Sex Pistols' God Save The Queen set for reissue to mark Queen's Platinum Jubilee

3 May 2022, 15:28

The song was originally released by the band in May 1997 and made it to number two on the UK single's chart, despite being banned.

Sex Pistols' God Save The Queen is getting a special reissue for the Queen's Platinum jubilee.

The protest song was originally released by the band in May 1977 and despite it being banned at the BBC at the time, it reached number one on NME's chart and on number two on the UK singles chart.

Now, 45 years later, the single is being reissued on 27th May to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, which will see the monarch celebrate 70 years on the throne from 3rd-5th June.

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Back in 1977, on the Queen's Silver Jubilee, the band were poised to release the single but were dropped by their label A&M amid the controversy after just six day. 25,000 copies of the record were destroyed, making the remaining copies ultra rare collectibles. In honour of this history, just 1977 copies of the re-released A&M version will be available.

Sex Pistols went on to be signed by Virgin, who released the official single, which was then banned by the BBC. Despite making it to number two on the official singles chart (which led to accusations that the song was purposely kept off the top spot) the track was listed as a blank to avoid causing offence to the establishment. Now, 45 years later 4,000 copies of the Virgin version will be re-released.

Both versions of the single will feature their original artwork, with the A&M edition featuring its generic company sleeve and being pressed on silver/platinum vinyl Meanwhile, the Virgin single will feature the Jamie Reid-designed Sex Pistols artwork. The B-sides for each single will also reflect their original releases with No Feeling on the A&M version and Did You No Wrong on the Virgin version.

The re-issues will be released on 27th May and fans can pre-order them here.

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