The Sex Pistols

Original 7" with provenance (A&M); "God Save The Queen" A&M promotional t-shirt and promotional poster  [All UK, 1977]

 

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"There is no future in England's Dreaming..."

Arguably the high-point of punk rarities, the Pistols' second single was suppressed by a nervous record label prior to offiical release in the midst of the Queen's Silver Jubilee. The conservative  estimate is that no more than 100-odd copies of the 'God Save The Queen' 7" 45 on A&M Records survived.

The story of how the band were dropped and the pressing destroyed is a milestone of post-war popular- and sub-culture history. The original records are certainly rare, but on occasion trade hands in the low five figures. The promotional t-shirt is rarer still. The poster however, is a black swan of sorts: Only one roll of circa 20 posters survived, as they were shipped from the London office to the Los Angeles office of A&M Records.

 "The God Save The Queen" 45 was released three months later by Richard Branson's Virgin Records, and according to many (including the NME) it  was a number one record, but its real chart position suppressed by the people who did not want a scathing critique of the traditional British way of life as a number one record in the middle of what was supposed to be a triumpant celebraton of the monarchy.