SEX PISTOLS-NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS*1st Prs*VERY RARE

$

146

You are bidding on the Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks 1977 LP on Virgin Records - V-2086. This is a very rare original version of the LP, the 11 track version with the blank pink back and no track listing. There were only 1,000 copies originally pressed and distributed. The pink back is rare for the versions that have 12 tracks, but much rarer for the 11 track version. As I said, this album may have be limited to only1,000 copies and maybe less. This one did not come with any posters or the 7" Submission single. I have been the sole owner of this record since it came out in 1977. The outer sleeve is in excellent + condition with a little bit of wear on the spine. The record itself had been mint unplayed until yesterday when I did play it to make sure it sounded OK. The reason that I did play it was because I noticed some marks (a couple of surface type scratches that were from handling the LP, not from the needle) but the LP sounded perfect, not the slightest bit of background noise from the needle, no crackling or sounds of any type. From the information I have been able to find, there is a good chance that this is one of the very rare originals.

100% genuine, original & complete copy of the 11-track version of Never Mind the Bollocks by the SEX PISTOLS.  What makes this copy SO VERY special is the fact that the sleeve has a plain pink back with NO TRACK TITLES.  This means it's one of the super-rare very first 1,000 copies ever pressed (Sex Pistols - A Collector's Guide by Gavin Walsh, Plexus Publishing 2003).  Virgin Records UK, 1977, V2086 / SPOT001

Sleeve:  Legendary fluorescent yellow/pink outer jacket with correct reproduction of Jamie Reid's original artwork - i.e. very crude black lettering, quickly printed with holes in the plain colour of the 'T', 'B' and 'S'.  NO TRACKS LISTED ON REVERSE OF SLEEVE with plain pink back.  I'd grade the sleeve as being in EXCELLENT CONDITION.

LP Vinyl:  Original 11-track VIRGIN sky-blue labels with timing, correct band credits and 'Chris Thomas & Bill Price' production credits.  Correct V2086 A3/B2 matrix markings in run-out grooves. 

Eleven track version

1. Holidays In The Sun
2. Liar
3. No Feelings
4. God Save The Queen
5. Problems

1. Seventeen
2. Anarchy In The UK 
3. Bodies
4. Pretty Vacant
5. New York
6. EMI

Here is some other information I found regarding this version:

The original UK album (Virgin V2086) contained only eleven tracks, before the group changed their mind and decided to include "Submission".

However, Virgin had already pre-emptively produced stampers for the eleven-track version, and by early October 1977 had already pressed 1,000 copies. Rather than scrap these, Virgin released them anyway, initially as promos, then commercially, as an attempt to counteract a sudden flood of imports from France, where a twelve-track version of the album (including "Submission") had been released in mid-October by Barclay Records.

The twelve-track UK version began appearing in early November 1977.

As a result of the track listing confusion, several variants of the UK back sleeve exist: completely blank; omitting "Submission"; including "Submission"; and a misprint including "Belsen Was a Gas" and omitting several other tracks, based on artwork for an earlier rejected track listing.

There is a lot of confusion to the 11 track release of this album since it was done very hurriedly and there were some mistakes involved. This copy that I am selling is no doubt part of the original limited production from late October 1977. By early November the 12 track version was released. Here is a list of facts that identify the LP that I am selling as part of the 1st pressing.

1. 11 track UK version was very limited and was never re-issued once the 12 track version was produced in November of 1977.

2. Matrix numbers of A3/B2 indicate that this was part of the 1st pressing of 1,000 or the next 10,000 copies. The article below states that matrix numbers of A1/B1 or A3/B3 but it is also possible that these mixed matrix numbers may have been used in error and may have been used on the original 1,000.

3. All plain black titles letters on the front cover show some printing mistakes mainly in 'T', 'B' and 'S' large letters.

4. 11 track sky blue labels with timing, correct band credits and 'Chris Thomas & Bill Price' production credits.

5. Blank pink back with no song credits is rare among the 11 track versions.

See below to confirm what I am saying about this version that you are bidding on. I have been the sole owner of this album, it was purchased in New York or New Jersey when it was first released.  I did not receive the poster or 7" "Submission" single which came with the SPOT001 pressings. This could mean that my LP could be part of the original 1,000 or maybe the record store did not include it with the LP.

Here is some additional information I found at the website http://www.philjens.plus.com/pistols/pistols/pistols_nmtb.htm. The words that are highlighted in red pertain specifically to the item I am selling.

NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS
The complete UK guide.
A God Save The Sex Pistols' world exclusive!

The sole & unique album of the Sex Pistols, NMTB is a very rare event in rock music history indeed. Despite the controversy that started many months before its official release - the bass player couldn't play a single note, the band couldn't play a gig, aggression against the band's members, press campaign against the Sex Pistols, an so on - never before did a record encounter so many troubles in its conception, making & distribution. This is our point of view about one of the best selling rock albums in the world.

The UK V2086 : from the first pressing to summer 1978
Official release date: Even a simple event like the official release date is not simple with NMTB. Officially scheduled the 4th November '77, Virgin Records needed to advance the release by one week, to 28th October '77, because the unexpected French Barclay pressing softly flooded the UK market without warning in the middle of October.

28th October '77 was now the official release date for every NMTB new pressing but it seems the Virgin staff forgot what happened on this very day. Early in the morning several UK distributors notified Virgin Records that they had stopped all NMTB distribution in the shops one hour after its release due to offensive contents & some trouble about the album title… After some heavy brainstorming a very bothered Richard Branson decided to completely delete the release 2 days later on Sunday 30th October '77, only in some Virgin Stores, despite the British law about the shops closing every Sunday (see Dennis Morris pix with the young kid to refresh your memory.) 27 years later nobody knows if Virgin Records was fined for this unusual opening of its shops on Sunday.

Important thing to know about UK V2086 first pressing - A variation within a pressing is not a different pressing per se in most cases. As all heavily pressed records, the making of NMTB's cover is not free of misprints. Because several pressing machines used different plates set & worked at the same time, there were a lot of variations about the matrix numbers but it is still part of the same pressing.

For a question of simplification it's better for everybody to make a difference between a real pressing (like the 11 tracks version and the 12 tracks versions) and the variants (like blank back, Belsen misprint, 11& 12 tracks listing, sky blue or green/red labels, and so on.)

All plain black titles letters on the front cover show some printing mistakes mainly in 'T', 'B' and 'S' large letters. It's funny to see that all those so-called errors willingly made by Jamie Reid were all rectified in some countries like USA and France for example.

What to know about the blank back version
Between the end of August '77 & September '77, members of the Sex Pistols could not decide if the record was going to be released with or without 'Submission'. To speed up the band Richard Branson decided to press an 11 track version without 'Submission', and non-featuring - on purpose - a back cover without any titles. 1000 copies were pressed but the band changed their mind and finally decided to include the song on the record.

Rather than send the whole batch to the bin, Branson decided to recycle the copies exclusively on the promotional circuit, but the Barclay release caused him to change his masterplan again and Virgin Records sent most of the copies to France in order to counterattack Barclay on its own playground, although some copies were also sold in the UK, Sweden and USA, and possibly others countries as a single album without any single or poster bonus.

The best way to know if you have got one of the rare real first 1000 copies is the matrix number: V2086 A1/B1 or V2086 A3/B3. Why use 2 different matrix numbers for the same pressing? Because the manufacturer used several pressing machines at the same time. It was also a good way to test all the different sets of plates. A third plates set V2086 A2/B2 was also manufactured but it seems it wasn't used for the first 1000 NMTB. As we couldn't find any copy with this matrix number we can't say for sure it really exists so check your copies!!

Unfortunately for people collecting NMTB variations, 2 others blank back 11 track versions surfaced in October during the making of the SPOT001 version, although the number of covers is unknown. Fortunately there is a way to identify these 2 misprints: one comes with correct sky blue label with timing & correct credits same as the original first 1000 blank back batch under the matrix number V2086 A1/B3. The second one gets the same labels under the matrix number V2086 A3/B1. Except for a few A3/B1 copies these 2 blank back versions come without the bonus of a single & poster.

The blank back cover was also used with the 12 tracks version on 4 different occasions with different matrix numbers like A7/B5, A5/B7, A7/B6 & A9/B9 (some with freebie & poster.)

To sum up the blank back story, if you got A1/B1 & A3/B3 you got one of the first exclusive 1000 copies and all the others pressings are just misprints.

11 tracks version
Because the French copy was sold in the British shops, Branson needed to react very quickly & decided not to wait for the making of the 12 tracks pressing. For this reason a lot of the 11 track version with 11 tracks listing on the back were sold in the record shops with V2086 A5/B6 and V 2086 A7/B6 matrix number without single or poster. All the records got the same sky blue label with good timing & correct credits. The productions credits are Chris Thomas & Bill Price. For all the rest see SPOT001 story. We spot 4 pressings - V2086 A3/B1, V2086 A1/B3, V2086 A2/B3 and V2086 A3/B2 (this is the version that I am selling)- with blank back misprint. Some come as SPOT001, with only freebie or just as single LP (what a mess!)

There is a funny thing to know about NMTB original inner paper sleeve: it comes from exactly the same batch as the original Spunk bootleg inner sleeve released without any cover some weeks before the official NMTB UK album. Both have the same code number ! After that no one can say Spunk was not 'made in England' !

SPOT001
11 tracks LP + Shrink-wrap + one sided free 7" + poster 25.5" X 39" + sticker
Very soon after the release date Virgin put a special version with freebie and poster on the market. This stuff is better known by the code name SPOT001 & is now very hard to find in its complete form. According to Virgin, 50,000 SPOT001 were made but others sources quote a number of around 10,000 copies because of the quickie 12 track version release. As time went by, most of the posters were lost in action because their owners didn't think they'd grow old enough to become boring record collectors (but that's another story, folks!) Although a few thousand copies came in the shops with a shrink-wrap & an orange or green sticker, most of the SPOT001 were customized for records shops where freebie & poster were given free apart from the LP to each NMTB customer by the dealer, but even then, not in every case… In Paris, for example, we know a dealer who sold the freebie & poster separately. Virgin Records sent posters and freebies to all records shops that were already selling the 11 tracks LP version with an instruction sheet notifying dealers to use it as give away for the existing NMTB stock. Some dealers didn't fold the poster properly and gave it crudely rolled. If you got a non-folded poster it doesn't mean it is a fake, like some of the copies printed in Paris in 1978.

All SPOT001 copies got the same V2086 A3/B1 matrix number except a few five legged sheep on which customers got the surprise to find 12 tracks version with V2086 A7/B7 and V2086 A9/B9 matrix numbers. This mistake made at the factory shows how quickly the 12 tracks versions were made while SPOT001 was still in the making.

Labels
The original 11 tracks pressing came with red & blue Virgin label (or sky blue) with correct timing and rightful credits. The 12 tracks came with the same label but without timing and wrong credits, like Vicious credited instead of Matlock on 'EMI'. Curiously the 11 tracks version came with 'Chris Thomas and Bill Price' production credits but the 12 tracks version lists 'Chris Thomas OR Bill Price'. In the summer of 1978 Virgin changed their logo and used green & red labels with no timing but correct credits and 'CT OR BP' production credits.