The Sounds issue of 4th June 1977 carried the above apology for the clear censorship of the advert that appeared on the back page of the previous week's issue for the Pistol's new single 'God Save The Queen'. It would appear that the printer's used by Sounds refused to print the advert in its original form which prompted the decision to alter the design by removing the image of Queen Elizabeth from Jamie Reid's now iconic design. And this was the version of the advert that spared the monarch the safety pin through the nose!
Sounds (28th May 1977)
In contrast the printers used by Sounds' rival music weekly, the New Musical Express, had no such qualms... or if they did, the concerns were not enough to stop the presses.
New Musical Express (28th May 1977)
Looking back from a vantage point that is almost 50 years distant from these events, it is hard to believe the intensity of the furore that surrounded that song. At the same time it is wonderful to think that for a time, a very, very short time, the Sex Pistols and punk really did rattle the Establishment. But as I said it was only for a very short time and pretty soon the corporate music and entertainment business reeled in all things punk and brought it to heel. The music of course remained and much of it was brilliant, but unlike those early months of 1977 the music industry largely called the shots and it was back to business as usual... only with better music!
No comments:
Post a Comment