Jamie Reid archive
Record Cover
1977 (designed)
1977 (designed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
C'mon Everybody was the forth single released in order to promote the Sex Pistols movie, The Great Rock n Roll Swindle in 1979, and was released months after bassist Sid Vicious's death and the break-up of the band. Vicious had ostensibly become the front man of the outfit, after Johnny Rotten, the previous singer, had split the band up in January 1978. McLaren, the band's manager, wanted to carry on with Vicious as singer. Vicious recorded two covers of songs by 1950s rock 'n' roll star Eddie Cochran, one of which was this single, C'mon Everybody. Following this Vicious would have nothing more to do with McLaren. The b-side of the record, GSTQ, was an orchestral version of the Pistols' God Save the Queen.
The front cover design references a quote by Situationist Raoul Vaneigem:
"People who talk about revolution and class struggle without referring explicitly to everyday life, without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constraints, such people have a corpse in their mouth".
With Vicious having died of a heroin overdose, months before, Reid was suggesting he was a corpse in the mouth of the media.
The photographic image on the back is a still from the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, in which an effigy of the band is being burnt. Reid wasn't happy with the film, and the text alongside was written with McLaren to try and explain their intentions in the work they did with the Pistols, a eulogy to what they saw at the time as a failed project.
This cover showcases 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 would later become the manager of the Sex Pistols.
The front cover design references a quote by Situationist Raoul Vaneigem:
"People who talk about revolution and class struggle without referring explicitly to everyday life, without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constraints, such people have a corpse in their mouth".
With Vicious having died of a heroin overdose, months before, Reid was suggesting he was a corpse in the mouth of the media.
The photographic image on the back is a still from the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, in which an effigy of the band is being burnt. Reid wasn't happy with the film, and the text alongside was written with McLaren to try and explain their intentions in the work they did with the Pistols, a eulogy to what they saw at the time as a failed project.
This cover showcases 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 would later become the manager of the Sex Pistols.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Jamie Reid archive (named collection) |
Materials and techniques | Printed card with semi-gloss finish |
Brief description | Record sleeve for Sex Pistols' single C'Mon Everybody. |
Physical description | Cardboard record sleeve with illustration on front, and photograph and collage on back. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions |
|
Subjects depicted | |
Literary reference | The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle by Julien Temple |
Summary | C'mon Everybody was the forth single released in order to promote the Sex Pistols movie, The Great Rock n Roll Swindle in 1979, and was released months after bassist Sid Vicious's death and the break-up of the band. Vicious had ostensibly become the front man of the outfit, after Johnny Rotten, the previous singer, had split the band up in January 1978. McLaren, the band's manager, wanted to carry on with Vicious as singer. Vicious recorded two covers of songs by 1950s rock 'n' roll star Eddie Cochran, one of which was this single, C'mon Everybody. Following this Vicious would have nothing more to do with McLaren. The b-side of the record, GSTQ, was an orchestral version of the Pistols' God Save the Queen. The front cover design references a quote by Situationist Raoul Vaneigem: "People who talk about revolution and class struggle without referring explicitly to everyday life, without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constraints, such people have a corpse in their mouth". With Vicious having died of a heroin overdose, months before, Reid was suggesting he was a corpse in the mouth of the media. The photographic image on the back is a still from the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, in which an effigy of the band is being burnt. Reid wasn't happy with the film, and the text alongside was written with McLaren to try and explain their intentions in the work they did with the Pistols, a eulogy to what they saw at the time as a failed project. This cover showcases 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 would later become the manager of the Sex Pistols. |
Associated object | S.855-1990 (Design) |
Collection | |
Accession number | S.886-1990 |
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Record created | May 18, 2009 |
Record URL |
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