The copy of the Sex Pistols' recored God Save the Queen that sold for £20,000 at Wessex Auction Rooms.
A rare vinyl of the most censored record in British history, the Sex Pistols single God Save The Queen, appeared at Chippenham auction house Wessex Auction Rooms on July 4, hammering down for a record £20,000 (plus 18% buyer’s premium).
This version of the single was released in 1977 under A&M Records to coincide with Queen Elizabeth’s silver jubilee, however 25,000 copies were withdrawn following controversy over the lyrics ‘God Save The Queen, The fascist regime’. The song was also banned by the BBC and most UK radio stations.
Following the backlash, A&M Records dropped their contract with the punk rock band and all but a small number of copies – thought to number between 13 and 20 – were destroyed.
Some of these have since appeared at auction: Wessex Auction Rooms also sold another copy for a record £15,990 in 2019.
The vendor of this 7in single was the first person to meet the Sex Pistols when they came into the A&M Records office.
The vendor told the auction house: "As I was clearing my desk, having seen the box of Sex Pistols singles in the bottom drawer (which had been sitting there since 1977), I thought it might be possible for me to take a few as they could in due course be worth something. I asked the managing director if I could take some and he said yes.
"The current single being sold at Wessex Auction Rooms is my last one. I have been holding onto it for sentimental reasons, but I feel now is the time to part company with it. I am concerned it might one day go missing or be damaged."
