BY SIMON WHITTLE
The Sex Pistols re-released their anti-monarchist anthem God Save the Queen at the end of May, 25 years after the national uproar the record received on its original release back in 1977. It was again timed to clash with the orchestrated celebrations for Betty Windsor's throne-sitting, this time her Golden Jubilee and the June 4 shindig at Buckingham Palace in which a motley collection of pop has-beens appeared.
The original release of the classic single caused a sensation in 1977 as the British ruling class and capitalist press honoured Windsor's achievement of staying monarch for 25 years. The record almost was never released.
Punks were the visual embodiment of the state of the UK at the end of the summer of 1976. With the worst unemployment figures since 1940, the pound falling in value and living standards degenerating rapidly, punk seemed like both a breath of fresh air and a great way to kick the establishment's backside.
The Sex Pistols spring-boarded to Britain's attention on December 1, 1976, when they appeared live on Thames TV's prime-time Today chat show. Drunken host Bill Grundy goaded the band into using four-letter words. What followed was unprecedented media exposure.
The band's first single, Anarchy in the UK, was released on the EMI label days before the Grundy show. December's promotional tour suffered badly. Local councils queued up to ban the group.
EMI wouldn't promote the band; it was another month before they admitted they didn't want the Pistols anymore. The band (through manager Malcolm McLaren) was given a Lstg30,000 pay-off in early January 1977.
The next single was to be God Save the Queen, a rant against the monarchy. The Pistols wanted to crack this taboo before the Silver Jubilee in June. McLaren advertised the single despite having no label.
Pistols designer Jamie Reid expertly bastardised classic images of the Queen, putting safety pins through her lips, masking her eyes and mouth.
In March 1977, nobody knew that the Jubilee would be a success but, with an extra two days' holiday announced for June, the majority went along with the bunting and the street parties.
On March 10, the Sex Pistols signed a deal with A&M records amid a media frenzy at the gates of Buckingham Palace. Guitarist Steve Jones wore a T-shirt complete with upturned crucifix and huge swastika.
Punk's use of the swastika is generally misunderstood. At the time, the press attempted to link the Pistols with the racist National Front, claiming that it and their fans were fascists. These were utter lies.
For punks, the swastika was used mainly for shock value. (And the swastika was also used as a tribute to the film Cabaret, which many original punks were into in a big way.)
The A&M contract lasted less than a week. A friend of singer Johnny Rotten threatened Bob Harris, the presenter of the TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test, a couple of nights after the signing.
When A&M bosses found out, they dropped the band. McLaren got a cheque for Lstg75,000 and the company melted down all remaining copies of God Save the Queen.
On March 17, a Daily Mirror headline screamed Punk group's Lstg75,000 for nothing and McLaren complained: We're being treated like a contagious disease. I just keep walking in and out of record companies and being given cheques.
Although he would later proclaim that this swindle was pre-planned, at the time McLaren and the band were seriously concerned that God Save the Queen wouldn't be released in time.
But the Pistols signed to Virgin Records in May for Lstg65,000 and rushed out the single which, although banned by most chains, sold over 150,000 copies in the first week.
They were back, with a vengeance.
[From the Scottish Socialist Voice. Visit <http://www.scottishsocialistvoice.net/>
From Green Left Weekly, June 19, 2002.
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