God Save The Sex Pistols

SPUNK

A guide to Spunk
Sleeve notes included with the vinyl album re-release July 2006
Written by Phil Singleton

Vocals: Johnny Rotten. Guitar: Steve Jones. Bass: Glen Matlock. Drums: Paul Cook

Side One.
Seventeen, Satellite, No Feelings, I Wanna Be Me, and Submission were all recorded during the Sex Pistols' second studio session, which took place 13th to 30th July 1976. Produced by Dave Goodman, the recordings took place at Denmark Street and Riverside Studios, and were mixed at Decibel Studios (The Pistols' first recording session took place in May '76 with Chris Spedding producing three songs).

Anarchy In The U.K is taken from the band's next trip into the studio with Dave Goodman, on 10th October' 76, at Lansdowne Studios. A reworked version of this recording later turned up on The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle soundtrack LP. Interestingly, an earlier version of Anarchy recorded during the Goodman July sessions was not included.

Side Two
No Future, Problems, Pretty Vacant, Liar, E.M.I, and New York were recorded during the final Goodman produced sessions which took place 17th to 20th, 24th, 26th & 28th January 1977 at Gooseberry Studios / Eden Studios.

The Sanctuary 2006 CD re-issue also includes Anarchy In The UK (July '76), Pretty Vacant (July '76), and No Fun (unedited version October '76), all produced by Dave Goodman. These tracks were later added to Spunk to become the bootleg LP, No Future UK?

Additional notes.

The origins of Spunk have always been shrouded in mystery. Even in the week prior to his death in February 2005, Dave Goodman denied he was involved.

The album surfaced before Never Mind The Bollocks, just beating it onto the market place.

The first mention of Spunk in the press came in the October 22nd issue of Sounds, which carried a review of the LP.

Spunk's original catalogue number was Blank BLA 169, (although it would later appear as BLA 669 in the US, and also on the label The Amazing Kornyfone TAKRL 929, another US pressing).

The label stated: "Published by White Bitch. Produced by P. Dickerson."

The importance of Spunk cannot be overstated; it is the only true album of the Pistols as a working four piece. Glen Matlock had, in fact, already played what would turn out to be his last show with the band on 7th January, ten days before the January '77 recordings began. Glen departed the group the following month. Although the band would go on to record one of the greatest rock albums ever, thanks largely to Steve Jones' incredible guitar work and Chris Thomas' dynamic production, musically the band became a three piece due to Sid Vicious' ineptitude as a musician.

Spunk catches the Sex Pistols as a band in its creative ascendancy, relatively unaffected by the label "punk" and the trappings of chaos, which embalmed them during 1977. Dave Goodman, the Pistols' soundman, although not the greatest producer, was in the right place at the right time and, importantly, understood the band's strengths. Perhaps his weakness was, while the Sex Pistols evolved at a rapid pace, Dave's approach did not.

This was reflected in his attempts to record Anarchy In The UK in October '76 which was recalled by Paul Cook in an interview with www.cookandjones.co.uk : "He was important in the early days doing our sound at all those early gigs, he was our sound guy. But it didn't work out when we tried to record Anarchy with him. We ended up down with Chris Thomas and that was the last we really heard of him. Dave did all our early demos and the Spunk album, he was part of the team early on. When we originally tried to record Anarchy In The UK with Dave, we must have done it a hundred times! We kept going through it, and it just wasn't working. Then we done it with Chris Thomas, and we'd done it in about two takes I think!"

Nevertheless, Spunk, the album dubbed "the alternative debut", harnesses the Sex Pistols energy in all its erratic glory, as they make their leap from the unknown into the public consciousness, changing all before them.

Written by Phil Singleton