“God Save the Queen” is a song by the English punk rock band Sex Pistols. It was released as the band’s second single and was featured on their only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. The song was released during Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee in 1977. The record’s lyrics, as well as the cover, were controversial at the time, and both the BBC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority refused to play the song.
The song reached number one on the NME charts in the United Kingdom, but only made it to #2 on the official UK Singles Chart as used by the BBC. This led to accusations by some that the charts had been “fixed” to prevent the song from reaching number one. In March 2001, the BBC wrote that the single “reached number one in the UK in 1977 despite being banned by the BBC”
The record cover, depicting a defaced picture of Queen Elizabeth II, was designed by Jamie Reid and in 2001 was named number 1 in a list of 100 greatest record covers of all time by Q Magazine.