE influential, Zeitgeist-perfect bands out there who DIDNT break thru for whatever reason. So much seems to depend on luck, breaks, whims, etc. Some say the band "Big Star" SHOULD have been gigantic, but are only now being recognized. Culture is utterly fascinating.
@@joescott8877 Big Star did have a mini revival among indie kids in the 90s, but overall it's a tragedy music of their caliber never quite got the recognition it deserved.
@@meadish Interesting, yeah, that's what I heard, I remmeber leafing thru a book about it one time. Have heard two of their songs, and they DO seem great!
This was number one in the UK during the Queen's Silver Jubilee in May 1977 and they wouldn't play it on TV. Proud to be British😆
It didn't make number 1,it was held off the top spot by Rod Stewart's double A-side "The first cut is the deepest" & "i don't want to talk about it",speculation that it was kept off the top spot deliberately,more than likely it was,but it made number one on the NME chart though
@penderyn8794 I used the word British which is correct so I have no idea why you are making this point however correct
@@richardbray6454 Ok it was no 1 in June 1977
@@jeffh2166 Wow someone's really not great at accepting criticism or engaging in debate or conversation.... Gorra be an anglo
@@jeffh2166 It was never No1 on the official chart
"The king is gone but he's not forgotten
This is the story
of Johnny Rotten,
It's better to burn out
than it is to rust
The king is gone
but he's not forgotten" - Neil Young "Hey Hey, My My" (into the black)
Check it out!!
Holidays In The Sun is my favorite Sex Pistols tune. Hand down. God Save The Queen and Problems also rank up there.
Starting with the marching jack boots is very provocative.
Mine too. Those boots!
Was hoping someone would bring up Holidays. We used to cover that in the band I was in in the 90's. One of my faves.
They straight up lifted that riff from The Jam "In The City," another highly influential punk to new wave band that didn't get as much commercial success in the U.S.
Agree
The Pistols "kidnapper font" cover design logo design was by artist Jamie Reid and came to pretty much symbolize punk to the present day.
Along with the picture of Queen Elizabeth with safety pins on her face too.
I cannot understate just how much moral panic this band and this song caused in the uk when it came out in the queens jubilee year of 1977… questions in Parliament, councils refusing the Pistols licences at gigs so they couldn’t play , I was a die hard punk and loved the trauma and chaos this short lived movement caused …. Awesome and aggressive pure rock n roll 👍🏴
How many gigs did I go to, that were supposed to be the Sex Pistols (unannounced gig)? Never seen them, but some of the bands I did see were also really great because of it. More cynical in my old age, I think the "established" venues were spreading these rumours to fill up halls with what they thought were going to be less than half empty. In their defence, I think some of the bands we saw benefitted from this ruse. Just wish one of the 'rumours' had been true.
@@brok328 yup, sounds like cynical grifter promoters jumping on the bandwagon there , but at least you got to see sone bands you wouldn’t normally have ventured out for , still annoying though eh ?
👍🏴
awesome insight my man. we loved it here in the states!
@@markcourson3151 really appreciate that mark 👌, we got to see the birth of the pistols , but San Francisco got to witness the unexpected and brutal end with the words “ ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated ? “
Great while it lasted though ! Cheers Mark
👍🏴
@@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering No worries, i love your square to the ground commentary on a really incredible era for music. As fate would have it, I live in the SF Bay Area. Be well and let's all rage against the machine! Never go gently into that good night!
This is the first album I ever bought without hearing a single note of the music beforehand. There was so much hype about them in the rock press, and I wanted to hear what all the fuss was about, because they weren't played on any radio station (in my area at least). I was only about 14 or 15, so an album purchase was a major investment
The music hit my ears like a jackhammer. It sounded SO raw and abrasive to me. It seemed like just noise at first, but there was something about it that intrigued me. I kept playing the album until I "got it".
I can't say it turned me into the biggest punk fan on Earth, but they definitely taught me to appreciate the genre.
TMI Here my first album was Surfing Safari 🤟
I actually bought this cassette, in the middle of my years long abuse/theft of the Columbia House 12 free records for a penny deal. The penny taped to the ad, is the only money they ever got from me, but they didn't have this release, so I had to buy it.
"Pretty Vacant" and "Holidays in the Sun" are the next tracks to hit.
Also, the multiple fonts on the album cover are meant to resemble a ransom note.
Glen Matlock wrote Anarchy in the UK, God save the queen and Pretty vacant. He was sacked for liking the Beatles, or claiming in an interview that he based Pretty vacant on the bassline from ABBA´s SOS. He was replaced by Sid Vicious and the rest was chaos and no more good songs. Glen Matlock formed the Rich Kids with Midge Ure who later went to fame with Ultravox. Rich Kids made one ( great ) album "Ghosts of princes in towers". Check it out.
Steve Jones hated Matlock because he thought Glen was a whiney mama's boy and was doing too much of the writing. It was Jones who forced him out of the band. I think jealousy had a lot to do with it. Jones is a good guitarist, but not that great a songwriter.
I heard he was fired because he used to wash his feet.
Glen Matlock is currently on tour playing bass with Blondie.
@@jamesb5901 Cool. Didn't know that.
But John Lydon wrote the lyrics
The righteous rage in JR's voice is one of the greatest vocals in rock.
Johnny & Jello Biafra have the best punk rock rage voices
He was greatly influenced by Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator. He practically worshipped Peter Hammill.
VdGG being a prog band, which is pretty funny! I read once that Rat Scabies (the Damned) saw Keith Emerson in an airport, and went over to him to tell him he was a huge fan. So much for prog being a dinosaur by 1975.
@@myrrhfishify7743 It goes to show how complicated music can be. "This guy" is supposed to hate THAT music, but he loves it.. "This guy" is supposed to love THAT music, but he hates it. I guess it just goes to show how personal music is and how difficult it is to explain why we like what we like and hate what we hate.
As far as prog goes, in my world, prog will never die! I still listen to Gentle Giant, King Crimson and PFM and all the others. Call me outdated.....I don't care. I love dinosaurs!
"His voice has a mustard stain on it" is a perfect description
YESS! As a little kid, when I heard this odd looking man yelling that the queen 'Ain't a Human Being!' I fell in love! The Pistols showed up at the right time to take it back to basics of Rock. We need that moment Today! A Pistols or Nirvana to just slap the hell out of people.
The Sex Pistols not only saved rock and roll from disco and insipid soft rock, they did something most bands only dream of: they legitimately threatened authority. There's a famous video of them playing live on a boat on the Thames, blasting "God Save the Queen" at the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebration on the nearby shore (before the police shut them down). Every attempt to stifle them only added to their legend.
Legendary.
That time-travelled me. Thatcher's Britain was likely the most tumultuous western era since US-1968. Lydon and Malcom McLaren made a few bob, but for the first time since that American era's protest songs, music was a force for change.
@@danmayberry1185 1997, pre-Thatcher. But it must be remembered that the late 70s had global stagflation/recession and repeating oil shocks caused by OPEC, so energy crises. Didn't really matter which government was in power anywhere. So time was perfect for social upheaval, as was the music industry, which had succumbed to the pop excess of disco and the prog excess of Yes, ELP and friends unleashed. Sex Pistols: perfect time and place.
I'm not a Brit. I kind of think this song fits better now. Ol' chuck spent too much time and money with his friend jim savile. There's no damn way I can stand behind the pig-eyed prince, it's pretty well known jim's was an open secret. There's no way I'll believe chuck didn't hear something. You can't trust any of these royals, you can't keep skeletons in the closet during the information age. Time for the monarchy to morph into something less skeevy.
Actually, disco was the answer to groups like Earth, Wind & Fire or Parliament / Funkadelic who while great musicians, got stagnated like the prog did back then. The disco phenomenon was a gay underground thing before breaking out to the mainstream. Disco was the other ingredient along the energy of punk that spawned bands like ABC, Duran Duran, Human Legue that took over the world.
All their songs are from this album, because this is the ONLY studio album they ever released. Yes, one of the seminal groups of punk that changed the course of modern music did it with just 12 songs.
The album is a banger, a sign of the times, with social unrest, strikes and the development of a punk culture. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is one of the most important albums of all time, and needs to be heard in full.
This was a Nuclear Bomb on the Punk Rock Explosion 💥
The Sex Pistols upended the 70s arena rock scene
Bought this album in 1979 shaved my head went home dressed all punk rock and got kicked out of the house…not joking!
Pretty Vacant , No Feelings, Submission are some great tunes too!
This album changed music forever,and it needed it.
I'd argue that it it did ... for about 5, maybe 10, years then the world moved on or reverted back to the music prior to 1977. Punk fashioned other music but no more. I was there and as I've said before, it didn't impress me then and doesn't impress me now 45+ years later.
Gotta thank the Sex Pistols for revitalizing R&R. The whole Punk movement forced it's way into the music scene - built from the underground up by itself.
WHAT A SONG! WHAT AN ALBUM!
Imagine this after a long period of Prog Rock. This song (and others) changed music for many of us.
Prog and stadium rock suddenly seemed self indulgent and bloated. I totally relate
I loved prog rock then and I still love it. But that doesn't mean I didn't like punk. Ironically, Johnny Rotten was hugely influenced by prog singer Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator. John has stated many times he thought Peter Hammill was the best singer and songwriter in the history of rock. He also loved Kate Bush.
@@lashedbutnotleashed1984 I love prog too. But what I said still stands. It made a lot of people think it had gotten very self indulgent.
I mean they weren’t wrong. Rick Wakeman on stage with ice skaters pretty much says it all
@@demonhoopa Well, I certainly can't disagree with you that prog did become a bit too self-indulgent in it's later years. But early on, I was madly in love with it. I loved prog and punk almost equally and was in a punk band in the early 80s. Not all prog bands became that self-indulgent. King Crimson stayed pretty sane while ELP and Yes became parodies of themselves.
@@lashedbutnotleashed1984 Well said
Steve Jones's guitar can strip wallpaper. And Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) has the most vitriolic wit, expressed perfectly in his lyrics and voice. This song came out during the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations, and The Man (everyone from the news media to the police) went crazy. "Pretty Vacant" next? Or maybe "EMI"?
Jones did not play on the album it Chris spending
3:31
@@davidconnor5136 Are you sure? If that's the case my apologies to Chris! I'd always thought it was Steve. It certainly sounds like him... and, having checked, online sources say it's him, too.
@@jamesdignanmusic2765 in a interview with Glen Matlock he said it was Chris Spedding
Mind blowing how this single album from the band made history and influenced so many others. No technical gymnastics, just pour, raw punk. Love this band so much! :)
You guys should do Pretty Vacant and/or Holiday In The Sun next.
You also have to remember that this came in the late '70s at a time when disco was all the rage. There were nothing but bangers on this album. Every single one of them. This is a special album from a special group.
One album and inducted into the RnR HOF. They were that important.
Much to say about this band, but I’ll just mention that John just recently lost his long time wife to Alzheimer’s so peace to John. He’s a force of nature. God bless him.
You should do the whole album. I did not intend to like this album or the Pistols when it came out, but it was so good, I became a fan. ‘Bodies’ is my favorite song. It’s a shocker. Or ‘Problem’.
OH no, I didn't realize about his wife. That's devastating. A few years ago I read an interview where he said he hoped they died together because they couldn't live without each other.
Oh that's sad. I hope John finds Christ.
@@agemoth He won't find Christ because he is not looking for a fake Daddy figure.
Inducted into the RnR HOF? The Sex Pistols basically told the RnR HOF to stick their little trophy up their arse.
@@lashedbutnotleashed1984 There’s always one. 😐
For many years NMTB was considered a top 5 album all time by several major music publications.
This is their only actual studio album and it changed the entire trajectory of the industry.
Super stoked to see this! Amazing reaction! Why not keep the pace going and react to this whole iconic album? It's filled with more sauce like this.
Pistols guitar player Steve Jones said that while they were recording songs like this and Anarchy in the UK, he was secretly listening to bands like Journey and ELO.
Big roxy music fan also
He also loved Be Bop Deluxe. He worshipped their guitarist/songwriter, Bill Nelson. I do as well. He's the most underrated musician there ever was.
I love that when this song went number one in England, the listing was BLANK, there was literally no mention of them or the song.
Hearing this now, you still get the energy and power, but not the danger, this wasn’t “punk”this was a fucking PROBLEM(another Sex Pistols song, in fact)that legitimately scared those that it didn’t mobilize.
Lol
Did the BBC not prevent it from reaching number 1 and it only made it to number 2?
It's a miracle that these 2 haven't ever heard this song before. How, as music fans with all the parties, films, tv shows, documentaries & gigs experienced, have they achieved that?
This is the song that made me fall in love with punk. First time I heard the ending, the hair was standing on my arms.
I found the rage and despair very moving. It sounded so authentic
John Lydon - Jonny Rotten giving it loads and what a performance from Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook!
Just to say that Sid Vicious came into Queen’s rehearsal saying to Freddie “have you succeeded in bringing ballet to the masses”? (Freddie loved the ballet, he even danced with the Royal Ballet, and they took part in the video of “I Want to Break Free”) anyway back to the story, Freddie grabbed Sid by the lapels, called him “Simon Ferocious” and said “what are you going to do about it”? and pushed him out the door...Sid was really taken aback, he never expected that from Freddie....the thing is that Freddie was a boxing champion...there’s a pic of him with the huge silver trophy that he won...when you see Freddie perform onstage he has a boxer’s stance...there will never be anyone like Freddie, ever again🤩
Next should be “EMI”, the band’s kiss-off to their label that gave them the boot. Holidays In The Sun a strong one too.
Punk reinvigorated the music scene .It meant that anyone could form a group and go crazy without having to be brilliant musicians.
Punk started in the late 60s .
@@agemothgreat topic - I'm limited (partial to MC5 & Stooges over Ramones, but don't know much about the roots).
@@agemoth ...not in the U.K.!
@@smcgmail8238 "No future for you!" LOL...yeah "punk" was replaced by "New Wave", but appreciate the reference to Iggy Pop. Talking Heads, Eurythmics, The Cult, Blondie (who was one of the first rappers (with "Rapture"), and the like. Ramones to me were just a more metal version of Beach Boys.
@@agemoth Yeah, the NY Dolls and early Blondie are much better than the Pistols.
I wasn't in London last week, but I KNOW this was being played in some places and homes during the coronation! LOL!! This is S-tier, because it does all it can do, and more! You should listen to Sid Vicious singing his version of "My Way"!!
Played several times in my house over the coronation weekend!
'Alternative Ulster ' by Stiff Little Fingers has a similar vibe
'Into the Valley' The Skids,
New Rose The Damned and
Something Better Change The Stranglers
Every single track in that album is a classic.
The whole album still sounds fresh. It's amazing the impact they had after only ONE studio album.
During the Queen's silver jubilee celebrating her 25th year as monarch, the Sex Pistols rented a barge on the Thames and blasted this song. Brilliant.
The PINNACLE of punk. Period.
Four more comments:
1) I wouldn't recommend hitting any other individual tracks - you've done the two essential ones. But I would recommend hitting the album at some point. It's an essential historical document. And works as a whole.
2) Worth doing some reading about just how much outrage engulfed the entire British Isles when these two singles came out. It wasn't just their parents. It was a cultural inferno. lol
3) Also worth noting......this came out right when the whole country was engulfed in (or preparing for, I forget) the Queen's 25 year celebration
4) It was damn near impossible to hear this (or any other punk) here in the Us at the time without specifically seeking it out
The Pistols were seen as a back-to-basics response to Prog and Glam.
By 1975 no one wanted a triple album of songs written in Elvish and played on a nose-flute
Glitter heels an Tinsel had also lost its sparkle.
She's probably still warm in the coffin btw...
I was studying at Leeds Polytechnic in 1975 and went to see upcoming bands when a young group of lads came on stage, the sex pistols, the amplifiers were cranked up and they started the singing. You just knew you were in the presence of something new and vibrant. Beer was being sloshed around while we had a wild party. The house was electric
Yea well they were just poor working class lads like oasis.they didnt study at polytechnic.the working class have more drive more talent more brains and more bottle than any fooking little toff at little polys and univirsitys.
And our lot have to push 5 times harder than some spotty little thick white privelaged dumbell that even after thousands and thousands of quid paid for by mummy n daddy and still couldnt pass a fooking exam.
The white do gooding prvelaged lot are very quick to let us know our place beneath them in society well we let them know what a bunch of untalented thick pricks they are.yea its a class war alright.fooking liberals and torie boys starving our kids kicking us out our houses cracking the whip for shit wages while they live it up like the fooking parties in downing street while the poor were dying like flies during covid.THATS THE REAL CLASS WARFARE.
John Lyndons (the singer) parents were Irish so they were probably delighted he was dissing the queen😁
No messing around - nothing fancy - just straight in your face rockn` music.
“Holidays in the Sun” is definitely worth checking out
"In the city there's a thousand things...."
Lifted that riff directly from The Jam.
I love when you guys explore punk. My go-to music. PLEASE do more
I was in 7th grade when the Sex Pistols hit over here. I still love punk. They had such a huge impact on music. They weren't even around that long.
I remember my friends and I purchasing the very first copy of this song when it hit our record store. We were expecting even more chaos, but we dug the rawness and energy. As the group went on, they were doomed to implode. What an impact though.
Have you guys done any Clash yet? London Calling and much more.
Say what you will about other popular songs in 1977 by the likes of Rod Stewart, Abba, Eagles and Jimmy Buffet, but when this song came on the radio, what a breath of fresh air it must have been. Punk and the attendant new wave of Joe Jackson, The Police and Elvis Costello was the kick in the pants rock music needed at the time and it was glorious!
This is the album ( Never Mind the Bollocks...) that changed my entire perspective on music. Picked it up back in 1983 when I was 12, and I've never stopped exploring music since...
I think I said this last time you reacted to the Sex Pistols: Their seminal album is titled "Never Mind The Bollocks ..." and 14 years later, Nirvana's seminal album is titled, "Nevermind." Both albums were seismic game-changers - and the later band was clearly influenced by the first.
Regarding your question as to whether or not this song is off the same album as the last one you listened to - All of their songs are off this album. It was their only release.
Yes, the Sex Pistols! Thank you for reacting to "God Save The Queen"! Both the Pistols and the Ramones punk music stirred up the music scene. I love the "in your face" lyrics and performance by the Pistols. Please react to the Sex Pistols version of "My Way". Cheers.
Yeah but Ramones also wrote yukky love ballads.Pistols didn't
Such an amazing album.
Since you're curious about their home life, there are some excellent documentaries about the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten. And there's a movie, "Sid and Nancy" as well, for Hollywood's version.
AT LAST! One of the most powerful songs out there. This record shifted the course of the music industry.
Pretty much carried by vocalist Johnny Rotten and Guitarist Steve Jones (who also played bass in the studio). The infamous Sid Vicious was in practice a non-entity who was drugged out, could hardly play bass, didn't do it in the studio, and died soon after. And check out the production. NOT garage. This has amazing tone to it for every part.
"She's not even human. She's not what she seems."
I played this through twice after I bought it. You can't believe the impact it could have on a first listen back when it came out. There is also an incredible cover by Motorhead.
I was 16 when this came out in 1977. Still sounds fresh as a daisy
It's hard to imagine what it must have been like to hear this for the first time in 1977. Nothing sounded like this. And the great thing about your reaction is seeing you experience how viscerally thrilling this still is.
People were well used to it by the time this album came out in 1977. On the other hand, when the anarchy single came out in 1976, it caused a music revolution.
One and only studio album. That’s all they needed to light a fuse for a revolution.
It stands the tests of time because where there’s an authoritarian form of governance there’s going to always be angry youth to take it on.
This whole album is not afraid to take on all kinds of “taboo” subjects.
I love it!
Steve Jones , the guitarist, stole David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars gear from a truck after a Bowie show Lol
Pretty Vacant, then you have done their big 3 hits. That whole album is actually remarkably good.
You clearly both get it, and can quite clearly imagine the impact this album had on young teenagers like myself in the UK in 1977. FYI, their Artwork was by Jamie Reid. His design for the cover of the God Save the Queen single is legendary, and was described as "the single most iconic image of the punk era"
I know I'm a broken record, but you liking the vocals by Johnny Rotten makes me want you to hear Black Francis of Pixies. Not the same, but sometimes he's so unhinged.
I was so glad to be around for some of that. I was into all kinds of stuff but this and many other bands were a big part of it. Check out Richard Hell & the voidoids
"Bodies", Holidays in the Sun" and "Submission" are all good songs. We need Punk request day from you guys.
My favorite 3 songs on the album👍
@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 Nice!
I'd love to see their reaction to Bodies!
You should check out the story of their gig at the lesser free trade hall in 1976.
About 40 people attended, but more than 10 times that, say they were there 😂
That reminds me of the Doctor Who gag about the Beatles. 90% of the audience at the Cavern Club were time travelers, including John.
@@loosilu 😁
You have to listen to this entire album at some point. If Sgt Pepper changed rock, this was the next iteration hands down iconic.
I'd say from a cultural impact perspective, in the UK only The Beatles made more of an impression.
@@RevStickleback Perhaps, the way I see it, punk launched new wave and that pretty much defined a good chunk of 80s music. Punk also enabled smaller bands to get a toehold where they may have struggled before. It rejuvenated the spirit of rebellion in music that was beginning to wane in the mid 70s.
@@philvallee645 I agree. The Two-Tone bands, for example, would have found it much harder to get noticed without the DIY ethos that punk largely gave birth to. Punk might have been a short-lived niche in terms of popularity, but it definitely shaped music for the next decade, with a grittier edge to it. Unfortunately the music industry has a habit of squeezing out anything genuinely interesting in favour of mass appeal music. It's probably not a coincidence that the next wave of English music came out of Manchester, well away from London, where it had room to grow and to be appreciated for being different.
@@RevStickleback Very good point! The Manchester angle is one that didn’t occur to me. All the best 😊
They only made one official album - legendary band!
Just left school, right age and so lucky to experience punk and then wave some of the best music ever and hasn't been repeated since.
Interesting story about the name of the album "Never mind the Bollocks". It actually went to court to be decided if "Bollocks" is an obscene swear word and shouldn`t be allowed. The high court decided it wasn`t .😐
@Andy&Alex, you should get a punk poll building over at the Freedom Shack. Awesome reaction today!
You had to be there as a fourteen year old in 1977. The album NMTB, is underappreciated now for the effect it had on the stagnation of the scene at the time, ie dinosaur rock and disco.
When the album was first released, it went on sale in a brown paper bag because of the 'naughty' word on the cover!
Holidays in the Sun and E.M.I. (1st and last songs from this album). It was their only album - it's amazing the impact they had with such a short career.
When this came out, for the only time in history, the number 1 in the charts had a blank space, because it was this. They were banned from playing it in the UK, so jumped on a canal boat and played it live in the middle of the River Thames going through London at full volume. It was a protest against the Monarchy, and the machine of the British Government at the time. I'm glad to finally see Andy & Alex experience The Sex Pistols. You guys really may as well just do the entire album. Welcome to Punk History in 38 minutes.I also HIGHLY recommend you guys listen to The Jam too. 👏🤘
The angry punk attitude is so fun. Johnny Rotten used to wear a “I Hate Pink Floyd” t-shirt around London just to piss off people.
My son in law, 21, just found these guys. He was diggin it.
Ofc u should do the whole album
This is one of those love to listen to the whole album type of deals. ❤
Complete the unholy trinity of prime British punk from the Pistols with Pretty Vacant lads…
A+. Ahh yes, when punk was actually punk. Miss those days.
I was just an adolescent skateboarder in California in the 80s . The back of thrasher magazine always had band shirts you could order. Mostly punk and synth wave / pop bands . We would skate to the record stores and go digging never really heard what these bands sound like , the Sex Pistols were my first exposure to punk and I was hooked! Many bands would follow ! The good old days
I don't even really consider it punk, it's just great rock music. The whole album is superb.
The early days of punk, in the UK, was just a kind of agresssively stripped back rock & roll. It was still tuneful. America then took it and went hardcore, and did away with a lot of the melody as well - which to me is a shame, but many like it that way.
HIO Andy and Alex I really enjoy your reactions. in 1977 (I was 17) it was the queen's silver jubilee and this song was banned from ANY airplay the length and breadth of the UK, but it still got to number 2 in the charts, we all knew it actually got to number 1, but the state couldn't allow that. people think that punk was a just couple of years of boys and girls making loud, fast and politically aware songs, but all the the punk bands were unable to play in the vast majority of venues, by establishment figures who had probably never even heard them, actual censorship of a musical art in 20th century Britain. (btw a REAL BANGING tune you might like to consider reacting to is JESUS BUILT MY HOTROD - MINISTRY, whenever I feel the need to blow away the mental cobwebs this is what I put on)
“This is from the same album I think”. Well, they only released one album and imploded. Legendarily. Changed music forever with just one album.
This is what punk rock is, pure and simple.
One of the greatest rock albums of all time! The playing is ferocious.
Steve Jones & Paul Cook are so tight.
Guitarist Steve Jones plays all the bass on this album.
Definitely check out the documentary the Filth & the Fury.
I was 16 when that came out. Still love it. Jamie Reid did the album cover and still is a prolific artist now. I have one of his pieces.
The Sex Pistols only had one album and existed (Originally) for less than two years. And here we are still talking about them and their impact 47 years later.
I watched a doc on the making of this album, not sure if it was the great albums series but always blew my mind that Steve Jones was learning to play guitar as they recorded the album. So great.
Thanks for covering A+A! The LP cover is a take on making flyers. Cutting out words from different magazines and papers (like a kidnapper) was a big underground way of posting show info, I believe it is still used. Not a bad tune on that lp. I am partial about their jab at a label (EMI), or Pretty Vacant, Holidays in the Sun is a blast as well.
Holidays in the Sun! The most perfect album opener ever, and the track that cured me of being a prog rock snob.
Every song on the album is like that. The best one and done band of all time.
When the song went to Number 1 in the UK, it wasn't listed on the charts, just a blank spot.
When I was 3 years old, I remember two things about music...
1. My grandmother was broken up that Elvis died.
2. My family talked about how much the Sex Pistols were a dangerous influence.
And when I was 15, hanging at the mall... I aaw the name of that band andI bought this cassette tape with my allowance money. Because parents never understand that if they tell us to stay away from something as a child, we're ALL IN as soon as we can be. 😎💯
This is one of the reasons I am the man I became. 💯 And like most kids that heard it... its the reason I started playing in a band.
It was 1987... and I was NOT alone in wanting real music again. I wouldn't realize that until we all started playing in bands in 1992. 😎💯
The Sex Pistols only had one true album, so there isn't that much more to hear, but since you do want to hear another song, "Pretty Vacant" should be next. But you have now heard their 2 most classic songs.
Was Sid playing on this?
@@Busywave I'm not sure, but I don't think so.
Jet Boy- New York Dolls is a must