#36 Never Mind the Bollocks by The Sex Pistols

The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time

2025 Album Rank

36

2011 Album Rank

22

Total Points

1480

Year Released

1977

Billboard 200 Chart Peak

106

Weeks at #1

N/A

RIAA Sales Certification

1,000,000 (Platinum)

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Never Mind the Bollocks Album Details

Released in October 1977, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is one of the most incendiary and influential punk rock albums ever made. The only studio album the band released during their short career, it captured the aggression, sneer, and nihilism of the UK punk movement in its rawest form. With Johnny Rotten's snarling vocals, Steve Jones's dense, wall-of-sound guitars, and Paul Cook's pounding drums, the album delivered a sonic assault that rejected progressive rock sophistication in favor of brute-force simplicity.

Featuring iconic anthems like Anarchy in the U.K., God Save the Queen, and Pretty Vacant, the record was a direct provocation to British society. Its release was mired in controversy, with retailers banning it and politicians condemning it, but it quickly became the defining statement of punk rebellion. Beyond its shock value, Never Mind the Bollocks was a tightly produced, meticulously arranged rock album that influenced generations of musicians far beyond the punk scene.

Interesting Facts About Never Mind the Bollocks

• The album was produced by Chris Thomas, who had previously worked with artists like Pink Floyd and Roxy Music. Despite the punk ethos of amateurism, Thomas gave the record a thick, polished sound.
• Though Sid Vicious was in the band by the time of the album's release, most of the bass parts were actually recorded by guitarist Steve Jones. Sid was reportedly unable to play most of the material proficiently.
• God Save the Queen was released during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and caused a national scandal. It was banned by the BBC, yet still reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, rumors persist that it was intentionally kept from the top spot by chart manipulation.
• Despite, or because of, the controversy, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1.
• The song EMI is a bitter attack on the record label EMI, which dropped the band in early 1977 due to the negative publicity surrounding their behavior.
• Some early pressings of the album included a one-sided 7-inch of Submission, which was later added to the standard tracklist.
• The album title itself led to a legal obscenity case in the UK, with a Nottingham record store manager arrested for displaying the word "bollocks" in the window. The court ruled in favor of the store, citing linguistic evidence that "bollocks" was a legitimate Old English term.
• Though often regarded purely as punk provocateurs, the Sex Pistols were musically tight and rehearsed extensively. Many critics have noted the album's clarity and sonic power, especially compared to other early punk records.
• Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) claimed that many of the lyrics were serious social commentary, not just nihilistic noise, calling out hypocrisies in British politics, media, and culture.
• Never Mind the Bollocks remains a key influence not just on punk but also on alternative rock, grunge, and hard rock, cited by bands like Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, and the Manic Street Preachers as formative listening.
• The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015 for its cultural and historical significance.

Never Mind the Bollocks Tracklist

1. Holidays in the Sun
2. Bodies
3. No Feelings
4. Liar
5. God Save the Queen
6. Problems
7. Seventeen
8. Anarchy in the UK
9. Submission
10. Pretty Vacant
11. New York
12. E.M.I.

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