He explained that a bollock was an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "small ball." Bollocks was also 18th century slang for clergymen, owing to their reputation for talking nonsense, or, in common parlance, a load of old balls.
Kingsley won the day, the shop manager was acquitted and the Pistols' notoriety was assured. This case indicates the hysteria in the air at the time in England, when for a moment, rock music seemed capable of changing the world one last time.
Since the Pistols were as much marketing entity as rock band, they offered no particular alternative to the status quo of the day, but the vehemence with which they attacked the structure must have surprised even them; and, of course, the spirit of anarchy they unleashed worked most predictably upon them.
Article comments
1 - Jim S
don't forget the fact that "God Save The Queen" was banned by the British government. The band was also banned in their home country from many shows.
Black Flag took their cue for enticing the police and inciting governmental wrath straight out of the Sex Pistols book.
That album RULES. There are few underproduced, raw, uncut albums in any genre that would stand up to that one.
2 - MT
The first Dolls and Ramones albums plus Bollocks define the punk period.
3 - Jonathan
Man, is there anything that gets you going like those first few bars from Anarchy in the UK? An album for the ages for sure.
4 - James Russell
Galvanising stuff. When I saw the documentary The Filth & The Fury at the cinema, I couldn't help but quietly sing along with "Anarchy" when it came on; regrettably no one joined in. Fantastic otherwise.
5 - Nigel E. Richardson
don't forget the fact that "God Save The Queen" was banned by the British government.
Not quite. I don't think the British Government could ban a record. What happened was:
The BBC refused to play it, claiming it was "gross bad taste" (although John Peel played it twice)
The IBA (Independent Broadcasting Authority) instructed all commercial radio and TV stations not to play it as it was "in contravention of Section 4 (10) (A) of the IBA act, being 'against good taste or decency, likely to encourage or incite to crime, or lead to disorder'."
Woolworths, Boots and WH Smith refused to stock it. The British Market Research Bureau allegedly rigged the charts so that it didn't get to number one.
So no airplay, unavailable in most shops and a little chart rigging. No need for the government involvement at all.
underproduced, raw, uncut
Consensus is that it's actually horribly overproduced. Embalmed, is Jon Savage's opinion. Rotten later said it was too clean, too nice. The Spunk bootleg that came out just before Bollocks was the real deal if you want raw power. It's been re-issued legit and otherwise umpteen times since under the title No Future UK.
It's still a classic rock album -- with the emphasis on rock -- but the culmination of what went before rather than the start of anything new. Wait for the 25th anniversary of PiL's "Metal Box" if you want to celebrate John Lydon's most significant contribution to music qua music rather than pop culture.
Oh yeah, and you've missed THE best book on UK punk, and one of the best books about music of all time, Jon Savage's England's Dreaming, where most of the above facts come from.
6 - Dean holmes
I went into Nottingham one afternoon hoped off the bus and saw the 'Never Mind The Bollocks here's the sex....... Advert in the window of selecterdisc on king street. Thought I'd buy the album. So went in and as I paid for the album the sales chap said "ya mans down stairs" "you what" I said. "Your mans down stairs". I thought what the fucks he on about? Went down stairs and johnny rotten and the band were down in the basement celebrating winning there court case hence he signed my album!