Anarchy in the U.K.
| "Anarchy in the U.K." | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "I Wanna Be Me" |
"Anarchy in the U.K." is the title of the first single by Sex Pistols, released on November 26 1976. It was the second UK punk rock single, preceded by The Damned's "New Rose."[citation needed]
The single was the only Sex Pistols recording released by EMI, and reached number 38 on the UK Singles Chart before EMI dropped the group on January 6 1977, a month after the televised Bill Grundy incident. The song later appeared on the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. The song's lyrics espouse a nihilistic and violent concept of anarchy. The lyrics mention several political/paramilitary organizations prominent at the time, comparing them to the UK: the MPLA, the UDA, and the IRA.
"Anarchy in the U.K." was number 53 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.[1]
This song is on the soundtrack to the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.
In 2007 the surviving members (not including Glen Matlock) re-recorded "Anarchy in the U.K." for the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock because the masters could not be found.[2]
Track listing
A-side: "Anarchy in the U.K."
B-side: "I Wanna Be Me"
Cover versions
- American thrash metal band Megadeth covered the song for their third album, So Far, So Good... So What!, released in 1988, as the song was written with incorrect lyrics; Dave Mustaine stated that he could not understand Johnny Rotten's singing, so he made up the parts he could not understand. The song's music video is a simply-styled cartoon featuring political figures. Steve Jones played second solo of this song.
- A French version called "L'Anarchie pour l'UK" was part of the soundtrack to the film, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle.
- Comedic rock band Green Jelly did cover the song lading it with The Flintstones references, with the title "Anarchy in Bedrock". The song appears on the Cereal Killer album.
- Mötley Crüe covered the song on their 1991 album Decade of Decadence, with USA-centric lyric changes and some vulgar language.
- Tito Larriva covered the song in the 2000 film Million Dollar Hotel.
- Caroline O'Connor performed an Edith Piaf-esque cover of the song on the Australian music quiz show Spicks and Specks.
- Anna Tsuchiya covered the song in Nana Best, NANA OST (a TV anime).
- "Anarchy in the U.K." was also covered in 1991, by a joint concert in Japan, called Extasy Summit '91 at Nippon Budokan. Bands included were X Japan, Luna Sea, and Tokyo Yankees.[citation needed]
- Public Image Ltd., Rotten's post-Sex Pistols project, have performed the song in concert.
- The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain have released a concert DVD entitled "Anarchy in the Ukulele", featuring their own folk-rock version of the Sex Pistols' song.
- Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, cover "Anarchy in the U.K. in there inimitable style.
Footnotes