Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols

Original Release Date

1977

Release Information

UK LP 1977 (Virgin - V 2086). 1st pressing
UK LP+7" 1977 (Virgin - V 2086 / VDJ 24). 2nd pressing

1 Holidays In The Sun 3:10
2 Liar 2:42
3 No Feelings 2:51
4 God Save The Queen 3:20
5 Problems 4:11
6 Seventeen 2:00
7 Anarchy In The UK 3:32
8 Bodies 3:03
9 Pretty Vacant 3:17
10 New York 3:06
11 EMI 3:08
7" Single with 2nd Pressing
12 Submission 4:13

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UK LP 1977 (Virgin - V 2086). 3rd pressing
US LP 1977 (Warner Bros - BSK 3147)
UK LP 1978 (Virgin - VP 2086). 4th pressing - Picture Disc

1 Holidays In The Sun 3:10
2 Bodies 3:03
3 No Feelings 2:51
4 Liar 2:42
5 God Save The Queen 3:20
6 Problems 4:11
7 Seventeen 2:00
8 Anarchy In The UK 3:32
9 Submission 4:13
10 Pretty Vacant 3:17
11 New York 3:06
12 E.M.I. 3:08

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Disc 1
The Original Album Remastered From Original Master Tapes
1 Holidays In The Sun 3:23
2 Bodies 3:03
3 No Feelings 2:51
4 Liar 2:42
5 God Save The Queen 3:19
6 Problems 4:11
7 Seventeen 2:02
8 Anarchy In The U.K. 3:32
9 Submission 4:13
10 Pretty Vacant 3:17
11 New York 3:05
12 EMI 3:12
B-Sides
13 No Feeling 2:46
14 Did You No Wrong 3:11
15 No Fun 6:25
16 Satellite 3:59

Disc 2
Stockholm, Happy House, Sweden, July 28th, 1977, Full Soundboard Recording
1 Anarchy In The UK 3:51
2 I Wanna Be Me 3:05
3 Seventeen 2:21
4 New York 3:24
5 EMI 3:26
6 Submission 4:05
7 No Feelings 3:05
8 Problems 4:34
9 God Save The Queen 4:31
10 Pretty Vacant 4:14
11 No Fun 5:29
Penzance, Winter Gardens, Cornwall, September 1st, 1977 (S.P.O.T.S. Tour)
12 Problems 3:41
13 No Fun 5:32
14 Anarchy In The UK 3:32

Chart Placings

UK Chart Hit: 1, 48 wks

US Billboard: 106

Credits

LP:

Producers: Chris Thomas & Bill Price

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CD:

Disc One:
John Lydon - vocals
Steve Jones - guitar & bass
Paul Cook - drums
Glen Matlock - bass on 'Anarchy In The U.K', 'No Feeling' and 'No Fun'

Disc Two:
John Lydon - vocals
Steve Jones - guitar
Paul Cook - drums
Sid Vicious: bass

1-13: B-Side of withdrawn God Save The Queen 7" on A&M Records. Release date would have been March 25th 1977
1-14: B-Side of God Save The Queen 7". Released May 27th 1977
1-15: B-Side of Pretty Vacant 7". Released July 2nd 1977
1-16: B-Side of Holidays In The Sun 7". Released October 15th 1977

Remastered by Tim Young with Chris Thomas at Metropolis Mastering
Executive Producers: Anita Camarata & John Rambo Stevens

'No Feeling' recorded July 27th 1976, at Riverside Recordings Studio
'No Fun' recorded October 16th, 1976, at Wessex Studios
'Anarchy In The UK' recorded October 17th, 1976, at Wessex Studios
'Pretty Vacant' & 'Did You No Wrong' recorded March 3rd 1977, at Wessex Studios
'God Save The Queen' recorded March 1977, at Wessex Studios
'No Feelings', 'Liar', 'Problems ' & 'Seventeen' recorded April 21st 1977, at Wessex Studios
'Submission', 'New York', 'E.M.I.' & 'Satellite' recorded April 22nd 1977, at Wessex Studios
'Holidays In The Sun' recorded june 11th 1977, at Wessex Studios
'Bodies' recorded June 18th 1977, at Wessex Studios

Additional Credits

Engineered by Bill Price
Sleeve design By Jamie Reid

Reviews & Opinions

MARK PAYTRESS, RECORD COLLECTOR, 1993: [Read review here]

RECORD COLLECTOR, 2007: 30th anniversary of dog's bollocks pressing. To many in Britain 30 years ago, at the time this seminal album was released, the Sex Pistols weren't just punk, they were bloody scary too. Lead singer Johnny Rotten was the target for the country's hatred and, on this album, his bitterness, aural violence and caustic attacks cover you in metaphorical saliva. 'Never Mind The Bollocks...' didn't just shock the public, it shocked the music business as well. Ironically, it's the same business which is celebrating the LP's 30th anniversary with a fully loaded reissue of the rarest edition of the LP. Yes, this comes with the Jamie Reid poster and one-sided Submission 7", which was in a limited amount of copies of the original LP. Anarchy, now transmuted into capitalistic glorification. Perhaps the most punk thing you could do would be not buy it at all.

DON IGNACIO: The controversial reputation of this album is largely dated to year 1977 when it supposedly sent shock waves through the world. (I’m not denying that it did --- I just wasn’t around in 1977, and I’m not willing to believe anything that’s written about it.) Today, it all seems tamer than a pussycat and *gasp* prettier than other punk bands! I don't want to bother commenting about whether it’s overrated, underrated or its lasting legacy… all I can say is it's awesome, and I enjoy it quite a lot.

Additional Notes

There is a huge amount of variations in the UK pressings; I have only listed the first four. To clarify, the first two pressings feature the 11 track version. The first pressing of 1,000 was rush-released into the stores in late October when Barclay Records (the label to which the band were signed in France) issued their LP in October. The second pressing was also issued in late October, but came with a free one-sided 7" and poster, and a sticker (either orange or green) on the sleeve stating "UK Pressing includes one-sided single & Pistols Poster - SPOTS 001". However, many copies of the second pressing did not come with either the free single or the poster. The third and fourth pressings are the 12 track versions. The third was issued in November 1977, and the fourth (a picture disc in a die-cut sleeve) came out the following January. Pressings 1, 2 and 3 were issued with blue/white Virgin labels; later pressings from Summer 1978 onwards came with the label's new red/green labels, which were much less hippy-ish.

There are many CD versions. The 2012 "Deluxe Edition" sounds the same as the 1993 CD version (to my ears at least) but comes in a nice digipak, and features a great booklet. It also features three of the Johnny Rotten era B-Sides: 'I Wanna Be Me' is bafflingly absent, and the version of 'No Fun' is the 6:32 edit that was the B-Sid of 'Pretty Vacant'. However, on CD, the LP is best heard on the Sexbox box set, where it has far more punch. It was issued in 1996 as a double-CD with Spunk as this second disc; this is sometimes referred to as This Is Crap (Virgin - SPUNK 1) because that's what it says in huge letters on the CD tray.

Images

UK LP 1977 (Virgin - V 2086). First pressing. 1,000 only. Click here for more

UK LP+7" 1977 (Virgin - V 2086 / VDJ 24). Second pressing with free single and SPOTS 001 sticker. Click here for more

UK LP 1977 (Virgin - V 2086). 3rd Pressing. Click here for more

US LP 1977 (Warner Bros - BSK 3147). Click here for more

UK LP 1978 (Virgin - VP 2086). 4th Pressing - Picture Disc. Click here for more

UK 2xCD 2012 (Universal - SEXPISCD1977). Deluxe Digipak. Click here for more