Jamie Reid and the Sex Pistols

I have started my research by looking at some of what I already know, which will hopefully lead on to finding inspiration from related sources.

Arguably, the most well-known punk band are the Sex Pistols. (which will inevitably be mentioned more throughout this blog, so I'll keep it short)

In 1976, manager Malcolm Mclaren contacted artist Jamie Reid to work on creating an image for the band. Reid being an activist himself took inspiration from a group of revolutionaries known as the Situationists. I am looking into this movement further but basically their cultural ideas, particularly in relation to detournement, encouraged the development of punk.





One way in which Reid defined the punk rock image was by mimicking the style of a ransom note, by using cut-up pieces of newspaper. This gives the impression that the text is anonymous but is also quite literally ripping into the British press to form a rough edge.

Album Artwork for their only studio album

Early design for the single, with controversial image manipulation  

Promotion for single

God Save The Queen
Single Artwork

The single was purposely released during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977, separating the fans from the rest of the public. The final design Reid settled on (above) was made to make the Queen look like a criminal or a blackmail victim by placing the ironic title and band name over the eyes and mouth, which suggests removing the Queen's freedom to speech, etc.

More of Jamie Reid's work for the Sex Pistols following a similar notion

http://www.jamiereid.org/archive/sex_pistols/