Formed: London, England, UK

Band Biography Part 1 (1972-1978) / Part 2 (1978-Onwards) / Discography - In A Nutshell / Discography / Gallery Of Foreign Picture Sleeves / God Save The Queen

A punk band of international repute.

Band Bio Part 1 (1972-1978)

There is little to add to what has already been said about the Pistols as a social phenomenon, so I'll concentrate on the records (and a little history) instead.

In 1972, layabout/burglar Steve Jones (vocals), electrician Paul Cook (drums) and weird fellow Wally Nightingale (guitar) formed a living-room band named (after the Roxy Music song) The Strand. Two years later, after having failed to do much, they approached Malcolm McLaren at his Let It Rock shop in the Kings Road. After much cajoling, McLaren agreed to become their manager. Nightingale was swiftly jettisoned, and McLaren suggested one of his shop-workers, Glen Matlock, join on bass. Vocalist Johnny Rotten was recruited soon after. (Rotten was far from first choice: Richard Hell, Sylvain Sylvain, Midge Ure, Count Bishop Mike Spenser and even Chrissie Hynde were all considered.)

Steve summed up the early days like this: "We never even did a gig. It was me and two other guys, like a school thing. We were at school still, and—were we at school? It might’ve been just after. But, anyway, it was two other guys from school. One guy, Jimmy Mackin, who’s dead now, he bought a Farfisa organ, and this other guy, Steven Hayes, who went on bass and never learned to play. So it was basically me and Paul Cook, and this other guy, Wally Nightingale. And we did one gig. It was me, Glen Matlock, Paul and Wally down the King’s Road at somebody’s café. I was singing, and I think we were called The Strand. Or the Swankers. Something like that. But it was horrible. And I was terrified, being the front guy. That was the end of that. But we kept on rehearsing, and that’s when Malcolm got involved, and he said, “You should audition for a singer, and you should play guitar.” And that’s when we got rid of Wally and auditioned. And then John showed up, and that was it". - As told to AV Club.

ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT: Glen, John, Steve and Paul. Photo from What's Up What's On

They debuted as the Sex Pistols in November 1975, and built up a cult following over the next year, generating headlines in the music press and kick starting the UK punk movement. The Bill Grundy interview and debut single Anarchy In The UK broke them nationally in November 1976, but made them a trifle unpopular with authority types. As a consequence, most of the the 'Anarchy In The UK' punk package tour was cancelled, the single was withdrawn (it eventually scraped into the Top 40), and in January EMI sacked the Pistols. As the label's press release stated: "The termination of this contract. with the Sex Pistols does in in any way affect EMI's intention to remaining active in all areas of the music business". Well, thank God for that! (Side note: EMI weren't total wimps: they didn't sack The Saints, they gave Matlock's Rich Kids a chance, and signed the very controversial Tom Robinson Band.)

Matlock was ejected in February 1977 in favour of Rotten's non-musical mate Sid Vicious, with Matlock going power pop with the disappointing Rich Kids. In March they signed they signed to A&M Records, where they remained for less than a week, with copies of their second single God Save The Queen being consigned to the bin. (I have it on good authority that these A&M pressings may have some economic value attached to them.)

ABOVE: The A&M and the Virgin 'God Save The Queen'

With Sid on bass (although not in the studio), the Pistols signed to Virgin in May, and 'God Save The Queen' was finally released, where it was cheated out of the Number One spot. Virgin, however, was the band's fourth label: in April McLaren - presumably worried that no label would ever sign the band - "inked" (as they say in America) a deal with the French company Barclay, and that label promptly began repressing 'Anarchy'.

Another hit single, Pretty Vacant followed in July, while the band was working on its debut, provisionally entitled God Save The Sex Pistols. 'Pretty Vacant' was one of their few singles not to get banned, and even earned them a Top Of The Pops appearance.

From mid-1976 onwards it seemed the band generated publicity, often sensational, usually bad, always entertaining. However, this was largely confined to the music press and merely enhanced their cult reputation as the number one punk band. Following the Grundy incident, however, their antics attracted the attention of the tabloids and even the international media, and within a very short space of time they became whipping boys of the nation. Many councils refused to allow them permits to preform, and physical attacks upon various group members made it dangerous for them to even venture out:

When 'God Save The Queen' was released, the band promoted and celebrated it by hiring a boat on the Thames as an alternative Jubilee event. The police broke it up, a brawl ensued, and McLaren and others were arrested. Rotten's face and arm was slashed by a knife-wielding gang outside Islington's Pegasus pub. Jamie Reid and Paul Cook were beaten up in other incidents. As Rotten said at the time: "I don't understand it. All we're trying to do is destroy everything."

This took it's toll on the band, and it definitely want through a stagnation period around this time. Things weren't helped of course by the fact that their main tunesmith had been replaced by an increasingly wild and out-of-control total musical incompetent. Indeed, the band's set list had barely changed in a year. The only new songs were 'Bodies', 'Holidays In The Sun' and 'Belsen Was A Gas'. The latter was one of Sid's very poor taste jokes and even that wasn't new: he had written it back in 1976 when he was in The Flowers Of Romance. Sid also become a heroin user by this time, and Rotten had become disenchanted.

In August they did a short tour of Scandinavia, and then came back home for another run of shows: "SPOTS—Sex Pistols On Tour Secretly". This was a surreptitious UK tour with the band playing under pseudonyms to avoid cancellation, and was allegedly one of the few enjoyable moments for the band during this period.

As Cook told red & Judy Vermorel: “Well, we decided to do these gigs, like, just for one, ‘cause we want to play anyway, and we hadn’t played in England for such a long time. And we couldn’t publicise them, ‘cause if we did, some councilor might just come and say, ‘Right, you’re not playing here,’ what they have done and they can do, for any stupid reason. So we decided to go to each individual promoter ourselves, who owned their private clubs and who could put us on without having to ask someone else, and told them to keep it secret. But we knew enough word would get out that people would know we were playing – which they did. So it weren’t totally unfair on the fans anyway, ‘cause most of them who wanted to see us come to see us. And all the places were packed out, so enough word got ‘round for people to know we were playing.”

From the Rhino Website: "There was a minor freak-out when the plans for the secret gigs somehow made their way onto the front page of Melody Maker, but it turned out to be a tempest in a teacup, thankfully, as the magazine hadn’t actually managed to get any of the dates or venues right. The Sex Pistols ultimately did six dates on the so-called S.P.O.T.S. tour, being billed differently in each of the half-dozen locations: Lafayette Club, Wolverhampton (S.P.O.T.S.); Outlook Club, Doncaster (Tax Exiles); Penthouse, Scarborough (Special Guest); Rock Garden, Middlesborough (Acne Rabble); Woods Centre, Plymouth (The Hamsters), and Winter Gardens, Penzance (A Mystery Band of International Repute). If nothing else, the brief jaunt helped get Sid Vicious out and about as the band’s bassist, even if his limited playing ability proved evident."

Come October, the LP was finished and scheduled for release. Then came the Spunk bootleg, which contained demos the band recorded with Goodman in July and October '76, and January '77. This collection of raw recordings was of such good quality that some believe McLaren himself leaked the tapes in order to wind up Virgin. The same month Barclay released a single coupling two previously unheard Pistols songs, Submission b/w 'New York'. Both songs were a taster for the long-awaited debut LP Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols, which had been recorded in a piecemeal fashion between March and June and was due for a UK release in November. Barclay, however, was aiming to release it in October, which caused all kinds of consternation in the Virgin camp, forcing Virgin to release it a few weeks early, with single number four Holidays In The Sun released to coincide.

'Never Mind The Bollocks' is still the British Punk Album. It was originally considered a disappointment, as the Spunk "bootleg" covered much the same ground and there was a lack of new material: the first four A-sides are present along with 'Problems', 'Seventeen', 'Liar', 'No Feelings' and 'New York', which had been in the band's set almost from the beginning. The only two new songs were also the most acerbic, 'Bodies' and 'Holidays In The Sun', both co-written by Sid. It is, of course, an essential record, if a little over-produced. Best known as a 12-track affair, it originally contained 11-songs, with 'Submission' offered as a free single, along with a tasty poster. It was also issued on picture disc in 1978.

In January 1978 they went and toured America, and split up a couple of weeks later amid much acrimony. After this, Rotten formed Public Image Ltd. This left it up to Cook, Jones and McLaren to soldier on for a few months, recording songs and filming for a projected Sex Pistols movie, which eventually came out in 1980.

Band Bio Part 2 (1978-Onwards)

From mid-1978 to early 1980 the Rotten-less Pistols enjoyed major chart success with a series of great singles taken from an yet-to-be-released feature film. Some featured Sid on vocals, one had Steve's dulcet tones, and some benefited from the loopy vocals of Edward Tudor-Pole aka Tenpole Tudor.

The first of these singles was June 1978's No One Is Innocent / My Way. The A-Side was recorded in Rio in early '78 with Great Trainer Robber and Brazilian exile Ronnie Biggs on lead vocals, while 'My Way' contained the definitive Sid vocal and was recorded with a bunch of session musicians in Paris in April. More larks: it was issued as a 12" single as The Biggest Blow: A Punk Prayer By Ronnie Biggs, the title being a reference to the coshing a luckless train driver received during the actual train robbery itself in 1963. Although the single was a big hit, Virgin were still not amused: McLaren had suggested the single be called "Cosh The Driver".

Though historically of less importance than the debut album, The Great Rock N Roll Swindle - which came out in February 1979 - is a great album. A double set, it was released in two formats a year before the film of the same name. The CD issue sticks with the better known configuration, omitting 'I Wanna Be Me', replacing the (superior) demo version of 'Anarchy' with the single version, and including 'Watcha Gonna Do About It'. With the band no longer a going concern, this is McLaren's vision rather than Rotten's, and actually features bands other than the Pistols themselves. It is also a fabulous artifact, containing such gems as a wonderful disco medley of Pistols songs ('Black Arabs'), a French version of 'L'Anarchie Pour Le UK', orchestral renditions of 'EMI' and 'God Save The Queen', two songs with Ronnie Biggs on vocals ('No One Is Innocent', 'Belsen Was A Gas'), McLaren attacking a Max Bygraves standard with a xylophone, the rudest sea shanty ever written ('Friggin' In The Riggin''), Sid taking on three R&R classics, two tracks sung by Edward Tudorpole, and some excellent straight-forward punk numbers. Rotten is present only on some rough-sounding (but remixed) Goodman demos from October 1976 and a live version of 'Belsen Was A Gas' from the band's last blow-out in January '78. In 1980, Virgin released a condensed version of the above album, and shoved a huge (and now extremely rare) movie poster inside the cover. Less daunting and equally goofy-sounding, but the double is better.

The same month saw the Something Else single rocket to Number 3 in the UK charts. It featured another great Sid vocal and was backed by the amazingly offensive and amusing sea shanty 'Friggin' In The Riggin'. Sid had shuffled off this mortal coil in February 1979, so this release served as a timely (and lucrative) reminder: it was in fact the best selling Pistols' single, shifting over 250,000 copies within two months. Silly Thing from March '79 and C'mon Everybody (from July) were also big hits. 'Silly Thing', a straight ahead rocker with no controversial material, was backed with the hilarious 'Who Killed Bambi', an orchestral effort with Eddie Tudor-Pole offering a tour de force in untrained vocal gymnastics and completely uninhibited bowel-bending.

ABOVE: Advert for Silly Thing, Article from Smash Hits April 1979, and song lyrics from Smash Hits 1980.

Time for another LP, then.

Reeking of barrel-scraping but very amusing, Some Product. Carri On Sex Pistols came out in July, collecting interviews filled with outrageous Cook and Jones radio spots "Elvis Costello's a cunt"), Sid philosophising about life, a brief chat with Rotten's mum, a truncated version of the Billy Grundy fiasco, and lots of mostly uproarious adverts for Pistols products. It came in another splendid Jamie Reid sleeve, offering such goodies as Gob Ale, Piss Lemonade, Anarkee-Ora and a Sid Vicious Action Man Doll. Best title: 'Big Tits Across America'.

The gravy train, however, started dying off a bit in September when yet another single from the double LP, The Great Rock N Roll Swindle narrowly missed the Top Twenty, although its chart success was scuppered by a lawsuit from American Express over the cover art. The band's final single, from JUne 1980, was yet another song from the LP, this time (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone, which featured Johnny Rotten on vocals and was actually recorded in 1976.

ABOVE: Pistols' obit, from Smash Hits, December 27th 1979. Images from here

Flogging A Dead Horse compiles both sides of the band's first three singles, 'Holidays In The Sun' (but no 'Satellite'), and seven A-Sides, ending with '(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone', and presents them in a truly tasteless sleeve that parodies those 'Top Of The Pops' albums. Unfortunately it uses the LP cut of 'Silly Thing' rather than the (better) single version. Otherwise, it passes muster as a decent best of.

By this time Cook and Jones had formed The Professionals with bassist Andy Allen (who had played on two songs released as the Pistols, 'Silly Thing' and 'Lonely Boy') and Edward Tudor-Pole had formed the briefly excellent Tenpole Tudor. McLaren went on to work with Adam & The Ants and Bow Wow Wow, before embarking on a brief solo career.

The original Pistols lineup reformed in 1996 and released Filthy Lucre Live which isn't very good, and continue to play shows here and there without bothering to make new records.

ABOVE: The Pistols in 2002. Image from the Official Sex Pistols Website

The Discography - In A Nutshell

The mid 80s saw a flux of semi-official and downright illegal archival recordings, taking advantage of a legal loophole caused by the courtroom fighting of McLaren and the remaining living Pistols. The majority of these recycle gigs recorded at Burton Upon Trent (September 1976, previously bootlegged as Indecent Exposure), Trondheim (July 1977), Newport, Wales, (December 1977), Stockholm, and various American dates, most famously their last ever, at the San Francisco Winterland (January 1978). Important demos recorded by Chris Spedding (May 1976) and Dave Goodman at Denmark Street (July 1976), Wessex Studios (October 1976) and Gooseberry Studios (January 1977) also crop up regularly. It is worthwhile noting the best ways of hearing these sets in full: the Trondheim set can be heard in its entirety as the second disc of the Kiss This set, the October demos were recycled and re-dubbed for 'The Great Rock N Roll Swindle'; and virtually everything can be heard by buying two releases: Spunk and Sexbox.

Here's a guide so you can avoid the crud:

Studio Recordings

There is a multitude of unofficial and just-plain-illegal studio recordings. To get everything the band recorded in a studio, buy the records below. It's that simple!

Date	Studio/Producer	Heard On
15th May 1976	Majestic Studios, London. Chris Spedding	Sexbox
13th-30th July 1976	Denmark Street Rehearsal Rooms. Dave Goodman (Nine songs)	Spunk and Sexbox
October 1976	Lansdowne & Wessex Studios. Dave Goodman. First 'Anarchy In The UK' single session	Spunk and Sexbox. Remixed versions issued on The Great Rock N Roll Swindle
November 1976	Wessex Studios. Chris Thomas. Second 'Anarchy In The UK' single session	Sexbox
December 1976	Manchester Square Studios. Mike Thorne	Sexbox
January 1977	Gooseberry Studios. Dave Goodman	Sexbox
April - August 1977	Wessex Studios. Chris Thomas & Bill Price. Never Mind The Bollocks sessions	Sexbox, This Is Crap and Never Mind The Bollocks

 

Live Recordings

There is a multitude of unofficial and just-plain-illegal live recordings, a real minefield of utter crap replicating the same material endlessly. Below is a ready reckoner of where to best hear something if you want complete (or near complete) live shows in sound quality veering from pretty good to atrocious.

Date	Venue	Best Heard On
3rd April 1976	Nashville Rooms, London	Savage Young Pistols (The Nashville Tapes) (Bootleg CD)
23rd April 1976	Nashville Rooms, London	Nashville Fight Night (Bootleg LP)
4th June 1976	Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester	I Swear I Was There (Bootleg LP/CD)
29th August 1976	Screen on the Green, Islington	Midnight Special At Screen On The Green (2xCD Bootleg)
31st August 1976	100 Club, London	100 Club Sex Pistols Party (Bootleg LP)
17th September 1976	Chelmsford Maximum Security Prison	Live At Chelmsford Prison (CD)
20th September 1976	100 Club, London	100 Club Punk Rock Festival (Bootleg LP)
24th September 1976	The 76 Club, Burton on Trent	The 76 Club (The Complete Burton-On-Trent-Recordings) (CD)
6th December 1976	Leeds Polytechnic	Never Mind The Bans (Bootleg CD)
9th December 1976	Electric Circus, Manchester	Never Mind The Bans (Bootleg CD)
3rd April 1977	Screen on the Green, Islington	Sid's Debut (Bootleg LP)
15th July 1977	Beach Disco, Halmstad, Sweden	Power Of The Pistols (semi-legal LP)
16th July 1977	Mogambo Disco, Helsingborg, Sweden	Scandinavian Tour 77 (Bootleg LP)
21st July 1977	Studenter Samfundet, Trondheim, Norway	Kiss This (2xLP/CD)
28th July 1977	Happy House, Student Karen, Stockholm, Sweden	Stockholm 1977 (Bootleg LP/CD)
17th December 1977	Mr. George’s, Coventry	Never Mind The Bands Tour 77 (Bootleg LP)
23rd December 1977	Stowaway Club, Newport, Shropshire	Where Were You In '77? (semi-legal LP)
25th December 1977	Ivanhoe’s, Huddersfield	The Queen's Speech (Bootleg CD)
5th January 1978	Great Southeast Music Hall, Atlanta, GA	Kill The Hippies (Bootleg CD)
8th January 1978	Randy's Rodeo, San Antonio, TX	Randys Rodeo 1978 (Bootleg LP)
9th January 1978	Kingfish Club, Baton Rouge, LA	Spirit of '76 (Bootleg CD)
10th January 1978	Longhorn Ballroom, Dallas, TX	Welcome To The Rodeo (Bootleg LP)
14th January 1978	Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, USA	Winterland Concert (CD)

 

The two US albums, We Have Cum For Your Children: Wanted: The Goodman Tapes and Pirates Of Destiny each claim to have previously unreleased Pistols songs. Alas, 'Revolution In The Classroom' and 'Schools Are Prisons' are actually the work of anonymous session musicians and were recorded in the late 80's. Otherwise, they consist of interview snippets, demos, and live recordings. They were both reissued in the UK by Dojo in 1993 and 1996 respectively. The man behind these two is none other than Dave Goodman. In 1986 he and more session musicians issued 'Land Of Hope And Glory' on 7" and 12" single, as The Ex-Pistols, which was packaged to fool people into thinking a couple of unreleased Pistols recordings had been unearthed. The results were quite passable, but naughty. Not content with these atrocities, Goodman further sullied his reputation with the Restless CD Live At Chelmsford Top Security Prison, which tries altering history by editing in dialogue by Rotten to suggest he is trying to incite a riot. (The Dojo album of a similar name is more kosher.)

DISCOGRAPHY

Singles / Albums

Note: Releases on Barclay (considered by some to be the band's third label) are only listed where they are unique releases i.e. You Need Hands, and not French pressings of UK releases

Singles / Albums

Anarchy In The U.K. (7", 1976)	God Save The Queen (7", 1977)	Pretty Vacant (7", 1977)	Holidays In The Sun (7", 1977)	Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols (LP, 1977)
No One Is Innocent / My Way (7", 1978)	The Biggest Blow: A Punk Prayer By Ronnie Biggs (12", 1978)	Something Else (7", 1979)	The Great Rock N Roll Swindle (2xLP, 1979)	Silly Thing (7", 1979)
C'mon Everybody (7", 1979)	Some Product. Carri On Sex Pistols (LP, 1979)	The Great Rock N Roll Swindle (7", 1979)	(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone (7", 1980)	Flogging A Dead Horse (LP, 1980)
The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle (LP, 1980)	Sex Pistols Pack (6x7", 1980)
Extraneous Releases - Official
Submission (7", 1977)	The Very Best Of Sex Pistols, And We Don't Care (LP, 1979)	Who Killed Bambi (7", 1979)	You Need Hands (7", 1979)	Sid Vicious: Heritage (12", 1979)
Anarchie Pour L'U.K. (7", 1979)	La Grande Escroquerie Du Rock 'N' Roll (LP, 1980)	The Heyday (Tape, 1980)	Who Killed Bambi (7", as Ten Pole Tudor with The Sex Pistols, 1981)	Anarchy In The U.K. (7"/12", reissue, 1983)
Kiss This (2xLP/CD, 1992)	Never Mind The Bollocks / Spunk (2xCD, twofer, 1996)	The Filth And The Fury (2xCD, 2000)	Sexbox (3xCD, 2002)	Jubilee (CD, 2002)
Extraneous Releases - Unofficial
Submission (7"/12", 1984)	The Mini-Album (12", 1985)	Live (LP, as The Original Pistols, 1985)	After The Storm (LP, split with New York Dolls, 1985)	Live Worldwide (LP, 1985)
Anarchy In The U.K. - Live! (LP, 1985)	Power Of The Pistols (LP, 1985)	The Best Of The Sex Pistols Live (LP, 1985)	Where Were You In '77? (LP, 1985)	Never Trust A Hippy (LP, 1985)
Last Show On Earth / Drugs Kill (LP, split with Sid Vicious, 1986)	The Original Sex Pistols Live (12", 1986)	10th Anniversary Album (LP, 1986)	God Save The Sex Pistols (LP, 1986)	Anarchy Live Version / Return Of The Vampyre (12", split with The Bollock Brothers, 1986)
Original Pistols Live (12", 1986)	Jock Box 1 (6xLP, box set, 1987)	Cash From Chaos (LP/CD, 1988)	The Conversation Disc Series (CD, 1988)	It Seemed To Be The End Until the Next Beginning (CD, 1988)
The Collection (LP, 1988)	The Original Pistols (CDS, 1988)	Better Live Than Dead (LP, 1988)	Pirates Of Destiny (LP, 1988)	Anarchy Worldwide (LP, 1988)
Tell Tales - Interview Disc (12", 1988)	We Have Cum For Your Children: Wanted: The Goodman Tapes (LP/CD, 1988)	The Swindle Continues (LP, 1988)	Revolution In The Classroom (7", 1989)	Pretty Vacant /I Wanna Be Me (7", 1989)
Live And Loud!! (LP, 1989)	No Future U.K.? (LP/CD, 1989)	The Early Years Live (12", 1990)	The Best Of And The Rest Of The Sex Pistols Live (CD, 1990)	Live At Chelsmford Top Security Prison (CD, 1990)
Early Daze: The Studio Collection (CD, 1991)	Pretty Vacant (2xLP/2xCD, 1991)	Anarchy In The U.S.A. (LP/CD, 1992)	Interview Disc (CD, 1992)	Introspective: Sex Pistols (CD, 1992)
Live At Chelmsford Prison (CD, 1992)	The Rare Best Of Sex Pistols (CD, 1994)	Alive (2xCD, 1995)	Never Mind The Bollocks / The Great Rock N Roll Swindle (2xCD, twofer, 1995)	Les Génies Du Rock: Anarchy In The UK (CD, 1995)
Sex Pistols Talk (LP, 1996)	Winterland Concert (CD, 1996)	The Sex Pistols Vs The Bollock Brothers (CD, split, 1996)	Live Anarchy (CD, 1996)	Chaos (CD, 1996)
The Italian Job (CD, 1996)	The 76 Club (The Complete Burton-On-Trent-Recordings) (2xCD, 1997)	Raw (CD, 1997)	Archive Series (CD, 1997)	Sex Pistols / The Sofisticatos (7", split, 1997)
Sex Pistols / The Ugly (7", split, 1997)	Sex Pistols / The Curse (7", split, 1998)	The Greatest (CD, 1998)	Pistol Whipped: The Sex Pistols Live (CD, 1998)	Aural Sex (CD, 1999)
Johnny Rotten & Sid Vicious Of The Sex Pistols Are Outrageous And Outspoken (CD, 1999)	There Is No Future (CD, 1999)	Pretty Vacant (CD, 1999)	Ace Fish (CD, 2000)	Burton-On-Trent Recordings (LP, 2000)
Live in Chelmsford Prison (CD, 2000)	The Legends Collection: The Sex Pistols Collection (2xCD, 2001)	Anarchy In The U.K. - Live At The 76 Club (CD, 2001)	Anarchy In The UK (CD, 2001)	Anarchy In The USA (CD, 2001)
Live at Winterland - 1978 (CD, 2001)	Maximum Sex Pistols (The Unauthorised Biography Of The Sex Pistols) (CD, 2002)	Submission (CD, 2002)	Destroy - Live At The 76 Club (CD, 2002)	Silver Jubilee (25th Anniversary Collection) (CD, 2002)
Live In Concert (CD, as Sex Pistols feat. Sid Vicious, 2002)	The Live Collection (2xCD, 2002)	Extended Versions - The Encore Collection (CD, 2003)	Raw And Live (2xCD, 2004)	Submission (2xCD, 2005)
Anarchy Live! At The 76 Club (CD, 2005)	Live! (CD, 2006)	Spunk (CD, 2006)	The Sex Pistols (CD, 2006)	All The Hits (CD, 2007)
Orange Collection (2xCD, 2008)	Agents Of Anarchy - File 1: The Goodman Tapes (2xCD, 2008)	Agents Of Anarchy - File 2: Submission (2xCD, 2008)	The Sex Pistols (2xCD, 2008)	Sex, Anarchy & Rock N' Roll Swindle (LP, 2009)
Recorded Live In 1976 By Dave Goodman (CD, 2009)	The Many Faces Of Sex Pistols (3xCD, 2013)	Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols - Alternative Takes (7x7", box set, 2014)	Sex Pistols & Sid Vicious Live (CD)	The Best Of The Sex Pistols (CD)
The Worst Of The Sex Pistols (2xCD)
PROMOS
Press Talk 96 - 100 Club Press Conference (LP/CD, 1996)	God Save The Queen (Karaoke) / Press Conference (CDS, 1996)	Live (CD, split with Stewart Douglas, 2007)
BOOTLEGS AN INCOMPLETE LIST! I'LL INCLUDEANY ADDITIONS IF YOU SEND ME INFO AND SCANS, BUT I CAN'T STAND NO MORE... AND IT DOES NOT INCLUDE COUNTERFEIT RELEASES OR REMIXES/MASH-UPS ETC
No Fun (LP, aka The Good Time Music Of The Sex Pistols, 1977)	Spunk (LP, 1977)	Indecent Exposure (LP, 1977)	No Future U.K? (LP, 1977)	Golden Bullet (LP, 1977)
First US Show! (LP, 1978)	My Name Is John (LP, 1978)	Pistols Shock USA! (LP, 1978)	Chelsea Bath (LP, 1978)	Welcome To The Rodeo (LP, 1978)
Live At Winterland (LP, 1978)	Belsen Was A Gas (7", 1978)	Regular S.F. "Ippies" And Assorted Longhairs (7", 1978)	Gun Control (LP, 1979)	And We Don’t Care (7", 1980)
Sex Pistols File (1976-1978) (4xLP, 1980)	Bad Boys In Sweden (LP, 1983)	Pig Dog Interview 1977 (12", 1984)	Anarchy In The U.S.A. (LP, 1986)	Nashvile (LP, 1986)
St. Albans Bash, 28th January 1976 (LP, 1986)	Party Tll You Puke (CD, 1989)	Last Concert (CD, 1992)	Aggression Thru Repression (CD, 1992)	Kill The Hippies (CD, 1993)
Spirit Of '76 (CD, 1994)	Truly Indecent Exposure (CD, 1996)	We've Cum For Your Cash (2xCD, 1996)	Winterland (LP, 1999)	Midnight Special At Screen On The Green (2xCD, split with The Clash and Buzzcocks, 2001)
HTV Music History (CD, 2001)	Psychotic Reaction (LP, 2002)	Anarchy Tour '76 (LP, 2002)	Anarchy In Leeds 1976 (LP, 2002)	The Queen's Speech - Live At Ivanhoe's Huddersfield Xmas Day 1977 (CD, 2004)
Never Mind The Bans (2xCD, split with The Clash and Buzzcocks, 2004)	Stockholm 1977 (LP/CD, 2005)	Scandinavian Tour 77 (LP, 2005)	Sid's Debut (LP, 2005)	Never Mind The Bands Tour 77 (LP, 2005)
The Swindle Never Ends (7", 2005)	EMI (7", 2005)	I Swear I Was There (LP/CD, 2005)	I Swear I Stayed For The Encore E.P. (7", 2006)	Sex Pistols / Nirvana (2xCD, split, 2006)
London's Outrage (3xLP + 7", 2007)	Nashville Fight Night (LP, 2007)	100 Club Punk Rock Festival (LP, 2007)	Indecent Exposure (6xCD, 2007)	Never Trust A Hippy (7xCD, 2007)
Anarchy In The UK (12", 2008)	Pistols In Prison (LP/CD, 2008)	Pistols In Prison The Encore E.P. (7", 2008)	Screen On The Green Cinema Islington 29.8.76 (LP, 2008)	England's Dreaming (3xDVD+CD, 2008)
Randy's Rodeo 1978 (LP, 2008)	More Sex Pistols (7", 2009)	Pretty Blank (15xCD, 2009)	Song From The Movies (LP, 2009)	The Interview 1977 (7", 2010)
A Fistful Of Dollars (LP+7", 2011)	Never Mind The Box Set Here's The Sex Pistols Belsen Demo (7", 2012)	Live At Ivanhoe's (LP, 2012)	Live Trondheim July 21st 1977 (LP, 2012)	Fan Club Singles Issues 1-7 (7x7", 2013)
Anarchy In The U.K. 1976 (7", 2013)	Live In Winterland 1978 (7", 2013)	Live At 76 Club (7", 2013)	Hello!!! Winterland The Lost 1978 Soundcheck E.P. (7", 2013)	Winterland Goodbye!!! (7", 2013)
Live At Green Cinema - London 1977 (7", 2013)	Live In Texas 1978 (7", 2013)	Live In Islington UK 1976 (7", 2013)	No More Feelings (7", 2013)	Winterland (Soundcheck) 14th January 1978 (7", 2013)
Live At Westfield College, London, England 21st November 1975 (7")	The Great Jungle Swindle (7")	Anarchy In Sweden (LP)	The Life And Times Of The Sex Pistols (LP)	100 Club Sex Pistols Party (LP)
Sweden (2xLP)	Burton On Trent, U. K. 1976, Live 76 Club (Tape)	No Future In The UK (2xCD)	Holiday In The Sun (2xCD)	She Ain't No Human Being (2xCD)
Anarchy in the UK. The Sex Files I (2xCD)	Anarchy in the USA. The Sex Files II (2xCD)	Savage Young Pistols (The Nashville Tapes) (CD)	Another Sex Pistols Christmas Record (7")	Super Best Of (CD)
Tour Of Scandinavia (LP)

 

Various Artists

A Revista Pop Apresenta O Punk Rock Brazil LP 1977 (Philips): God Save The Queen / Pretty Vacant

Ce N'Est Pas De La Couille, Voici La New Wave - New Wave Greatest Hits France LP 1977 (Ariola): Pretty Vacant

We Do 'Em Our Way UK LP 1980 (Music For Pleasure): (We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock / (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone

Pogo A Gogo! UK Tape 1986 (New Musical Express): Suburban Kid

Spiral Scratch UK 7" 1990 (Spiral Scratch): Anarchy In The U.K.

Punk Explosion Live UK CD 1995 (Carlton Home Entertainment Limited): Anarchy In The U.K.

The Best Punk Album In The World ... Ever! 2 UK 2xCD 1996 (Circa): Pretty Vacant / Holidays In The Sun

1-2-3-4 Punk & New Wave 1976-1979 UK 5xCD 1999 (Universal): Anarchy In The UK

Sniffin' Glue: The Essential Punk Accessory UK CD 2003 (Castle): Anarchy In The UK (Demo)

Punk Rock For The Punk Rocker Sweden 7" 2005 (Express Song): Pretty Vacant

Links

Official Sex Pistols Website

John Lydon

God Save The Sex Pistols - the best Pistols site on the net

Glen Matlock

Wikipedia

Punk 77