• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

SEX PISTOLS' 'God Save The Queen' Could Top U.K. Singles Chart 45 Years After Original Release

June 6, 2022

SEX PISTOLS' iconic 1977 single "God Save The Queen" could top the U.K. singles chart just days after Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee over the weekend.

Last week, SEX PISTOLS reissued "God Save The Queen" on two special vinyl records, launching the track into the top five of in "midweek" data from The Official UK Charts Company.

If "God Save The Queen" manages to top the chart, it will be the U.K.'s official Number One single just one week after the Queen reached a landmark 70 years on the throne.

"God Save The Queen" includes such lyrics as: "God save the Queen / A fascist regime," and: "God save the Queen / She ain't no human being." At the time of its original release, the song was criticized for being anti-monarchy and was even banned by the BBC's radio stations for its lyrical content.

SEX PISTOLS guitarist Steve Jones previously spoke about the song's connection to the Royal Family.

Jones said: "I've never had any connection to the monarchy, to be honest. It meant nothing to me, still doesn't."

He said of the lyrical content: "To me, it was just a laugh, it was a giggle. I didn't realize it would offend a lot of English people. They took it personally. It was a stab against the Queen."

SEX PISTOLS frontman John Lydon said in a recent interview with Piers Morgan that he is "actually really, really proud of the Queen for surviving and doing so well." He told TalkTV last month that "God Save The Queen" was "anti-royalist, but it's not anti-human.

"I've got to tell the world this," he added. "Everyone presumes that I'm against the royal family as human beings. I'm not. I'm actually really, really proud of the Queen for surviving and doing so well. I applaud her for that, and that's a fantastic achievement. I'm not a curmudgeon about that."

The Official Singles Chart Top 100 is revealed on OfficialCharts.com every Friday at 5:45 p.m. U.K. time.

SEX PISTOLS left the British establishment shaking when they exploded onto the music scene, kickstarting what later became known as punk — a term the band was never comfortable with. Young people ripped up not just their musical forebears but their social ones too and SEX PISTOLS were the snarling, ferocious figurehead of the revolution.

They made one perfect, 40-minute album for the ages in 1977's "Never Mind The Bollocks" and from its artwork to the individual players, the attitude and music — every bit of it influenced the world we live in today.

The record is frequently listed as one of the most influential albums of all time with musicians from JOY DIVISION and NEW ORDER to Kurt Cobain, Noel Gallagher, GREEN DAY to Yungblud all citing them as key inspiration. And this was not just musically — punk showed that anyone could create and many took the hint across fashion, art and design and more.

Photo credit: Barry Plummer

Find more on Sex pistols
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).