Anarchy in the U.K.

2025-10-06T21:38:25Z

2600:4040:310B:7E00:2CF5:D96E:A4E4:E1B7: /* Green Jellÿ */

{{Short description|1976 single by Sex Pistols}}
{{about|the Sex Pistols song|anarchism in the UK|Anarchism in the United Kingdom}}
{{use British English|date=December 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Anarchy in the U.K.
| image = Anarchy in the UK by Sex Pistols UK single side-A.png
| alt =
| caption = Side A of the 1976 UK single
| type = single
| artist = [[Sex Pistols]]
| album = [[Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols]]
| B-side = I Wanna Be Me
| released = 26 November 1976
| recorded = 17 October 1976
| studio = [[Wessex Sound Studios|Wessex Sound]], London<ref>{{cite web |last=Buskin |first=Richard |title=Classic Tracks: The Sex Pistols 'Anarchy In The UK' |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-sex-pistols-anarchy-uk |website=Sound On Sound |publisher=SOS Publications Group |date=September 2004 |access-date=14 December 2023 }}</ref>
| venue =
| genre = *[[Punk rock]]
| length = 3:31
| label = [[EMI Records|EMI]]
| writer = [[Paul Cook]], [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]], [[John Lydon]], [[Glen Matlock]]
| producer = [[Chris Thomas (record producer)|Chris Thomas]], [[Bill Price (record producer)|Bill Price]], [[Dave Goodman (record producer)|Dave Goodman]]
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = [[God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song)|God Save the Queen]]
| next_year = 1977
| misc = {{External music video|{{Youtube|q31WY0Aobro|"Anarchy In The U.K"}}}}
}}
{{Anarchism sidebar}}
"'''Anarchy in the U.K.'''" is a song by English [[punk rock]] band the [[Sex Pistols]]. It was released as the band's debut single on 26 November 1976 and was later featured on their album ''[[Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols]]''. "Anarchy in the U.K." was number 56 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the [[500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: 'Anarchy in the U.K.' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595898/anarchy_in_the_uk |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=9 December 2004 |access-date=10 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503121137/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595898/anarchy_in_the_uk |archive-date=3 May 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and is included in the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]'s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0150472.html |title=500 Songs That Shaped Rock |work=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |access-date=21 October 2016}}</ref>

==Releases==
Originally issued in a plain black sleeve, the single was the only Sex Pistols recording released by [[EMI]], and it reached number 38 on the [[UK Singles Chart]] before EMI dropped the group on 6 January 1977, a month after members of the band used profanity during [[Sex Pistols#EMI and the Bill Grundy incident|a live television broadcast]]. (Although the EMI version was recorded on 17 October 1976, an earlier demo version was recorded between 10 and 12 October at Lansdowne/Wessex Studios, London. This version later surfaced on the Sex Pistols bootleg album ''[[Spunk (Sex Pistols bootleg album)|Spunk]]'').

In 2007, the surviving members (not including original Pistols bassist [[Glen Matlock]]) re-recorded "Anarchy in the U.K." for the video game ''[[Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]'' because the multi-track master could not be found<ref>{{cite web |title=Sex Pistols Re-Record 'Anarchy' for Guitar Hero; Grohl at Zeppelin's 'Beck and Call' |url=https://www.spin.com/2007/09/sex-pistols-re-record-anarchy-guitar-hero-grohl-zeppelins-beck-and-call/ |work=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin Magazine]] |date=26 September 2007 |access-date=10 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506203349/https://www.spin.com/2007/09/sex-pistols-re-record-anarchy-guitar-hero-grohl-zeppelins-beck-and-call/ |archive-date=6 May 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> (it was rediscovered along with the rest of the ''Never Mind The Bollocks'' masters during a move in January 2012<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.philjens.plus.com/pistols/pistols/nmtb_UK_boxset.html|title=God Save The Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks: United Kingdom 35th Anniversary Boxset|website=www.philjens.plus.com|access-date=2019-06-19}}</ref>). The ''Guitar Hero'' version also appears in the [[The A-Team (film)|film adaption of the ''A-Team'']]. The song was also featured in the video game ''[[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4]]'' as part of the soundtrack.<ref>{{cite web |last=Childers |first=Chad |date=5 March 2025 |title=More ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’ Games Get Remastered, Only 6 Songs Known for Soundtrack So Far |url=https://loudwire.com/tony-hawks-pro-skater-3-4-games-remastered-soundtrack-songs-so-far/ |access-date=9 March 2025 |website=Loudwire}}</ref> The song also appears in the [[Constantine (TV series)|''Constantine'']] TV series during the episode "The Devil's Vinyl".<ref>{{cite web|title=Screen Rant Review of "The Devil's Vinyl"|website=[[Screen Rant]] |date=8 November 2014|url=https://screenrant.com/constantine-season-1-episode-3-devil-vinyl-review/}}</ref>

A limited edition 7" picture disc of the single was released on 21 April 2012 for that year's [[Record Store Day]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/sex-pistols/63259|title=Sex Pistols announce plans to re-release 'God Save the Queen'|publisher=[[New Musical Express]]|date=16 April 2012|access-date=16 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Sex-Pistols-Anarchy-In-The-UK/release/3553022|title=Sex Pistols – Anarchy In The UK, cat. no. SEXPISS1976(1) |date=21 April 2012 |publisher= discogs.com|access-date= 2016-09-21}}</ref> In June 2022, a [[test pressing]] of the single that belonged to [[John Peel]] sold for more than £20,000 at auction.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-61800137 |title=Sex Pistols singles fetch £20k at John Peel archive sale |work=BBC News |date=14 June 2022 |access-date=14 June 2022}}</ref>

==Lyrics==
{{Listen
|filename=Anarchy in the UK.ogg
|title="Anarchy in the U.K."
|description=With its "inflammatory, venomous lyrics [and] crude energy", the [[Sex Pistols]]' debut single "established punk's modus operandi".<ref>Unterberger (2002), p. 1337.</ref> Producer [[Chris Thomas (record producer)|Chris Thomas]] layered multiple tracks of [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]]'s guitar to create a "searing wall of sound",<ref>Gimarc (2005), p. 41.</ref> while [[John Lydon|Johnny Rotten]] spewed the vocals "as if his teeth had been ground down to points."<ref>Marcus (1989), p. 8.</ref>
}}
In the documentary ''[[The Filth and the Fury]]'', [[John Lydon]] described the composition of the song's opening lyrics, explaining that the best rhyme he could devise for the first line, "I am an [[Antichrist]]", was the second line, "I am an anar''chist''". (Lydon confirmed that he is not an anarchist in a 2012 interview.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Edwards |first1=Rhiannon |title=John Lydon: 'An anarchist? I never was. Whoever told you that?' |url=http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/etcetera/music/john_lydon_an_anarchist_i_never_was_whoever_told_you_that_1_1468479 |access-date=2016-04-12 |work=Ham & High |date=2012-08-02 |archive-date=17 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217004941/http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/etcetera/music/john_lydon_an_anarchist_i_never_was_whoever_told_you_that_1_1468479 |url-status=dead }}</ref>)

Sex Pistols manager [[Malcolm McLaren]] considered the song "a call to arms to the kids who believe that rock and roll was taken away from them. It's a statement of self rule, of ultimate independence."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Wisdom of Malcolm McLaren|url=https://www.nme.com/photos/the-wisdom-of-malcolm-mcclaren/170280/1/1#17|magazine=[[NME]]}}</ref>

===Abbreviations===
The abbreviations used in the lyrics are a selection of civil war references from 1970s headlines, a suggestion of what could happen in the United Kingdom. The IRA and the UDA were the largest paramilitary armies in the conflict in Northern Ireland: the heavily armed IRA ([[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Irish Republican Army]]) were on the Republican (anti-British, pro-unification) side, and the thousands-strong UDA ([[Ulster Defence Association]]) were on the Loyalist (pro-British, anti-unification) side. The MPLA ([[Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola]], or the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) were the political party that took control of [[Angola]], formerly one of Portugal's African colonies, in a 1975–1976 civil war, and still run the country today. When Rotten sings "I use the enemy", it's a deliberate homonym for "I use the NME", or ''[[New Musical Express]]'', the British weekly music newspaper.<ref>Excerpted from the 2006 book Is Tiny Dancer Really Elton’s Little John?: Music’s Most Enduring Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed, published by Three Rivers Press, written by Gavin Edwards.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rulefortytwo.com/secret-rock-knowledge/chapter-1/mpla-uda-wtf/|title=What are all those initials in the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK"? MPLA? UDA? WTF?|last=Edwards|first=Garvin}}</ref>

==Track listing==
#"Anarchy in the UK"  – 3:31
#"I Wanna Be Me"  – 3:12

==Personnel==
* [[John Lydon|Johnny Rotten]] – lead vocals
* [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]] – guitar, backing vocals
* [[Glen Matlock]] – bass, backing vocals
* [[Paul Cook]] – drums

==Charts==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Chart (1976)
!Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|UK|38|date=19761218|refname=1976UKchart}}
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1992)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Australia ([[ARIA Charts]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010|year=2011|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia|edition=pdf}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|92
|-
{{single chart|UK|33|date=19921010|refname=1992UKchart}}
|}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Sex Pistols|title=Anarchy in the UK|award=Silver|relyear=2012|certyear=2022|id=18231-779-1|access-date=19 July 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

== Cover versions ==

=== "L'Anarchie Pour Le UK" ===
An alternative recording of the song in {{music|time|3|4}} time, accompanied by violin and accordion, apparently both translated into French and sung by a mysterious figure called Louis Brennon (also named as Jerzimy in some sources), appeared on the Sex Pistols' 1979 album ''[[The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (album)|The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle]]''.<ref>Caroline de Kergariou. ''No Future: Une Histoire du Punk'' (Paris: Perrin, 2017) pp. 253–54.</ref><ref>Jon Savage, ''England's Dreaming: The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock'' (Faber and Faber, 2005).</ref>

=== Megadeth ===
{{Infobox song
| name = Anarchy in the U.K.
| cover = megadeth anarchy in the uk.jpg
| alt =
| caption = German release cover
| type = single
| artist = [[Megadeth]]
| album = [[So Far, So Good... So What!]]
| released = February 17, 1988
| recorded = 1987
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = [[Thrash metal]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2019/06/10/decibels-top-5-thrash-metal-cover-songs/|title=Decibel's Top 5 Thrash Metal Cover Songs|date= June 10, 2019|access-date=2021-11-13|last=Dick|first=Chris}}</ref>
| length = 3:00
| label = [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
| writer = Paul Cook, [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]], [[John Lydon]], [[Glen Matlock]]
| producer =
| prev_title = [[Peace Sells]]
| prev_year = 1986
| next_title = [[Mary Jane (Megadeth song)|Mary Jane]]
| next_year = 1988
| misc =
}}

"Anarchy in the U.K." was covered by American [[thrash metal]] band [[Megadeth]] for their third album ''[[So Far, So Good... So What!]]'', released in 1988.

Megadeth's version has altered lyrics. [[Dave Mustaine]] explained that he could not understand [[Johnny Rotten]]'s singing, so he made up the parts he could not understand (in a notable example, the line "another council tenancy" is changed to "and other cunt-like tendencies"). In addition, the country is changed to "USA", though the title is kept unchanged. The song's music video is a montage of live footage of the band, cartoon political figures, various scenes of violence, and of a man being forced to watch (much like Alex's therapy in ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]''). [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]] played the second solo.

Mustaine now refuses to play the song live due to lyrics referring to the Anti-Christ, and he believes he's "better for it".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/dave-mustaine-says-he-won-t-play-pistols-anarchy-because-of-anti-christ-reference/|title = DAVE MUSTAINE Says He Won't Play PISTOLS' 'Anarchy' Because of 'Anti-Christ' Reference|date = August 2005}}</ref>

==== Track listing versions ====
;United States 7"
#"Anarchy in the U.K."
#"Liar"

;United Kingdom 12"
#"Anarchy in the U.K."
#"Liar"
#"502"

;Germany 12"
#"Anarchy in the U.K."
#"Good Mourning/Black Friday" (live)
#"Devil's Island" (live)

====Charts====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1988)
!Peak<br />position
|-
{{singlechart|New Zealand|13|artist=Megadeth|song=Anarchy in the U.K.}}
|-
{{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|45|artist=Megadeth}}
|}

===Green Jellÿ===
{{Infobox song
| name = Anarchy in the U.K.
| cover =
| alt =
| caption =
| type = single
| artist = [[Green Jellÿ]]
| album = [[Cereal Killer Soundtrack]]
| B-side = "Green Jellÿ Theme Song"
| released = {{start date|1993|8|2}}<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=21|date=July 31, 1993}}</ref>
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| length = 3:29
| label = [[Zoo Entertainment (record label)|Zoo Entertainment]]
| writer = Paul Cook, [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]], [[John Lydon]], [[Glen Matlock]]
| producer = [[Sylvia Massy]], C. J. Buscaglia
| prev_title = [[Three Little Pigs (song)|Three Little Pigs]]
| prev_year = 1992
| next_title = [[Electric Harley House (of Love)]]
| next_year = 1993
}}

[[Green Jellÿ]]'s version of "Anarchy in the U.K." is a parody cover of the original with added ''[[The Flintstones|Flintstones]]'' references. The song originally appeared as "Anarchy in Bedrock" on Green Jellÿ's (then Green Jellö's) ''[[Triple Live Möther Gööse at Budokan]]'' album. [[William Hanna]] and [[Joseph Barbera]] initially took offense to this version, and to Green Jellÿ mocking ''The Flintstones'', but they later relented, as this version was featured on the soundtrack to the [[The Flintstones (film)|''Flintstones'' film]] that was released in 1994.

====Critical reception====
Pete Stanton from ''[[Smash Hits]]'' gave the Green Jellÿ version five out of five, writing, "They've followed the insanity of [[Three Little Pigs (song)|Three Little Pigs]] with more madness, littering a great song with "Yabadabadoo"s and an eardrum bursting "Wiiillmmaaaa" at the end. Get into Green Jelly quick before a doctor slips them into strait-jackets, shoves them into a room and locks the door."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Pete|last=Stanton|title=New Singles|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/52554572431/in/album-72177720304345850/|magazine=[[Smash Hits]]|date=21 July 1993|page=53|accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref>

====Track listing====
# "Anarchy in the U.K." – 3:29
# "Green Jellÿ Theme Song" – 2:15
# "[[Three Little Pigs (song)|Three Little Pigs]] (Blowin Down the House Mix)" – 6:34

====Personnel====
* Danny Carey – drums
* Bill Tutton, Rootin' Bloomquist – bass
* Marc Levinthal, Steven Shenar, Bernie Peaks – guitar
* Bill Manspeaker, Joe Cannizzaro, Gary Helsinger, Greg Raynard, and Maynard James Keenan – vocals
* Kim O'Donnell and Caroline Jester – backup vocals, floor tom drums
{{clear}}

===Mötley Crüe===

American [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Mötley Crüe]] covered the song on their 1991 compilation album ''[[Decade of Decadence 81–91|Decade of Decadence]]'', substituting US analogies and organizations in the lyrics for UK ones. It was also their last song with lead singer [[Vince Neil]] until 1997's ''[[Generation Swine]]''.

== References ==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.sexpistolsofficial.com/records/anarchy-in-the-uk-7/ SexPistolsOfficial.com: 'Anarchy in the UK 7"']
* [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep04/articles/classictracks.htm Classic Tracks: 'Anarchy in the UK']

{{Sex Pistols}}
{{Megadeth}}
{{Green Jellÿ}}
{{Mötley Crüe}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anarchy In The U.K.}}
[[Category:1976 songs]]
[[Category:1976 debut singles]]
[[Category:1988 singles]]
[[Category:1991 singles]]
[[Category:1993 singles]]
[[Category:Anarchist songs]]
[[Category:Capitol Records singles]]
[[Category:Elektra Records singles]]
[[Category:EMI Records singles]]
[[Category:Green Jellÿ songs]]
[[Category:Megadeth songs]]
[[Category:Mötley Crüe songs]]
[[Category:British protest songs]]
[[Category:Sex Pistols songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer)]]
[[Category:Songs about the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Songs written by Glen Matlock]]
[[Category:Songs written by John Lydon]]
[[Category:Songs written by Paul Cook]]
[[Category:Songs written by Steve Jones (musician)]]
[[Category:Zoo Entertainment (record label) singles]]

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Anarchy in the U.K.