Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK

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Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians. Although their initial career lasted just two-and-a-half years and produced only four singles and one studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, they are regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music.

The Sex Pistols originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock. Matlock was replaced by Sid Vicious in early 1977. Under the management of impresario Malcolm McLaren, the band provoked controversies that captivated Britain. Their concerts repeatedly faced difficulties with organizers and authorities, and public appearances often ended in mayhem. Their 1977 single "God Save the Queen", attacking Britons' social conformity and deference to the Crown, precipitated the "last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium".

In January 1978, at the end of a turbulent tour of the United States, Rotten left the band and announced its break-up. Over the next several months, the three other band members recorded songs for McLaren's film version of the Sex Pistols' story, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. Vicious died of a heroin overdose in February 1979. In 1996, Rotten, Jones, Cook and Matlock reunited for the Filthy Lucre Tour; since 2002, they have staged further reunion shows and tours. On 24 February 2006, the Sex Pistols—the four original members plus Vicious—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they refused to attend the ceremony, calling the museum "a piss stain".

Anarchy in the UK

"Anarchy in the U.K." is a song by the English punk rock band The Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's debut single on 26 November 1976 and was featured on their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. "Anarchy in the U.K." is number 56 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"Anarchy in the U.K."

Single by Sex Pistols
from the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols

B-side - "I Wanna Be Me"

Released - 26 November 1976

Recorded - 17 October 1976

Genre - Punk rock

Length - 3:31

Label - EMI

Producer - Chris Thomas, Bill Price

Information

Originally issued in a plain black sleeve, the single was the only Sex Pistols recording released by EMI, and reached number 38 on the UK Singles Chart before EMI dropped the group on 6 January 1977, a month after the Bill Grundy incident, in which members of the band used profanity during a live television broadcast.
In the documentary The Filth and the Fury, John Lydon described the composition of the song's opening lyrics, explaining that the best rhyme he could devise for the first line, "I am an Antichrist", was the second line, "I am an anarchist".
The lyrics endorse a particularly sensational, violent concept of anarchy that reflected the pervasive sense of embittered anger, confusion, restlessness, economic frustration and social alienation which was being felt by a generation of disenfranchised youth amidst the repression and squalor of British life in the 1970s.[citation needed] Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren considered the song "a call to arms to the kids who believe that rock and roll was taken away from them. It's a statement of self rule, of ultimate independence." In 2007, the surviving members (not including original Pistols' bassist Glen Matlock) re-recorded "Anarchy in the U.K." for the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock because the multi-track master could not be found. The "Guitar Hero" version also appears in the film adaption of the A-Team
In 2012 it was announced that a limited edition 7" inch picture disc of the song would be released on 21 April, 2012, to mark Record Store Day.

Track listing

A–side "Anarchy in the UK" – 3:31
B–side "I Wanna Be Me" – 3:12

Lyrics

Right! now ha, ha
I am an anti-christ
i am an anarchist,
don't know what i want
but i know how to get it.
i wanna destroy the passer by
'cos i wanna be anarchy,
no dogs body
Anarchy for the uk
it's coming sometime and maybe
i give a wrong time stop a traffic line.
your future dream is a shopping scheme
cause i wanna be anarchy,
it's in the city
How many ways to get what you want
i use the best i use the rest
i use the enemy.
i use anarchy
'cause i wanna be anarchy,
Its the only way to be
Is this the mpla
or is this the uda
or is this the ira
i thought it was the uk
or just another country
another council tenancy.
I wanna be an anarchist
(oh what a name)
and l wanna be an anarchist
(i get pissed destroy)