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Historic original handwritten lyrics by John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, for the songs ‘Holidays in the Sun’ and ‘Submission,’ both of which were included on the Sex Pistols’ legendary full-length debut album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, which was released in the UK on October 28, 1977. The unsigned working lyrics are penned in black and green ballpoint on both sides of an 8 x 13 sheet, with the front featuring early complete lyrics for “Holiday in the Sun,” the title of which Lydon has added above. The lyrics read, in part (grammar and spelling retained): “I dont want a holiday in the sun / I wanna go to the new Belsen / I wanna see some history / cos I got a reasonable economy / Now I got a reason / In sensurround sound in a two inch wall / I was waiting for the comunist call / didnt ask for sunshine and I got World War three / I looked over the wall and they looked at me / Now I got a reason “ / and Im still waiting / at the Berlin Wall.” Lydon has added the first line pencil: “A cheap holiday in other peoples misery.”
The reverse side features green ballpoint lyrics for the song ‘Submission,’ to which Lydon has not added the title. They read: “Im on a submarine mission for you babe / Feel the way you were going / I picked you up on my T.V. screen / I can feel your undercurrent flowing / Submission / down / I cant tell you what I found / You got me pretty deep babe / Cant figure out your watery love / I gota solve your mystery babe / while your sitting it out in heaven above.” Includes a custom presentation folder. In fine condition, with three folds and general light handling wear. These lyrics were exhibited in Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame between 1996-2000, in addition to showings at London’s Hospital Exhibition in 2004, and the Urbis ‘PUNK: Sex, Seditionaries & the Sex Pistols’ exhibition in Manchester in 2005.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks, a full letter of authenticity from REAL, and a signed letter of provenance from acclaimed Sex Pistols and Punk historian and music journalist Jon Savage, from whose personal collection these lyrics derive. Savage affirms that the lyrics were “collected during the research of ‘England's Dreaming,’ now regarded as the classic book on Punk Rock and that period (1975-79) in British social and political life. It is the original of the photocopy illustrated on p. 103 of ‘Satellite’ by Paul Burgess and Alan Parker. It was most likely written when the Sex Pistols signed a publishing deal with Warner Brothers in autumn 1977 and is an original from the collection of Jamie Reid that came into my possession during 1980. Since 1996, this item has been on loan to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, where it has been prominently displayed in the Museum's Punk exhibit and has been seen by thousands of visitors.”
These two songs first appeared on the band’s iconic debut album release, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols in 1977. The song, ‘Holidays in the Sun,’ was not written until after March 1977. It was then recorded on June 18th with the song quickly making its debut during the live sets on the Sex Pistols’ Scandinavian tour in July. It was later released as a single on October 14th.
The slight variation in lyrical content between the current text and the recorded song indicates that this manuscript almost certainly dates before the song was to be recorded on June 18, 1977. The use of capital lettering further suggests that these lyrics were written by Lydon for easy legibility in rehearsal, likely during early recording sessions at Wessex Sound Studios in Highbury New Park in London, England.
As referenced on pg. 101 in Paul Stolper and Andrew Wilson’s 2004 book No Future: Sex, Seditionaries, and the Sex Pistols, ‘Holidays in the Sun,’ the first significant song written after [bassist Glen] Matlock's departure, was Lydon’s response to the band's trip out of the UK in March 1977 to escape the media furor that followed the A&M debacle. They attempted a ‘holiday in the sun’ in Jersey, but were expelled from the island after 24 hours, and travelled on to Berlin, which was of course then divided into two ideologically opposed cities by the Berlin Wall. Rotten recalled his response to the city: ‘I loved the wall and the insanity of the place. Twenty-four hours of chaotic fun. It was a fairground with only one airport and one motorway leading into it - surrounded by downtrodden, dull, grey, military-minded bastards who lived thoroughly miserable lives. They looked in on the circus atmosphere of West Berlin - which never went to sleep - and that would be their impression of the West. I loved it. I had this feeling of Berlin being this wall all around me. It was a ridiculously small wall, and the whole thing seemed absolutely absurd.’
Due to the management shenanigans against the record company, Never Mind the Bollocks got its first album release in France via Barclay Records, shortly before it was due to be released in the UK by Virgin. To help counteract the French import, it was decided to bring forward the UK release by one week to October 28, 1977. The band also insisted that the song, ‘Submission,’ a backhanded piss-take of the management, be added to the album as a 12th track. An estimated 50,000 copies of ‘NMTB’ had already been pressed without ‘Submission’ so it was decided to insert the track as a free 7-inch single with a fold-out Never Mind The Bollocks, Here Comes The Sex Pistols collage poster.
As quoted on page 238 in Lydon’s 1994 autobiography Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs: ‘If ‘Holidays in the Sun’ shows Rotten at his most politically sensitive, 'Submission' was a joke at the expense of the band's manager, who had been angling for a song that would help sales of [Vivienne] Westwood's bondage clothing. It is a slightly earlier song, co-written by Rotten and Matlock in a Camden Town pub in a moment of rare amiability: 'Malcolm gave us his list of words and ideas. It was so funny. One of the words was 'submissive.' We turned it into 'Submission' – a submarine mission. Glen and I enjoyed the humour of it all. I don’t think Malcolm did.’’
Upon the album’s release, more controversy surrounded the band when police took exception to its title being displayed in a shop window and the Sex Pistols were charged with the Indecent Advertising Act of 1889. ‘Bollocks’ is a slang term for testicles, however, the Pistols’ lawyer proved that it was actually derived from a nickname for clergymen. The band were ‘reluctantly’ found not guilty. Never Mind The Bollocks would be the only studio album released by the controversial Sex Pistols before the band disintegrated following their doomed U.S. tour in 1978. Shortly thereafter, on February 2, 1979, Sid Vicious would die tragically of a drug overdose. Though short-lived, the generational impact and influence of the Sex Pistols on music, fashion and popular culture cannot be overstated. As millions of music fans first listened to the provocative opening track, ‘Holidays In The Sun,’ they were greeted by the sound of jackboots and Johnny Rotten sneering, ‘A cheap holiday in other people’s misery!’
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