The Ex Pistols were an English

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England formed in 1979 by former

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

producer Dave Goodman. Goodman put the group together after his services were substituted for those of other producers on the Sex Pistols album ''

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'' (often shortened to ''Never Mind the Bollocks'') is the only studio album by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols, released on 28 October 1977 through Virgin Records in the UK and on 11 Novem ...

''. The Ex Pistols existed as a sound-alike band meant to mislead fans due to the similar music, name, and artwork, until 1992 when the Sex Pistols successfully sued Dave Goodman and he was no longer allowed to use the name.

Music

The first Ex Pistols release "Land of Hope and Glory" was a

version of the old English classic " Land of Hope and Glory" by

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

. Not only did it confuse fans but it also caused legal trouble between Dave Goodman and the publisher of the original piece,

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British Music publisher (sheet music), music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass instrument, brass, string instru ...

. The next recordings would appear on numerous

compilation albums including the songs "Schools Are Prisons" and " Revolution in the Classroom". The band re-appeared in 1988 with an album released in Japan, '' The Swindle Continues''. The album was made up of the band performing Ex and Sex Pistols tracks. It came in the form of a double picture disc collectable LP, and was also released in plain vinyl form (and later, CD). In 1992 their tracks surfaced again on a limited promo album, '' Deny''. The album consisted entirely of original Ex Pistols tracks, and was never merchandised but instead given to fans of the Sex Pistols or left in Virgin stores with a "Free" sticker. A short while before he died, Dave Goodman released an album, ''Denial of a Good Man'' via his website, featuring remixed versions of some songs from the '' Deny'' LP, a video to the song "Don't Fear", and a version of " Anarchy in the UK" by the

with rewritten lyrics, named "Wedding Day".

Sex Pistols lawsuit

While

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only offic ...

played on two songs from the ''Deny'' LP and co-wrote "Happy Families",

John Lydon John Joseph Lydon ( ; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British-born singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was ...

was not so forthcoming. After winning the rights to the Sex Pistols music and documentation from

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

and Glitterbest, he was outraged by Dave Goodman using the band's name and image to promote what Lydon called "inferior recordings" to cash in on their name and tarnish the Sex Pistols' reputation, and for using their photographs and likenesses on the Ex Pistols' records without permission. This includes the "Land of Hope and Glory" 7" single (which has the Sex Pistols' figures on the disk, albeit with their faces crossed out), the "Revolution In The Classroom" single and '' The Swindle Continues''. The image on the sleeve of the ''Deny'' LP is not actually Johnny, rather Ex Pistols associate Tony Barber (of the

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...

), who resembles John Lydon. After a lawsuit ensued, Dave Goodman was banned from producing any more records made to look or sound like Sex Pistols recordings. The Ex Pistols next album, ''Denial Of A Good Man'', was put on indefinite hold and the band changed their name to Dave Goodman & Friends. After that they re-released one more single entitled "Justifiable Homicide" (originally released in August 1978 and made commercially available and available for download on Dave Goodman's website) and recorded and released a music video for "Don't Fear", segments of which were featured on the ''Chaos! The Ex Pistols' Secret History'' DVD. All the manufactured ''Denial Of A Good Man'' CDs were sold through Dave's website. Dave Goodman and Kim Thraves owned a rehearsal studio with 4-track recording facilities where the Sex Pistols recorded some early demos. Goodman owned a PA system and became the Sex Pistols regular live sound engineer until 1977. Goodman produced the recordings that formed the '' Spunk'' album. Goodman's collection of very poor live sound recordings of the Sex Pistols have been released as ''Live Worldwide'' (Konexion Records, Belgium) and other titles. Some of these titles contain live Sex Pistols recordings interspersed with recordings of the Ex Pistols making it appear that these tracks were performed by the Sex Pistols.

Band members

Pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s used on the releases were *Rotten Johnny (parody of

Johnny Rotten John Joseph Lydon ( ; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British-born singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was ...

) *Pull Cock (parody of Paul Cook) *Steal Jones (parody of Steve Jones) *Posh Pen Bollocks (parody of

) Actual musicians were *Dave Slave - vocals *Alan Lee - guitar, vocals *Dave Goodman - bass guitar, vocals * Bryson Graham - drums *Del Bartle - guitar *Andy Boreman - drums *Dave MacIntosh - drums *Kevin Murphy - drums *Dave Rose - keyboards

Discography

"Land of Hope and Glory" reached No. 2 on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

References

External links

"Not the Sex Pistols" - a site documenting Ex Pistols and Dave Goodman activity

* {{Authority control English punk rock groups Punk rock groups from London Musical groups established in 1979 Tribute bands Sex Pistols