A performance of the song recorded during the band's twenty-fifth anniversary concert at Brixton Academy, on 22 October 2000, appears on their 25 & Alive Boneshaker DVD. John Lydon criticises Sex Pistols Jubilee re-release". BBC News. 17 April 2012 . Retrieved 18 April 2012. a b Savage, Mark (3 May 2022). "Sex Pistols to re-release God Save the Queen ahead of Jubilee". BBC News . Retrieved 4 May 2022.

I did not see myself as a fashion designer, but as someone who wished to confront the rotten status quo through the way I dressed and dressed others.” The record's lyrics, as well as the cover, were controversial at the time; both the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Independent Broadcasting Authority refused to play the song, including a total ban of its airing by the BBC. [2] The original title for the song was " No Future", with the lyrics themselves being a general expression of the band's view of the monarchy or any individual or establishment commanding general obligation. [3] Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 7 October 2016. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012 . Retrieved 2016-10-12. The image incorporated a safety pin to shut the Queen’s mouth. Other versions covered the monarch’s eyes with swastikas or newspaper cut-out lettering in the style of a hostage letter. Clothing from the Seditionaries boutique on King’s Road, London, 1977. Pamela Rooke (1955 – 2022), aka Jordan, and Simon Barker, aka Six, are modelling Sex Pistols ‘God Save The Queen’ T-shirts. (photo – MirrorPix/Getty Images) May 31: The BBC bans the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" ". History.com. 1 April 2010 . Retrieved 22 January 2021.

Dame Zaha Hadid, the architect famed for her futuristic designs, which included the London 2012 Aquatics Centre and who died in 2016, joins Westwood in the Design section. John Lydon (2007). "Sex Pistols Vinyl Reissues 2007: God Save The Queen". John Lydon.com . Retrieved 29 January 2008. Some parents expressed disappointment that their children did not receive the souvenir book before schools broke up for the Summer half-term holiday which encompasses the Jubilee. In 1974 it became “SEX” and the Punk aesthetic of the shop began to emerge along with fetish clothing. By the time the shop was became “Seditionaries” it was established as a place to find Punk clothing (Cole and Deihl 327); catering to the Punk subculture, and this shirt embodies that look. The “God Save the Queen” T-shirt is emblematic of Westwood and McLaren’s design aesthetic from this period. Vivienne Westwood said,

Robb, Simon (4 November 2016). "BBC just trolled a conservative MP brilliantly with God Save the Queen". Metro . Retrieved 4 November 2016. A cover version by the English heavy metal band Motörhead was released as a single in 2000 to promote their album, We Are Motörhead. It also appears on their covers album Under Cöver (2017). Her provocative designs included the T-shirt which appropriated artist Jamie Reid’s cover image for The Sex Pistols’ 1977 anthem God Save The Queen, released to puncture the Silver Jubilee celebrations. Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100: 10 June 2022 - 16 June 2022". Official Charts Company. 10 June 2022 . Retrieved 11 June 2022. The cover art gives further reference to the Sex Pistols by using the same cut-out words to form the title as the Sex Pistols' single cover.British single certifications – Sex Pistols – God Save the Queen". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 16 June 2022. The Department for Education and Royal Collection Trust were involved “at every stage” of the creation of the illustrated book, which takes children on a journey through the Queen’s life, “celebrating the achievements, people and places that have become part of her remarkable legacy” and which includes the words to the (official) God Save The Queen. Leigh, Spencer (20 February 1998). "Music: Charting the number ones that somehow got away". The Independent . Retrieved 5 August 2010. Hall, James (27 May 2017). "God Save the Queen at 40: how the Sex Pistols made the most controversial song in history". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235 . Retrieved 1 January 2018. Murthi, R. S. (9 May 1993). "Infectious Rage of Punk". New Straits Times. p.17 . Retrieved 8 August 2010.

Upon its release, the song was banned from both the BBC and radio stations regulated by the Independent Broadcasting Authority with Radio 2 controller Charles McLelland saying the song was "in gross bad taste". [13] Additionally, the major retailers Boots, WHSmith, and Woolworths all declined to sell the record. [14] Nevertheless, it peaked at No. 2 (below Rod Stewart's " I Don't Want to Talk About It" released as a double A-side budget single along with " The First Cut Is the Deepest") on the official UK Singles Chart used by the BBC; it did so during the week of the Silver Jubilee's official observation. [4] [15] [16] On the singles chart displayed in branches of WH Smith, the single's position at No. 2 was represented by a blank line. [17]Sir Lenny Henry and Dame Maggie Smith represent “film and TV” whilst, in a nod to the Commonwealth, English-Australian singer and charity campaigner Dame Olivia Newton John takes one of three “music” slots. She joins Sir Elton John and Welsh powerhouse Dame Shirley Bassey.

In 2010, the song was ranked among the top 10 most controversial songs of all time in a poll conducted by PRS for Music. [31]Sex Pistols announce plans to re-release 'God Save The Queen' ". New Musical Express. 16 April 2012 . Retrieved 16 April 2012. The single's picture sleeve, featuring a defaced image of Queen Elizabeth II, was designed by Jamie Reid and in 2001 was ranked No. 1 in a list of the 100 greatest record covers of all time by Q magazine. [53] A photograph of the image is held by the National Portrait Gallery, London. [54] Cover versions [ edit ] Motörhead version [ edit ] "God Save the Queen" Dead Mentors Talk: The pop world of Ballard and Burroughs -". 3:AM Magazine. 14 January 2014 . Retrieved 12 February 2020. On 3 November 2016, Andrew Rosindell, a Conservative MP, argued in an early day motion for a return to the broadcasting of the national anthem at the end of BBC One transmissions each day (the practice had been dropped in 1997, due to BBC One adopting 24-hour broadcasting by simulcasting BBC News 24 overnight, rendering closedown obsolete), [46] to commemorate the Brexit vote and Britain's subsequent withdrawing from the European Union. At the evening of the same day, BBC Two's Newsnight programme ended its nightly broadcast with host of that night Kirsty Wark saying that they were "incredibly happy to oblige" Rosindell's request, and then played a clip of the Sex Pistols' similarly named song, much to Rosindell's discontent. [47] Charts [ edit ] Chart (1977–2007)