May 27, 1977 –
After the pressing plant initially refuses to duplicate the record and the printer refuses to make the covers, Virgin finally releases God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols in time for the monarch’s Jubilee celebration on this date.
Popular belief is that this song was “banned” by the BBC and most other broadcasting outlets. In truth, the BBC didn’t ban records, but made programing decisions based on its standards and enforced certain rules, like barring product mentions. The BBC’s Radio 1 did exclude the song from their playlist, and some major retailers (including Woolworth’s and WH Smith) refused to stock it, but by labeling it taboo the song became even more marketable, and it sold an amazing 150,000 copied the first week it was released.
The Haus of Dcaligari 