Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols

Well... this easily goes on record for my biggest changed opinion. The first (and last) time I listened to this record in full was over a decade ago, back when I was still in high school. And I hated it. HATED it. I thought it was the most boring, annoying, overrated bit of trash, and that it didn't deserve to it's place among contemporaries like The Damned and The Clash. And over the years, hearing a song or two here or there, my opinion was unchanged. Even getting a PiL record on this project just reinforced my opinion that John Lydon is trash. When I saw this come up for the day, I groaned. I was expecting to give it a 1, have it give me a headache, and life would move on. But something changed. The singing that I thought was grating nonsense now felt passionate and aggressive. The boring and overdone guitar riffs now felt enormous and fiery. The songs were all far catchier and more fun than I used to appreciate. I LOVED it. So, I would like to apologize, Sex Pistols, for years of trashing you. You deserved better.

Not into rap

I get that this one of the most influential albums of all time, but it sounds f-ing terrible🤷🏻‍♂️

This album is pure energy. Weird listening to it today, when all the "controversial" aspects seem tame. It's been imitated so much that it almost sounds like a parody of itself. No doubt that this is as punk as a studio album can get.

Has given me thrills ever since my mum put it on in the car during my metal/Beatles phase and said, “I think you’ll like this.” Never a headbanger, I wondered what made the Pistols her exception. Probably the same thing that does it for me: the very real danger posed by ex-dole queue give-no-fuckers snarling through a litany of things they find contemptuous about society and spitting the things society finds contemptuous about them back in its face. Some of their assaults ring resoundingly true (Holiday in the Sun, God Save The Queen). Some of them are plain scary (Bodies, No Feelings). Everywhere, contradictions abound. None more so than in the figure of Johnny Rotten, who cuts through the noise with a spiteful clarity, taking care to make sure his words land because he knows how much they'll make you squirm. It's an unsettlingly committed performance, through which a fully (de)formed character emerges. More than just a frontman, he’s a leader, an icon, a hero. But wait, aren’t icons and heroes anathema to anarchists? Yep. Fortunately, the band has no interest in resolving these conflicts, opting to intensify them instead, which they do gloriously. Undoubtedly more shocking at the time, punk has been revived and remodelled so often since 1977 that to someone who first heard it 28 years after the fact, it simply sounds perfect.

A very music-wise friend called the Sex Pistols a punk rock boy band. Apparently they were hand picked and assembled by manager, and there's more to the story, but the conversation was on a train car in the Orient Express and I was a wee bit drunk. It changed they way I hear their music. I've always thought they seemed like an act. They give themselves funny stage names "Rotten" and "Vicious" and call their band a combination of two "dangerous" words. This album apparently revolutionized music and kicked off punk rock, but it doesn't really feel like punk rock to me. I thought the whole point of punk was a DIY, pared down approach to rock that allowed raw expression to rise above musicianship. Being loud isn't necessarily raw. Snarling anger isn't necessarily expressive. I sound like an old guy. It's a cool album from a boy band who played a style of music that was different than anything else played prior, except the Stooges. I think I have a bias against all UK bands. B-

Honestly did not know the sex pistols only had one album. I didn't really know Sid Vicious' story either jesus christ. This album is great 5 stars would recommend

Ooooh you're hard

I had been procrastinating my review of this, because the Sex Pistols were the most important band to my life, and I think I became very wary that explaining my veneration of the Pistols would slightly dispel the magic. I feel I should add some biography. My brother was 14 years older than me, and when he was a teenager, punk was already long dead. But, as an angry teen, he'd built up a vinyl collection of the Pistols and the Clash. Then one of my sisters, 7 years older than me, began seeing an Iron Maiden fan around 1993 while she was into Nirvana, so they dug out my brother's old albums. Initially, when one of my other sisters, 4 years older than me, played Anarchy in the UK once (odd, as she has never been into punk or rock, preferring smarter pop), I tried to be a snotty, bratty younger brother and dismiss it, but I became fascinated. So, my earlier-mentioned sister began playing the Sex Pistols for me, along with Guns N Roses and Nirvana (despite Kurt's rhetoric, every Nirvana fan was also a GnR fan). I now recognise the Sex Pistols as the first artistic experience I ever had in my life, aged 8 in 1992. And yes, that does mean I was a cooler 8-year-old than you. Looking back, much of my subsequent aesthetic mindset was determined by Never Mind the Bollocks. I discovered and fell in love with dada aged 15, clocking that it was WW1 punk. Most of the music I adore is music I can connect to the Sex Pistols (aside from the Stooges, Ramones, Clash and Joy Division, I would name my beloved blues, rock n roll, outlaw country, garage rock, Krautrock, glam, and indie as punk-adjacent, along with plenty of others). Much of my favourite writing has a punk sneer delivered with two fingers. Hell, despite the punk aesthetic being so watered-down that the anarchy symbol is a corporate stand-by, women with dyed, spiky hair and Doc Martens stir something in me few women do. But why was I hesitant? Are the Sex Pistols like an eclipse: as astonishing a spectacle as they are, you shouldn't look upon them with naked eyes? Nope. I was second-guessing myself again. The Sex Pistols are the greatest, most important band of all, and Never Mind the Bollocks is the greatest, most important album of all. The title makes the point: compared to the Pistols, much else is just bollocks. The album is ultimately a monument to two youths: Steve Jones and John Lydon. Steve Jones, a teenage petty criminal who was just starting off on the career of professional criminal (already a housebreaker and football hooligan, even he accepts that without the Pistols he was destined for prison), agrees with his mate Paul Cook to join a band founded by Wally Nightingale called Swankers, with Jones on vocal. Badgering Malcolm McLaren for management, they also recruit his stockboy Glen Matlock as bassist. Though a charismatic thug and womaniser, Jones is not a great frontman, and McLaren convinces him to take up the guitar and ditch Wally (what an apt name). The group, now firmly cemented as Jones' band, stages auditions for a new lead singer, and a teenage oddball with green hair and yellow teeth (hence the nominer Johnny Rotten) mimes to the wonderful Alice Cooper track I'm Eighteen, securing his place in the band. Remarkably, that football hooligan turned out to have an instinctive, almost unconscious grasp of the most powerful power chords, and that oddball happened to have a decent brain, making that unaligned pair briefly the greatest living songwriters, in that they simply made the best songs. Of course it couldn't be sustained; nobody could be that wonderful for too long, and the collapse of the Pistols is one of the most wretched in music history. But they made the greatest album of all, an album that served as a compass for good music: everything worthwhile can be found if you follow the path directed by Never Mind the Bollocks. My ultimate question: what do I have to say to that 8-year-old boy who would jump around the front room to God Save The Queen after mass? You were right. Fucking hell, you were right. John Lennon is a wanker. Got any glue?

A classic and socially significant album with some huge bangers. Its context makes it greater than the music objectively is. The bangers are spread across the album, which works well as a pick-me-up just as things are starting to get a bit samey. This would be a 3 if it wasn't so culturally significant.

HAIKU REVIEW Rotten and Vicious More energy than talent I can not listen

almost didn't make it through. i did though. not a quitter

The Godfathers of Punk! One of my favourite albums of all time. Crunching guitar, snarling in your face vocals, solid album.

It is much slower than I remember it being - listened to it a lot when it came out, when it all seemed to hurtle along. Now, even the faster songs feel fairly considered. Great guitars from Steve Jones, fabulous sneering from Rotten. (Famously described by Captain Sensible as " 'e sounds like Old Man Steptoe!" )

Epitome of pared down punk rock. Simple three piece, singer with an enigmatic voice and delivery singing street anthems. Not to mention a great name and some crazy swagger to go with it. They’re not master of their instruments but they manage to make it sound good. You can feel the grime of the 1970s on this album. Smell the cigarettes and booze. It’s a fun album that breezes through with reckless abandon like a drunken night leaving you with a hangover. You can hear the dead Kennedy’s, the strokes, yeah yeah yeahs and many others in this album. It’s short and sweet and sour, though I think it gets a bit repetitive and could be a little shorter. It’s a 4 from me.

Even if I didn't know they were British, I still can tell they have bad teeth. My friend Cristina--a grad student studying speech pathology--would be stoked to work with them.

I used Anarchy in the UK as a way to talk about Political Theory in a college class. All in all, I feel like The Sex Pistols tried to use cheap shock value to stir controversy. Many of their songs sound repetitive. While I tend to like punk, the Sex Pistols are not for me. Best Songs: God Save the Queen, Pretty Vacant Worst Songs: Bodies, Problems, New York

Pistols started the UK punk movement. A seminal album, though probably not the finest (imo) debut album in the genre. Given the chaos that surrounded the band, the recording and the record company shambles it is an excellent effort.

What an album for a sunny commute. Would know that vocal anywhere. Bit samey and you never get a breather do ya but undeniably iconic to punk-rock and I do love me some punk-rock sometimes. Guitar in Problems is sick. Anarchy in the UK is one to skip to at the bottom of a big hill on a long run. "She was a girl from Birmingham and she just had an abortion" EMI

Malcolm McLaren is a certified genius. Kudos to him for capturing the zeitgeist of the era so well and creating and marketing a Boy Band for angry, disenfranchised and rebellious teens. They could barely play their instruments but it didn’t matter, this was all part of their schtick. Bands such as the Ramones or the Stooges actually has more talent. And coming up with Pro-wrestling like stage names like Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious was another stroke of marketing genius. And like the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. The semi controversial album name, “bollocks” getting banned by the BBC, mocking the beloved Queen, the wild hair and costume all added fuel to the fire and the the kids loved and lapped it all up. They were probably a handful to manage though, so poor Malcolm could only squeeze one studio album out of them before they self-destructed. And the album wasn’t half bad, it had a few memorable singles and it sold millions. This gets one star for the content and two for its huge influence on music and culture.

Rollicking, deafeningly monotonous.

Yup, it's the blueprint!

Classic Pistols, The Filth and The Fury (Headline from the Sun the day after their Today with Bill Grundy Interview) Malcom Mclaren was a master manipulator of the media. A terrific example of British Punk, Not the first British Punk Album (That was the Damned on Stiff Records) but seminal for sure. Johnny and his sneering lyrics, the sheer energy of the music was such a relief for this 18 Year Old in '77. Pistols, Clash and Damned, what a good time the mid 70's were for British punk, link that with New Wave and Pub Rock and you had the perfect alternative to Prog Rock Navel Gazing. Holiday In the Sun & Bodies were both favourites and of course Anarchy, GSTQ, Holidays In The Sun, Pretty Vacant all top Punk Singles. A must have in any Vinyl Collection. It is in mine!

Haven't listened to this since college. People tend to be dismissive of the Pistols but this reminded me that they were actually quite good and Glen Matlock was only brilliant. Songs are great. Holds up.

Right. If you knew nothing about the history, you would find that this album still rocks pretty hard. The music has swagger, great guitar solos and that lead singer sort of sings, screams and sneers. No topic for a song seems off the table. Ah, but history it does have. Controversy. Censorship. Johny Rotten. Side Vicious. Starting the Punk Movement. Malcom McLaurin. Plenty of history. There has been a lot of more extreme punk and music in general since that this sounds just like rock and roll. I think it's also been absorbed into rock history so. The one thing that has stayed punk are the song lyrics; they're still pretty edgy and anti-everything: anarchy, abortion, women, the Queen, the UK. Most of the songs are great. I can't really add anything more other than this still well worthy of a listen.

I listened to this album a bunch a few weeks ago but wanted to find the time to listen to it while reading the lyrics because I thought they were the epitome of biting sarcasm and criticism. They give a big middle finger to everyone - the iron curtain and western society (Holidays in the Sun), orphans (No Feelings), the music industry and record companies (Liar and EMI), monarchy and British government (God Save the Queen and Anarchy in the UK), working stiffs and couch potatoes and sheeples and themselves (Problems and Pretty Vacant), middle class (and above) society (Seventeen), silver spoon or flaky musicians (New York). They even call out abortion. Ok, that one is a bit jarring and a little offside. But if you really listen to it, they're not taking a position on the issue and the lyrics are powerful. It certainly cannot have endeared them to too many folks to even discuss the issue back then, so you gotta respect their guts. There is no better example of screw the man and screw everything than this band and this album. And for all the flack they have taken for average musicianship, I liked their sound and thought it was solid. Combine the music and the lyrics and their energy/fire and you've got a classic album.

What an album. Perhaps the most influential album of the rock era. After this nothing would be quite the same. All thus would be hyperbole if the songs weren't so fucking good. Some of the hardest most uncompromising rock music ever committed to tape. It's a masterpiece. 5 🌟

The recording quality is abysmal, if somebody tried to put this out now, I'd be giving it a one. That being said, I can't help but give this a five. It's a cracking album.

What an album. Perhaps the most influential album of the rock era. After this nothing would be quite the same. All thus would be hyperbole if the songs weren't so fucking good. Some of the hardest most uncompromising rock music ever committed to tape. It's a masterpiece. 5 🌟

I really don't listen to this enough. I was too young to experience it in person but the story is incredible and, most importantly, it SOUNDS FUCKING GREAT, packed with tune after fucking tune. The songs are (almost) all bangers - Bodies is shocking and abrasive even 45+ years later, and I can only, gleefully, imagine how God Save The Queen and Pretty Vacant sounded at the time. All monster riffs and amazing vocals. The title, the image and the contents still give a mild frisson; it's a bit weird (and disappointing) to be considered "classic rock" these days. I know the MC5 and others did it first, but this was executed perfectly. McLaren chose the ingredients masterfully; this could have been Sigue Sigue Sputnik or, I dunno, Gay Dad but is, instead, timeless like Elvis and The Beatles. Steve Jones and John Lydon are absolute giants (and both their books are well worth a read). Play it again! PS - listened to the "Spunk" demo bootleg in addition - it's not anywhere close to "superior" to these versions, don't waste your time; Chris Thomas knew what he was doing.

love the punk sounds and vocals. im personally unaware of the context this came out in but there is a level of inflated anarchy to it. my first time listening to sex pistols. i really like the way the singer enunciates some of the words. sex pistols is such a punk name actually. sex and pistols. such taboo topics. tackling and challenging modernity; and those who simply drift through life. bodies, the song about abortion really stuck with me because of the current debates surrounding abortion laws all over the world. its very interesting. i never really looked at things in the way this song presented them to be. really good album man, probably my favourite that ive heard this year. after exmilitary

This is a pretty fun album, surprisingly well written and played considering everyone thinks they were hopeless. Holidays in the sun in particular is a bona fide banger. And it aged well! 4/5.

I can understand a neutral not liking this, but to me, it’s rock music in the truest sense. Loud, aggressive, a punch to the face. These guys made a statement, one album, they broke up, and they changed society. I always loved this album.

While Johnnie Rotten has given up his Punk Roots and gone full MAGA (or maybe that IS punk now), I was really blown away to hear this album for the first time realizing just how much it inspired later musical acts in the 80's and 90's. While a completely different genre, it reminded me a lot of the Beastie Boys. I am very unfamiliar with Sex Pistols besides their biggest hits and enjoyed this album much more than I thought I would.

Every music magazine and Sunday afternoon VH1 documentary tried incessantly to convince me of the significance of this album. Taken within the context of 1977, I can see how this might've once felt groundbreaking but by now this entire sound has been wholly swallowed up and digested - there's very little here that to me sounds new or exciting. Certainly it seems like a strong example of early punk - songs convey an appropriately cynical POV, songs hit hard and rapid fire. And the vocals and guitar lines are exceptionally clear - plenty of muscle in the recordings. It's an enjoyable enough listen but I'll be only too happy to re-shelf this one back into the "canon", never to be picked up again.

Snotty, brash, and unapologetic songs. I tend to enjoy the bands the Pistols inspired more, but this collection of songs was a great starting point. Good Punk primer, but comforting to know it gets better from here.

I’m that old I was at school at the time

There’s no denying the impact and influence of this record and band, especially from an aesthetic point of view, but The Damned’s “Damned Damned Damned” runs circles around this and every other UK punk debut record. (Plus, it came out before them all.)

This reminds me of everyone’s youth. Brilliant but terrible. Ruined by knowing the manufacture and what became of Lydon. Some of the lyrics too are the same depressing misogyny which seems to be unfortunately found on more of these albums than you’d wish. Also - is there anything more English than stealing a joke from Shakespeare and claiming it counterculture?

Absolute tripe.

Genuinely the worst album I've listened to in my life.

I think I love the vocals and songwriting here more than anything, and the rest of the band accents and also stands out in their own potent way. Anarchy in the UK is my most obvious favorite for a number of reasons. Good job on converting another.

Listened to 3 tracks. Really great sound, one of the pioneers of punk rock.

Never really listened to them before. All the angst! Perfect. However, it started over, and I didn't realize it.

Classic punk

Never Mind the Bollocks is one of most influential albums of all time, and also one of the most entertaining. It was probably the gateway to punk for a lot of people over the years, including yours truly. Yes it's everything it was hyped to be: Sneering, acidic, hard driving and full of attitude. But it was also just so much fun to listen to. The songs are incredibly catchy, with a surprising pop sensibility. It's a shame that this is the Pistols' only studio album, but their impact on what was to come in music is immeasurable. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): God Save the Queen, Anarchy in the U.K., Liar, EMI, Submission, Holidays in the Sun, Seventeen, Pretty Vacant, Problems, No Feelings, Bodies

Its good

It began with the Pistols!

Still got it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mSE-Iy_tFY Even jarg butter can't ruin this stone cold classic though.

brought punk to the mainstream fav track: god save the queen

I'm very partial to british punk, but listening again I am reminded how good, and brutal, songs like No Feelings, God Save the queen, and anarchy in the uk are. Such great punk.

Yep

Toss out the stories, the legend, the abysmal behaviour and lifestyle of Rotten... This is a loud, fast, exciting album even but modern standards and is still the platinum standard for any aspiring punk band.

Крутой альбом несмотря ни на что. 1977, единственный альбом Sex Pistols, классика панка. God Save The Queen, Anarchy in The UK.

Definitely pure punk and good listening at that.

Ephemeral punk beauty

Pepinazo d'àlbum. Crec que no l'havia escoltat mai de dalt a abaix i és brutal. Molt potent, ple de temazos, intens, inspirat. Me l'he posat dos cops seguit i m'ha entusiasmat. Quan es va publicar jo complia un mes de vida, i que l'hagi hagut de descobrir avui, amb 43 anys! Una meravella.

Nothing much to add. A band who said EVERYTHING they had to say in one pretty perfect album.

Great album, a few songs have made it onto my ‘frangry’ playlist

Discazo punk de unos auténticos estandartes. Canciones pegadizas y con ritmo. Destructivos.

Iconic

The punkiest of all punk albums. What other band could have this much influence and make this much noise with just a 39 min discography?

pretty good punk, a tad too bri*ish at parts but usually pretty enjoyable, 9/10

Great album.The energy sums up the early punk era.

Yeah sex pistols

Despite the fact, the Sex Pistols released only one studio album during their all-too short existence, the impact both culturally and musically can't be denied. This is a case where the story/personalities are bigger than the music, as numerous films, books and even a recent TV series about the band have perhaps over-shadowed the music. There were other bands from the same era that left a longer resume of great music (The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Damned etc.), but the impact of the Pistol's, debut, Never Mind The Bollocks might just be one of the most important and influential albums from the 70's. Sure, it's overrated and their musical talent was questionable at best, but when the word "punk rock" is mentioned, it all begins with the Sex Pistols.

Gamechanging - a band who did not give a fuck about calling out what they saw at a time when people were begging for change. But they do still care about making the noise, turning it out. One of those times when you're glad they did just one album because that would have diluted this.

do i buy country life butter? advertise whatever you fucking want johnny, you've paid your dues. sneering nasty album with some monster tracks on it .

yooooo

Like being thrown in a cold pool to start the day.

панки хой

Love me some classic punk

5* for it's importance as a piece of social history as well as an album full of bangers

CLASSIC!

What else is there to say about this album? It’s bold, brash and belongs in the trash. 12 cuts of raw, unpolished music that took the country by storm when they first heard the marching opening to Holidays In The Sun all the way to the final cries of E.M.I on the aptly titled closer.

Mean tones, a remarkable complexity in some of the songs I’ve not heard before, and the energy and snark of the singles flows through the whole album. Very impressed

An amazing punk album. Even though they're drummer was probably their most competent musician, they made incredible music and Johnny Rotten's lyrics remain poignant and hard-hitting. I've seen a lot of things talking about how he's become a shill for the government lately and it seems like a lot of people talk about, but I haven't seen any of the receipts for it. The bass is lacking a bit, but its understandable as they didn't really have a bass player since Steve Jones had to record most of the bass parts. The guitar riffs are punchy, and the drums are really tight. An instant classic since its release and a must hear album for anyone. Highlights: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10.

Fuck yeah! One of the foundational punk albums.

One of the best punk albums of all time. Gone too soon.

it’s so good just so so good

I mean, it's one of the greatest punk albums ever and I love it. This beautiful, frantic mess has inspired so many musicians to stop just bitching about life, pick up a guitar, and pour their feelings into music. It's angry, angsty, nihilistic, and fun. The band just about ripped each other to shreds making it and I'll be damned if that's not just the most punk thing ever. And, as if that weren't enough, "E.M.I." is one of the biggest middle finger tracks ever written. It's such a hard-core snub. A perfect punk-tuation (couldn't help myself) to end a truly monumental punk album.

El PUNK. Vinilo total.

Superb, and years ahead of its time.

One of the definitive punk albums. Best musicianship, no; best recording, no; but is it greater than the sum of all these parts, yes.

Classic Punk - a must have, must listen to album

Epic energy with killer track after track. Love submission and pretty vacant. Amazing.

Pretty cool

Aaaassaaiiiiii Want to beeeeeeee An anarchiiiiiiiiiist!! Musicalmente es un GRAN disco. Lo que me sorprendió es que haya sido lanzado en 1977, ya que el tipo de música suena como 80’s o early 90’s. Por supuesto, no conozco la situación político-cultural de UK en los 70’s pero por el tipo de música y por las letras de algunas canciones, estoy seguro de que este grupo fue revolucionario.

I don't care what anyone says, without the Sex Pistols, there are a huge number of bands that would not exist. It's amazing how influential a band can be when only one actual album was ever recorded. Rarely does a day go by that I don't listen to some Pistols.

british culture at its finest

The dogs bollocks 👍🏾

Still vital. A classic.

I like the fury, the anarchy and Johnny's sneering glare. The full album sounds like variations of the same 3 songs, but those 3 are epic.

Not bollocks.

Rocking punk album that hits. Love everything about this album.

I dont even need to play it. I love this masterpiece

Classic

ok

SÌ CAZZO

Where punk started! I said it would be hard for me to give a 5 to an album the first day I listened to it. But with the snarling vocals and rocking guitars, it deserves it!