An extremely rare vinyl record by the Sex Pistols has sold for a record-breaking price at auction. The sought-after copy of the controversial single “God Save the Queen” was printed in 1977 to coincide with the late Queen’s Silver Jubilee. About 25,000 records were withdrawn from sale following a backlash to lyrics describing the monarchy as a “fascist regime.” However, several copies remained in circulation, one of which was sold by vinyl record specialists Wessex Auction Rooms on July 5 for £24,320.
The single was released during the band’s time with record company A&M in the 1970s. It became the most censored record in British history after being banned by the BBC and nearly every independent radio station in Britain. A&M dropped their contract with the fledgling punk rock band, and all copies of the “God Save the Queen” single were destroyed. It later emerged, however, that some records had been retained by the company, and a number of executives were gifted a copy of the single when A&M closed its London offices in 1998.
It is thought that between 13-20 of these ‘golden handshake’ copies exist, and they have long been considered a ‘holy grail’ item amongst both vinyl collectors and punk enthusiasts. The last one to sell at Wessex Auction Rooms in 2019 sold for a then world record of £16,400 including buyer’s premium. Whilst already one of the rarest records in the world, the latest copy to go under the hammer was even more special as it was not one of the 1998 ‘golden handshake’ copies.
The anonymous vendor of the record was said to be the first person to meet the Sex Pistols in 1977 when they came to the A&M offices where she was working on reception. When she left the company in 1984, she cleared a drawer containing a box of Sex Pistols singles, which she was given permission to keep. “The current single being sold at Wessex Auction Rooms is my last one,” she said. “I have been holding onto it for sentimental reasons, but I feel now is the time to part company with it. I am concerned it might one day go missing or be damaged,” she added.
Vinyl record specialist and auctioneer Martin Hughes said, “The Sex Pistols will forever be an important chapter in both music history and pop culture history, and this record will remain a holy grail item for any serious collector. I wouldn’t be surprised to be breaking the record again if I am lucky enough to get another copy under the hammer.” The record was sold for £24,320, including buyer’s premium. It was part of Wessex Auction Rooms’ specialist sale of Punk & New Wave records and memorabilia.
A rare Sex Pistols 7-inch vinyl record became the most expensive single ever sold on Discogs, the most prominent online marketplace for music rarities. A “God Save The Queen” single on the A&M label, from a batch that was supposed to have been destroyed after the group left the label, sold for $15,882 in November 2018. Previously, the highest-valued single sold on Discogs was the Beatles’ “Love Me Do,” which was bought for $14,757 in March 2018.
While the “God Save the Queen” sale set a new bar for 7-inch singles on Discogs, the high mark for any record sold on the site remains the $27,500 paid for an original copy of Prince’s “The Black Album” in June 2018. That album, like the Sex Pistols’ single, was rescued from a printing that was ordered to be completely destroyed before reaching stores.
While new sales records are set on Discogs every year, these amounts still pale in comparison to some of the money paid out in live auctions — like the $300,000 spent in 2015 on an Elvis Presley test recording from 1953 by an anonymous bidder who turned out to be Jack White.
The Sex Pistols originally signed to A&M Records in 1977. After an intoxicated altercation in the record label’s offices following the signing, the English punk band’s contract was reportedly shredded after only six days. A&M Records had pressed 25,000 copies of “God Save The Queen” in May 1977, but today only nine copies are believed to exist. For that reason, it is considered one of the rarest rock records of all time.
Originally comprised of lead vocalist Johnny Rotten, drummer Paul Cook, guitarist Steve Jones, and bassist Glen Matlock, the band replaced Matlock with the controversial Sid Vicious in early 1977. Before their breakup in January 1978, the band only released four singles and one album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols.” The single “God Save The Queen” attacked citizens’ devotion to the English monarch and social conformity. In February 2006, the Sex Pistols were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but the musicians refused to attend the initiation.
When Johnny Rotten implored the British masses to preserve the monarchy on the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen,” he was, as they say in Old Blighty, taking the piss. He certainly didn’t mean it in the puffed-up royalist spirit of the U.K.’s national anthem, which is also called “God Save the Queen.” No, Rotten and his fellow Pistols — guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and then-bassist Glen Matlock — weren’t the least bit concerned about the health or stability of Queen Elizabeth II when they referred to her reign, on wax, as a “fascist regime.”
Though the band has said that the song’s May 27, 1977, release date had nothing to do with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee — a series of parties and parades celebrating the 25th anniversary of Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne on June 7th — their venomous second single managed to ruffle the easily disturbed feathers of Britain’s establishment. In fact, it was banned by the BBC and the U.K.’s Independent Broadcasting Authority for that very reason. In the years since, it’s been widely accepted that “God Save the Queen” was deliberately kept from the top slot on the U.K. Singles Chart so as not to offend Her Majesty.
The song’s highly political theme and backdrop extend even to the label on which it was released. The Sex Pistols issued their first single, “Anarchy in the U.K.,” on EMI before being dropped. Then they signed on with A&M, who pressed up several thousand copies of the “God Save the Queen” single before dropping the band and destroying almost all of the records. The single was then released in the U.K. by Virgin Records, who also put out the band’s only studio album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols,” in late October ’77.
The result is one of the rarest punk singles of all time: Only nine copies of the A&M version of “God Save the Queen” are known to exist. It features “No Feeling” (an early version of Bollocks track “No Feelings”) on the B-side, while the widely released Virgin edition features the non-album track “Did You No Wrong” on the flip. Bootlegs of this white whale run rampant, but in November 2018 a genuine copy sold on Discogs for a whopping $17,361.12 (or £12,500 at the time). That might be pocket change for Her Majesty, but for the rest of us? A pretty penny indeed.
It’s one of the most sought-after records of all-time, and now, a copy of the Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save The Queen’ single is expected to fetch thousands at auction. Back in May of 1977, the Sex Pistols were on the cusp of changing the music world as we know it. They had already released their debut single, ‘Anarchy In The U.K.’ the previous year, and were a few months off releasing their sole record, “Never Mind The Bollocks.”
As it so happened, the group were in prime position to make a memorable political statement. Having recorded the song ‘God Save The Queen’, which served as a vicious attack on Queen Elizabeth II, the group were all set to release their now-iconic single just in time for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations. Although attempts to hit #1 with the song were foiled by Rod Stewart (and claims of chart-fixing to avoid any controversy), the song managed to make an impact upon its release on Richard Branson’s Virgin Records label.
However, prior to its release on Virgin, the song was scheduled to be distributed via the label A&M, who pressed a number of these records before backing out and claiming such a song was far too controversial for their tastes. As the legend goes, this all took place merely a week before the record was set to be released, with A&M quickly destroying almost all 25,000 copies of the single, leaving only about 10 remaining, and causing them to quickly become highly sought-after collector’s items.
Now, one of the world’s rarest records is going up for sale once again. The Wessex Auction Rooms are set to see the immensely rare single go under the hammer later this week, with those in charge expecting it to fetch up to £15,000 (AU $28,114). Over the last 13 years, only a handful of copies have managed to surface and sell, with copies going for prices between £11,142 (AU $20,880) and £13,000 (AU $24,362).
“I have had the privilege of selling many rare records but this is certainly the most exciting of them all,” auctioneer and vinyl expert Martin Hughes explained to the publication. “The Sex Pistols will always be the most iconic punk band, and perhaps also one of the most culturally significant. This is a chance for a collector to own a piece of music history.”
While the record goes under the hammer this Friday, we can’t help but think back to Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity,” which features a passage where the main character of Rob passes up the chance to buy a copy of the single for £50. Now that’s a horror story that’ll keep any record collector up at night.
Source: BBC News, Variety
