Flogging a Dead Horse
Encyclopedia
Flogging a Dead Horse is a compilation album of singles by the Sex Pistols
, released after their break-up, and includes the four songs that were issued as singles A-sides from Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
with three of their B-sides, as well as the six A-sides that were issued off The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
and one B-side, "My Way".
By the time the record was released, the group was finished as a musical unit; The Sex Pistols consisted only of manager Malcolm McLaren
and designer Jamie Reid
. Their relationship with Virgin records was difficult, and Reid's tacky sleeve design was intended to warn people against another cash-in; it was largely interpreted as a hip joke, and seems to have hurt sales very little.
Reid's first sleeve design consisted of the title hastily scrawled across his designs for the Never Mind the Bollocks
(front cover) and The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
albums (back cover). It was printed, and copies exist, but was rejected by Virgin and never made it to record stores. For its replacement, Reid used a photo of a model from the cheapest agency he could find, along with dull letraset
lettering, making the record look like a cheap easy listening album. The back cover featured a fake plastic dog turd on top of a gold disc of the 'Never Mind The Bollocks-Here's the Sex Pistols' LP, a reference to a scene in the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle in which Steve Jones
defecates on the gold disc awarded to Johnny Rotten
for Never Mind The Bollocks. The album was released without the band's involvement or permission.
The title has several ironic meanings: the idiomatic one of the saying "Flogging a Dead Horse" reflecting the fact that the Pistols' endeavours were now finished, futile and pointless; and the British slang use of 'flogging' to mean 'selling' - i.e. the Pistols' management, in true punk style, were overtly referencing that they were trying to get as much money for as little effort as possible from the album's sales.
Tracks 1 through 7 plus 13 are sung by Johnny "Rotten" Lydon, 8 features train robber Ronnie Biggs
, 9, 10 and 12 are sung by Sid Vicious
and are his complete studio recordings (not counting his brief solo stint), 11 is sung by drummer Paul Cook (although the version that was released as a single in the UK was sung by Steve Jones), and 14 is sung by several hopefuls auditioning to be the Sex Pistols' new lead singer - the winner was Edward Tudor-Pole
. The album sleeve features no individual credits.
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, released after their break-up, and includes the four songs that were issued as singles A-sides from Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols is the only studio album by the highly influential and controversial English punk rock band The Sex Pistols...
with three of their B-sides, as well as the six A-sides that were issued off The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is a mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas about the British punk rock band Sex Pistols....
and one B-side, "My Way".
By the time the record was released, the group was finished as a musical unit; The Sex Pistols consisted only of manager Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
and designer Jamie Reid
Jamie Reid
Jamie Reid is a British artist and anarchist with connections to the Situationists. His work, featuring letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of a ransom note, came close to defining the image of punk rock, particularly in the UK...
. Their relationship with Virgin records was difficult, and Reid's tacky sleeve design was intended to warn people against another cash-in; it was largely interpreted as a hip joke, and seems to have hurt sales very little.
Reid's first sleeve design consisted of the title hastily scrawled across his designs for the Never Mind the Bollocks
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols is the only studio album by the highly influential and controversial English punk rock band The Sex Pistols...
(front cover) and The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (album)
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is the soundtrack album of the film of the same name. Although released under Sex Pistols' name, it includes performances by other artists.- Production :...
albums (back cover). It was printed, and copies exist, but was rejected by Virgin and never made it to record stores. For its replacement, Reid used a photo of a model from the cheapest agency he could find, along with dull letraset
Letraset
Letraset is a company based in the Kingsnorth Industrial Estate in Ashford, Kent, UK.It is known mainly for manufacturing sheets of artwork elements which can be transferred to artwork being prepared. The name Letraset was often used to refer generically to sheets of dry transferrable lettering of...
lettering, making the record look like a cheap easy listening album. The back cover featured a fake plastic dog turd on top of a gold disc of the 'Never Mind The Bollocks-Here's the Sex Pistols' LP, a reference to a scene in the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle in which Steve Jones
Steve Jones (musician)
Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
defecates on the gold disc awarded to Johnny Rotten
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
for Never Mind The Bollocks. The album was released without the band's involvement or permission.
The title has several ironic meanings: the idiomatic one of the saying "Flogging a Dead Horse" reflecting the fact that the Pistols' endeavours were now finished, futile and pointless; and the British slang use of 'flogging' to mean 'selling' - i.e. the Pistols' management, in true punk style, were overtly referencing that they were trying to get as much money for as little effort as possible from the album's sales.
Track listing
- "Anarchy in the U.K.Anarchy in the U.K."Anarchy in the U.K." was covered by American thrash metal band Megadeth for their third album So Far, So Good... So What!, released in 1988.Notoriously, the song has incorrect lyrics...
" (Johnny RottenJohn LydonJohn Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
, Steve JonesSteve Jones (musician)Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
, Glen MatlockGlen MatlockGlen Matlock is an English bass guitarist most famous for being in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Drummer Paul Cook has said that Matlock came up with much of the music for the band's songs and most of the lyrics, while lead singer Johnny Rotten made some adjustments...
, Paul CookPaul CookPaul Thomas Cook is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band Sex Pistols.-Early life and career:...
) – 3:33 - "I Wanna Be Me" (Rotten, Jones, Matlock, Cook) – 3:06
- "God Save the QueenGod Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song)"God Save the Queen" is a song by the English punk rock band The Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's second single and was featured on their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. The song was released during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977...
" (Rotten, Jones, Matlock, Cook) – 3:21 - "Did You No Wrong" (Rotten, Jones, Matlock, Cook, Wally NightingaleWally NightingaleWally Nightingale, born Warwick Alan Nightingale in West Kensington, was an English musician. He was best known as the guitarist and founder of the band that eventually became the Sex Pistols. According to guitarist Steve Jones, Nightingale left the band in 1975 after Malcolm McLaren agreed to...
) – 3:14 - "Pretty VacantPretty Vacant"Pretty Vacant" is a song by the English punk rock band The Sex Pistols. It was released on 1 July 1977 as the third single from their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. The song marked the band's only appearance on the British music show Top of the Pops...
" (Rotten, Jones, Matlock, Cook) – 3:18 - "No Fun" (Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, Ron AshetonRon AshetonRonald Frank Asheton was an American guitarist and co-songwriter with Iggy Pop for the rock band The Stooges.Asheton is ranked as number 29 on Rolling Stones list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time....
, Scott AshetonScott AshetonScott "Rock Action" Asheton is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band The Stooges...
, David AlexanderDavid AlexanderDavid Alexander may refer to:*David Lindo Alexander , British lawyer and Jewish community leader*David M. Alexander , American writer*David W...
) – 6:26 - "Holidays in the SunHolidays in the Sun"Holidays in the Sun" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released on 14 October 1977 as the fourth and final single from their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. A number eight chart hit in the UK, the single proved to be the last with singer...
" (Rotten, Jones, Sid ViciousSid ViciousSid Vicious was an English musician best known as the bassist of the influential punk rock group Sex Pistols...
, Cook) – 3:21 - "No One Is InnocentNo One Is Innocent"No One Is Innocent" was the fifth single by the British punk rock band Sex Pistols. It was released on 30 June 1978. The Sex Pistols had split up early in 1978, losing bassist Sid Vicious and original lead vocalist Johnny Rotten...
" (Jones, Cook, Ronnie BiggsRonnie BiggsRonald Arthur "Ronnie" Biggs is an English criminal, known for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, for his escape from prison in 1965, for living as a fugitive for 36 years and for his various publicity stunts while in exile. In 2001, he voluntarily returned to the United Kingdom and...
) – 3:03 - "My WayMy Way (song)"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
" (Paul AnkaPaul AnkaPaul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
, Claude FrançoisClaude FrançoisClaude François was a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer. He wrote "Comme d'habitude," the original version of "My Way."-Early life:...
, Jacques RevauxJacques RevauxJacques Revaux is a French songwriter most famous for his 1968 collaboration with singer Claude François on the song "Comme d'habitude" that singer-songwriter Paul Anka reworked into the English language as "My Way". He co-founded Trema Records with Regis Talar...
) – 4:05 - "Something Else" (Eddie CochranEddie CochranEddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
, Sharon SheeleySharon SheeleySharon Sheeley was an American songwriter, born in California, who wrote songs for Glen Campbell, Ricky Nelson, Brenda Lee, and Sheeley's former fiancé, Eddie Cochran.-Life:...
) – 2:12 - "Silly Thing" (Jones, Cook) – 2:53
- "C'mon Everybody" (Cochran, Jerry CapehartJerry CapehartJerry Capehart was a songwriter and music manager. Capehart co-wrote the famous rock 'n' roll songs "Summertime Blues" and "C'mon Everybody" with Eddie Cochran, whom he also managed. He died in Nashville, Tennessee....
) – 1:57 - "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" Steppin' Stone" is a rock song by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. It was first recorded by Paul Revere & the Raiders and appeared on their 1966 album Midnight Ride....
" (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart) – 3:09 - "Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle" (Jones, Cook, Julien TempleJulien TempleJulien Temple is an English film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners and a documentary film about Glastonbury.-Temple...
) – 4:24
Tracks 1 through 7 plus 13 are sung by Johnny "Rotten" Lydon, 8 features train robber Ronnie Biggs
Ronnie Biggs
Ronald Arthur "Ronnie" Biggs is an English criminal, known for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, for his escape from prison in 1965, for living as a fugitive for 36 years and for his various publicity stunts while in exile. In 2001, he voluntarily returned to the United Kingdom and...
, 9, 10 and 12 are sung by Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious was an English musician best known as the bassist of the influential punk rock group Sex Pistols...
and are his complete studio recordings (not counting his brief solo stint), 11 is sung by drummer Paul Cook (although the version that was released as a single in the UK was sung by Steve Jones), and 14 is sung by several hopefuls auditioning to be the Sex Pistols' new lead singer - the winner was Edward Tudor-Pole
Edward Tudor-Pole
Edward Tudor-Pole is an English musician, singer , TV presenter and actor.- Musical career :Tudor-Pole formed the band Tenpole Tudor in 1974, and eventually came to prominence after appearing in the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle as a possible replacement for Johnny Rotten in the Sex Pistols...
. The album sleeve features no individual credits.