Not currently on display at the V&A

Jamie Reid archive

Art Work
1977 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is the original artwork for the back cover of the album Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols, designed by Jamie Reid (b.1947). It is in its original artwork black and white, before the more obnoxious fluourescent colours were added in the printing process. The titles of the songs, collaged from newspaper headlines or xeroxed, give some clue as to the content of the songs.
Jamie Reid's cut-and-paste aesthetic developed from his interest in radical politics. His artistic style developed while at art college in Croydon, where he was influenced by the ideas of the avant-garde political group, the Situationist International. The political slant to his art was aroused by the May 1968 Paris student riots, which inspired fraternal protests organised by Reid at the Croydon College of Art. These were directed with fellow student Malcolm McLaren, who was to become the manager of the Sex Pistols. McLaren later employed Reid as Sex Pistols artistic director as he felt his "style subverted the spectacle and commodification of every day life by being bolder and more shocking".


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleJamie Reid archive (named collection)
Materials and techniques
photocopied paper and newsprint collage
Brief description
Original artwork for back cover of Sex Pistols' 'Never Mind the Bollocks' album. Newsprint and xeroxed collage on black card. Jamie Reid archive
Physical description
Black card backing, with photocopied and original newsprint words mounted on small pieces of black card, featuring the titles of most of the songs from the released version of Never Mind the Bollocks...
Dimensions
  • Height: 17cm
  • Width: 17cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • pretty vacant / no feelings / NEW YORK / SuB-Mission / SEVENTEEN / liar / ANARCHY IN THE U.K. / EMI Unlimited Edition / holidays in The Sun / problems / SATELLITE (From left to right)
  • Transliteration
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is the original artwork for the back cover of the album Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols, designed by Jamie Reid (b.1947). It is in its original artwork black and white, before the more obnoxious fluourescent colours were added in the printing process. The titles of the songs, collaged from newspaper headlines or xeroxed, give some clue as to the content of the songs.
Jamie Reid's cut-and-paste aesthetic developed from his interest in radical politics. His artistic style developed while at art college in Croydon, where he was influenced by the ideas of the avant-garde political group, the Situationist International. The political slant to his art was aroused by the May 1968 Paris student riots, which inspired fraternal protests organised by Reid at the Croydon College of Art. These were directed with fellow student Malcolm McLaren, who was to become the manager of the Sex Pistols. McLaren later employed Reid as Sex Pistols artistic director as he felt his "style subverted the spectacle and commodification of every day life by being bolder and more shocking".
Collection
Accession number
S.861-1990

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Record createdMarch 31, 2009
Record URL
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