May 27, 1977: Sex Pistols Release ‘God Save the Queen’
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Released on this day in the U.K. by A&M Records, the second single by the Sex Pistols was a blast of invective aimed at the British Monarchy and Queen Elizabeth II, who was celebrating her Silver Jubilee – the 25th anniversary of being crowned – that year.
The punk rock group claims to have been unaware of that fact when they wrote the song, whose title is the same as the English national anthem.
At the time of its release, A&M had already dropped the band from its roster – the second label to do so; EMI had severed ties with the Pistols the year before. Nonetheless it reached #2 on the official U.K. singles chart despite being banned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (aka the BBC) and independent radio stations. Persistent rumors claim it had reached #1 but the chart was manipulated to save the Royal Family from embarrassment.
A&M is said to have destroyed the remaining copies of the 25,000 singles it had pressed up after parting ways with the Pistols. One one point it was rated as the most collectible record ever. In 2001, Q magazine rated its sleeve by graphic artist Jamie Reid as the #1 greatest record cover of all time.
Five months later, the group released its landmark – and only – studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, on October 28, 1977.
Related: Our list of 10 classic punk rock songs
Decades after the Sex Pistols’ impact was felt in the late ’70s, the band’s concerts from their 1978 U.S. tour have finally been released in full and correctly sequenced for the very first time. Live In The U.S.A. 1978 arrived on 3-CDs on April 25, 2025, via UMe and are available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here. The set’s three concerts have also been released individually on colored vinyl in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
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1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationI remember seeing the Pistols on the Saturday Night off week from SNL, with Lloyd Dobyns introducing the band. With a little more respect than Edwin Newman gave the Beatles in late 1963.
The show was called ‘Weekend’, and it began a year before SNL. SNL ‘venerated’ the show by calling its own newscast ‘Weekend Update’.
I don’t think anyone was prepared for JR looking into the camera and spewing, “YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!!!”
I guess ‘Friggin’ in the Riggin’ was a bridge too far.