Side A has the versions of “Seventeen,” “Satellite” (misspelled as “Satelite“), “No Feelings” (shortened to “Feelings“), “I Wanna Be Me” (or “Just Me“) and “Submission” recorded by Dave Goodman at Decibel Studios Mixes on July 30th 1976. Glen Matlock was still in the band at that time so he appears on bass (he was infamously kicked out of the Pistols in February ’77 because, according to Malcolm McLaren “he liked the Beatles” – this may or may not be true but it is funny). The last track on Side A is “Nookie” but it is actually “the rejected Dave Goodman-produced version of the band’s debut single “Anarchy In The U.K.,” recorded in October 1976″ (Discogs). It’s muddy, brutal, raw and more than a little bit evil.

Side B’s tracks were also recorded by Goodman, these a few months later on January 28th, 1977 at Gooseberry Studios. This was a bit over a month after the “Anarchy” single release and their controversial appearance on Bill Grundy’s TV show, the resulting fallout found them dropped by EMI. Like Side A, the titles vary from the official NMTB release: “God Save the Queen” is “No Future” (its original working title), “Pretty Vacant” is labeled as “Lots of Fun,” “EMI” shows up as “Who Was It” and “New York” gets the added subtitle “Looking For a Kiss.”

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The Sex Pistols had released four singles from the LP prior to its release: “Anarchy in the UK” (#45 UK charts) in late ‘76,  “God Save the Queen” (#2 UK) “Pretty Vacant” (#6 UK) and “Holidays in the Sun” (#8 UK) all in ‘77. While Sid Vicious appears prominently on the inner sleeve, he only played bass on one track, “Bodies” – his skills were so poor that producer Chris Thomas asked guitarist Steve Jones to record the bass tracks for the remaining songs (original bassist Glen Matlock was asked to do it first but because Malcolm McLaren didn’t pay him up front, Matlock refused to show). I recently read Pistol guitarist Steve Jones’ autobiography Lonely Boy which I picked up while in London at Rough Trade Records and it is hilarious, and a bit disturbing. He notes that there’s only a couple of Vicious’ notes on “Bodies” that made it onto the final recording, his bass playing is the bulk of the track. He also writes about his loathing of Rotten, though does concede that Lydon’s lyrics and vocal styling were pretty great. I highly recommend reading Lonely Boy as well as John Lydon’s autobiography Anger is an Energy: My Life Uncensored which I read while in London this past summer, including the day that we visited Vivienne Westwood’s shop Worlds End, formerly Sex, the birthplace of the Sex Pistols at 430 Kings Road (that’s the dodgy end).

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(The back cover with the “Submission” sticker)

It’s hard to overstate the impact and significance of Never Mind the Bollocks: controversial to the extreme even before its release, one of the best-selling punk records of all-time topping the UK album chart in ‘77 and it also appears on many many best-of album lists. From Allmusic: “Already anthemic songs are rendered positively transcendent by Johnny Rotten’s rabid, foaming delivery. His bitterly sarcastic attacks on pretentious affectation and the very foundations of British society were all carried out in the most confrontational, impolite manner possible. Most imitators of the Pistols’ angry nihilism missed the point: underneath the shock tactics and theatrical negativity were social critiques carefully designed for maximum impact. Never Mind the Bollocks perfectly articulated the frustration, rage, and dissatisfaction of the British working class with the establishment, a spirit quick to translate itself to strictly rock & roll terms. The Pistols paved the way for countless other bands to make similarly rebellious statements, but arguably none were as daring or effective. It’s easy to see how the band’s roaring energy, overwhelmingly snotty attitude, and Rotten’s furious ranting sparked a musical revolution, and those qualities haven’t diminished one bit over time. Never Mind the Bollocks is simply one of the greatest, most inspiring rock records of all time. “

The Sex Pistols had released four singles from the LP prior to its release: “Anarchy in the UK” in late ‘76, “God Save the Queen,” “Pretty Vacant” and “Holidays in the Sun.” While Sid Vicious appears prominently on the inner sleeve, he only played bass on one track, “Bodies” – his skills were so poor that producer Chris Thomas asked guitarist Steve Jones to record the bass tracks for the remaining songs (original bassist Glen Matlock was asked to do it first but because Malcolm McLaren didn’t pay him up front, Matlock refused to show).

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