"Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" is the only studio album by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols, released on October 28, 1977, through Virgin Records in the UK and on November 11, 1977, through Warner Bros. Records in the US. Due to volatile internal relationships, the band's lineup changed during the recording. Original bass guitarist Glen Matlock left early in the process; he is credited as a co-writer on all but two tracks but only played bass on "Anarchy in the U.K." Recording continued with Sid Vicious, who is credited on two songs written after he joined. His lack of skill meant many tracks were recorded with guitarist Steve Jones playing bass instead. Drummer Paul Cook, Jones, and singer Johnny Rotten appear on every track. The recording sessions were led alternately by Chris Thomas or Bill Price, often combining mixes from different sessions, resulting in joint credits for both producers.
By its release, the Sex Pistols were already controversial due to profanity on live TV, being fired from two record labels, and being banned from performing in parts of Britain. The album title contributed to this, as some found the word "bollocks" offensive, leading many record stores to refuse to carry it and some charts to list it as blank. Despite this notoriety, the album debuted at number one on the UK Album Charts, achieving 125,000 advance orders and going gold shortly after its release on November 17. It remained a bestseller for nearly a year, spending 48 weeks in the top 75 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA, with several reissues, the latest in 2017.
The album has influenced numerous bands and musicians, often regarded as the most influential punk album and one of the greatest albums of all time. Rolling Stone named it the second best album of the previous 20 years in 1987, ranking it 73rd on their list of the 500 greatest albums in 2020. In 2006, Time magazine included it in their list of the 100 greatest albums ever.
The album's 12 tracks were written by John Lydon, Steve Jones, and Paul Cook between August 1975 and June 1976, with Glen Matlock co-writing most tracks before leaving in February 1977, and Sid Vicious co-writing two songs afterward. The first track was "Pretty Vacant," and by their November 6, 1975 concert, they had written "Seventeen." In February 1976, the group debuted "Problems," and by July 20, they introduced "Anarchy in the U.K." influenced by Vivienne Westwood and Jamie Reid, who began creating publicity materials for the band.
EMI signed the group on October 8, 1976, and they recorded "Anarchy in the U.K." and began sessions for "God Save the Queen." Their first single released on November 26, 1976, gained commercial success but led to controversy, resulting in them being dropped by the label on January 6, 1977. Glen Matlock quit in February 1977, reportedly over "God Save the Queen," and was replaced by Sid Vicious.
In March 1977, the Sex Pistols entered Wessex Sound Studios with producers Chris Thomas and Bill Price. Vicious played on "Bodies" and "God Save the Queen," but his bass skills were deemed unfit for the full album, leading the band to ask Matlock to play, which he declined due to payment issues. Consequently, Steve Jones played bass on all remaining tracks.
During sessions, four tracks were recorded over two days, including "God Save the Queen" and "Pretty Vacant." Despite being dropped by A&M, the band continued to work on the album under manager Malcolm McLaren, who eventually signed with Virgin Records in May 1977. The label rush-released "God Save the Queen" shortly after signing. The band returned to the studio on June 18 to record "Holidays in the Sun," their first song written without Matlock.
The studio time was considered the best part of being in the Pistols for Steve Jones, who was dedicated to the process. Notably, Sid Vicious had an encounter with Queen's Freddie Mercury, which ended in an altercation, illustrating the chaotic and confrontational atmosphere surrounding the band during that time.
With the completion of "Bodies," it was time to finalize the album's track list. While Jon Savage mentioned three versions of each track being available, Clinton Heylin states that alternative versions existed for only five tracks: "E.M.I.," "No Feelings," "Seventeen," "Submission," and an "album" mix of "Satellite." The track list wasn't finalized until September 20, which indicated how bogged down the process had become. Richard Branson spent a night deciding the track list, including all the hits against the band's wishes and those of McLaren's management company, Glitterbest, and most of Virgin.
Due to the album's lengthy completion, the Sex Pistols and McLaren opted to release "Holidays in the Sun" as the band's fourth single, backed with "Satellite." However, "Holidays in the Sun" did not perform as well as previous singles, reaching only number eight and dropping out of the top 20 after four weeks. Heylin attributed this to the announcement that the album would be released on November 4, which included the single despite earlier statements. To mitigate criticism over including all four previously released singles on the album, Virgin considered releasing an "alternative album" simultaneously, featuring a new title and two new songs. A ten-song test pressing was made, but no new cuts were included.
The Sex Pistols' contract with Virgin specified that its music would be distributed in the US if Branson matched competing offers. However, McLaren wanted to negotiate separate deals, angering Branson, who felt outmaneuvered. Competition for the band in the US narrowed down to Warner Bros., Arista, Columbia, and Casablanca Records, with Warner Bros. signing the band on October 10 for £22,000.
Before Virgin could release Never Mind the Bollocks, Branson discovered that two other albums were competing. In October, a bootleg named Spunk, featuring high-quality recordings of Sex Pistols demos, was released. Rumors suggested it was released by Goodman, Glen Matlock, or McLaren. Meanwhile, a French pressing of Never Mind the Bollocks on Barclay added "Submission" to the 11-song track list and was set for release a week before Virgin's edition. As McLaren's deal with Barclay could not be halted, Branson rushed production of Never Mind the Bollocks to ensure its earlier release. Nonetheless, the Barclay version was available in the UK by the time Virgin's was ready, and some copies of Virgin's pressing mistakenly listed 11 tracks on the sleeve while containing 12 on the record.
Despite the availability of Spunk, the release of Never Mind the Bollocks was highly anticipated in the UK, with advance orders of 125,000 copies. The album debuted at number one on the UK Album Charts the week after its release, and a ban by major retailers led to strong sales through independent vendors.
Originally, the album was to be titled God Save Sex Pistols. Jamie Reid's cover concept was bright red and yellow with cutout lettering, while the US version featured a pink cover with a green Sex Pistols logo. The title changed in mid-1977, based on a phrase Steve Jones picked up from fans. Johnny Rotten explained it as a working-class expression meaning to "stop talking rubbish."
In the UK, the album faced blatant censorship from media and retail outlets. London police warned Virgin record stores that they could face prosecution for indecency if they displayed the album cover. Some displays were toned down or removed. On November 9, 1977, just before the US release, the London Evening Standard reported that a Virgin store manager was arrested for displaying the album after being warned to cover the word "bollocks." The store manager, Chris Seale, seemed to invite trouble, displaying the record again after police visits. After his arrest, Branson covered Seale's legal costs and hired defense counsel John Mortimer. Advertisements for the album politicized the issue, featuring headlines about the band's controversies.
The obscenity case was heard at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on November 24. Mortimer argued that the police were discriminating against the Sex Pistols. During cross-examination, he highlighted the lack of charges against newspapers that mentioned the album's name. Mortimer produced an expert witness, Professor James Kinsley, who argued that "bollocks" was not obscene and meant "nonsense." Geoffrey Robertson, who assisted Mortimer, noted that "bollocks" had historical usage in English texts. Rotten humorously suggested that if they lost the case, they would retitle the album to "Never Mind the Stones." Ultimately, the chairman concluded that, despite their disapproval of the album's vulgarity, they found the band not guilty of the charges.
