GOD
SAVE THE QUEEN A&M
The God Save The Sex Pistols'
counterfeit/bootleg guide
Technically,
these releases should be classed as counterfeit (or pirate) records, not bootlegs. ALL
WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FAKE A&M SINGLE... the first counterfeit Sex Pistols
single. God
Save The Queen A&M counterfeit Timeline
Version
one. February / March 2003.
Available
only in black, some with number rubber stamped in red on the B-side with poor
A&M colour reproduction (the black is reddish). The B-side is the wrong version
of No Feeling(s) from NMTB. Notes:
The story began around February / March 2003 with, we believe, two short runs
of 200 copies that surfaced in Europe & Japan. The original pressings were
released in a clear plastic bag with a xerox b&w insert folded around the
single. The B-side is rubber stamped in red with "Limited Re-Issue of 200"
with a 3 digits number rubber stamped in black. The copy is very rough and has
numerous mistakes. Some dealers claimed the record was pressed in Japan, however
it is a European product. The
pictures explain the reasoning why it is likely there were two first 200
copies. Notice 73 has only a 2 digits number in place of 3 digits. Note also the
difference between the 001 (above) with horizontal stamps & all the other
copies with vertical stamping (i.e. 044 pictured left). No doubt that there were
two different black stamps used: horizontal stamp - 3 serrated rollers; vertical
stamp - up to 3 (maybe with year or month on the right - note dots on the right).
Number
73 (pictured right) is interesting because it shows 2 faint black dots on the
right of the number but not at the same level as the 3 digits on 044, etc. The
number is also displayed as two digits, not three. (i.e 73, rather than 073)
New
copies then quickly appeared for sale on the internet. These had A&M company
sleeves but the rubber stamped B-side was still there. Some weeks later better
copies with company sleeves flooded the market. According to private sources the
amount of copies pressed is around 500 for this first run. | | The
God Save The Sex Pistols'
counterfeit/bootleg guide. | Version
two. June 2003. Available
in black, white, light blue, clear red, pink, yellow, brown marbled, & blue
white marbled colour. Also contains the wrong version of No Feeling. Notes:
In June 2003 the first coloured A&M copies surfaced with a pink and a yellow
vinyl version, each pressed at 125 copies. Very quickly different versions surfaced
every week: -
Set of 6 A&M 7' appeared for sale for £300 with black, yellow, pink,
clear red, light solid blue & white vinyl. - Set of 3 X 7' named 'Jubilee'
with a clear red, light blue & white vinyl. All singles came with the same
company sleeve & the number of sets was only 25. - 6 brown white label
test-pressings were auctionned on Ebay at the end of June 2003. In
July & August 2003, the rubber stamped version (see Version one) with
xerox b&w artwork surfaced again for a few weeks. Note that all these copies
have the NMTB version of No Feelings in place of the original Dave Goodman recording.
| | The
God Save The Sex Pistols'
counterfeit/bootleg guide. |  Version
three. December 2003. Pressing with the correct B-side.
The
only fake A&M 7' with the correct B-side (Spunk version) is the one available
with darker A&M labels, initially pressed in clear red & clear blue vinyl
with a company sleeve, which surfaced in December 2003. Some
weeks later a clear purple version appeared. The blue & red versions are rumoured
to be pressed in around 200 copies each, but the purple is supposed to be around
100. Notes: Even
with these pressings, the sound on No Feeling is different to the genuine A&M
pressing because the mastering is not the same as the original. The original version
sounds more powerful than the fake one. Even the single released by Chaos Records
in 1984, which claimed to have the correct No Feeling, is different because Dave
Goodman yet again altered the mix. | | The
God Save The Sex Pistols'
counterfeit/bootleg guide. | Version
four. 'Britannia edition' set. April 2005.
The
first edition of the 'Britannia edition' set surfaced at the end of April 2005.
It came packaged with a one sided picture cover in a plastic wallet closed with
a safety pin sticker, and another another sticker on the back. Short run of 50
copies. (Left:
close-up of sticker on back) There
are three singles per set. Two come with A&M labels and one is a 'white label
test pressing'. The B-side is, again, the NMTB's version of No Feeling(s).
The
vinyl colours are pink and yellow for the singles with the A&M label. Different
colours are available for the 'white label test pressing', some in white, some
in yellow, some in light brown, and even "a mystery colour" (possibly
blue / white marbled). It is believed to be pressed in Sweden. (Right:
white label test pressing: white vinyl) In
June 2005 Britannia appeared on the market with different colours in the
set, e.g. orange in place of the pink copy. | | The
God Save The Sex Pistols'
counterfeit/bootleg guide. | Version
five. May 2005. Two
new colours available in very short runs: -
a blue marbled vinyl with A&M labels and company sleeve. - a brown marbled
vinyl with A&M labels and company sleeve. | | The
God Save The Sex Pistols'
counterfeit/bootleg guide. | Version
six. 'British Bulldog' set. September 2005.
British Bulldog is a set containing one A&M GSTQ (with the incorrect No
Feelings B-side) plus one custom DVD-R, titled Satellite - a Video Anthology.
The
set comes packaged in a custom wraparound sleeve, with 3 promo stickers, and a
7 x 7 inch royal blue & white insert in a protective clear plastic bag. Five
different vinyl colors available: solid yellow, solid pink, solid brown, solid
white & clear red. The brown set is a white label test pressing.
Supposed
to be only 50 sets, each numbered by hand. (pictured above) British
Bulldog is made in the UK. Notes:
Satellite - a Video Anthology DVD includes: Janet Street Porter interviews,
Pistols live in Sweden, Phoenix Festival 1996, Top Of The Pops live 1996, promo
videos, Anarchy in the UK 92, Anarchy '76. | | The
God Save The Sex Pistols'
counterfeit/bootleg guide. |
Additional colour vinyl pressings. April 2007. (added to guide May 07)
|
|
Clear green vinyl |
Clear lilac vinyl |
|
|
Additional guide
notes. Some of the fake A&M singles are not being sold with the fake A&M
company sleeve, but with a solid black sleeve. The paper used is the same as the
fake A&M company sleeves.
The
total amount of fake copies is around several thousand. This record is therefore
not what we call rare! Please
note: This feature is NOT definitive, and has been compiled from information submitted
to God Save The Sex Pistols by collectors. Errors and omissions that may
have occurred will make it obvious if an attempt is made to copy the above piece
of work, including publishing (or part publishing) elsewhere and claiming authorship.
You have been warned. Return
to Counterfeit Index |
Written
by Géant-Vert
Compiled
by Géant-Vert and Phil Singleton. Images provided
by Gus Nicholson & Géant-Vert.
Please
e-mail any additions and/or corrections. We
do not trade in bootlegs or anything else for that matter.
God
Save The Sex Pistols ©2006 - 2007 Phil
Singleton / www.sex-pistols.net. All rights reserved.
This
feature is copyright to God Save The Sex Pistols and the author and may
not be reproduced without written permission.
Please note: It
is illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell bootleg or counterfeit recordings.
Bootleg vinyl pictured here is hereby merely documented. In no way are/were the
administration team of this website involved in the manufacture, distribution
or sale of these recordings. Bootlegs are illegal. Pressing
and selling them is illegal. |