God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song)

"God Save the Queen"
An monochrome image in blue of Queen Elizabeth II with her eyes and lips blacked out, reading out the title of the single and the band's name respectively.
Single by Sex Pistols
from the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
B-side
  • "No Feeling" (A&M release)
  • "Did You No Wrong" (Virgin release)
Released27 May 1977 (1977-05-27)
Recorded
  • October 1976
  • March 1977
StudioWessex, London
GenrePunk rock[1]
Length3:20
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Sex Pistols singles chronology
"Anarchy in the U.K."
(1976) 		"God Save the Queen"
(1977) 		"Pretty Vacant"
(1977)
Music video
"God Save the Queen" on YouTube

"God Save the Queen" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's second single and was later included on their only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. The song was released during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977.

The record's lyrics, as well as the cover, were controversial at the time; both the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Independent Broadcasting Authority refused to play the song, including a total ban of its airing by the BBC.[2] The original title for the song was "No Future", with the lyrics themselves being a general expression of the band's view of the monarchy or any individual or establishment commanding general obligation.[3]

The song reached No. 1 on the NME charts in the United Kingdom, and made it to No. 2 on the official UK Singles Chart as used by the BBC. This led to accusations by some that the charts had been "fixed" to prevent the song from reaching No. 1.[4]

  1. ^ Bradley, Michael (15 March 2016). "The 10 best punk rock singles, by The Undertones' Michael Bradley". TeamRock. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  2. ^ "May 31: The BBC bans the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen"". History.com. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  3. ^ Grow, Kory (27 October 2017). "Sex Pistols Break Down 'Never Mind the Bollocks' Track by Track". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Bragg attacks Pistols' royal views". BBC News Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. 27 May 2002. Retrieved 17 July 2013.