This is the original artwork for the single Silly Thing designed by Jamie Reid, to promote the Sex Pistols film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. Released after Lydon had left the band and Vicious had died of a heroin overdose, the lead was sung by Paul Cook, former drummer, but still released under the Sex Pistols name. It was released as a double A-side with the song Who Killed Bambi?, sung by Ten Pole Tudor, the singer of whom was being groomed to become the new of the band.
Reid's design for this sleeve relates to the pop style of the main song, and was also the design for a product from the ...Swindle film. The Bambi illustration was a punk version of Disney's famous animated character, with the title of the song written in the recognisable Disney-style handwriting.
This record sleeve shows a move away from Reid's (b. 1947) cut-and-paste aesthetic. It still uses elements of the style and politics he developed while at art college in Croydon, but shows a move towards more illustrative practice. 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 (1946-2010), later to become the manager of the Sex Pistols.