Never Mind the Bollocks (1977)

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (often shortened to Never Mind the Bollocks) is the only studio album by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released on 28 October 1977 through Virgin Records. As a result of the Sex Pistols' volatile internal relationships, the band's lineup saw changes during the recording of the album. Original bass guitarist Glen Matlock left the band early in the recording process. While he is credited as a co-writer on all but two of the tracks, Matlock played bass on only one track, "Anarchy in the U.K."

Recording sessions continued with a new bass player, Sid Vicious, who is credited on two of the songs written by the band after he joined. While Vicious's bass playing appeared on two tracks, his lack of skill on the instrument meant that many of the tracks were recorded with guitarist Steve Jones playing bass instead. Drummer Paul Cook, Jones and singer Johnny Rotten appear on every track. The various recording sessions were led alternately by Chris Thomas or Bill Price, and sometimes both together, but as the songs on the final albums often combined mixes from different sessions, and as it is unclear who of them was present in the recording booth each time, each song is jointly credited to both producers.

By the time of its release, the Sex Pistols were already controversial, having spoken profanity on live TV, been fired from two record labels, and been banned from playing live in some parts of Britain. The album title added to that controversy, with some people finding the word "bollocks" offensive. Many record stores refused to carry it and some record charts refused to list its title, showing just a blank space instead. Due in part to its notoriety, and in spite of many sales bans at major retailers, the album debuted at number one on the UK Album Charts. It achieved advance orders of 125,000 copies after a week of its release and went gold only a few weeks later, on 17 November. It remained a best-seller for nearly a year, spending 48 weeks in the top 75. The album has also been certified platinum by the RIAA.

The album has influenced many bands and musicians, and the industry in general. In particular, the album's raw energy, and Johnny Rotten's sneering delivery and "half-singing", are often considered game-changing. It is frequently listed as the most influential punk album, and one of the greatest and most important albums of all time. In 1987, Rolling Stone magazine named the album the second best of the previous 20 years, behind only the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The same magazine ranked it 41st on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003 and 2012, and 80th in 2020. In 2006, it was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 greatest albums ever.

Production

Writing

John Lydon, Steve Jones and Paul Cook wrote the album's 12 tracks between August 1975 and June 1976, with Glen Matlock acting as a co-writer on most of the tracks, written before his departure in February 1977, and Sid Vicious co-writing the two written after his entry into the group.