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The Sex Pistols release "Anarchy in the UK"

26 November 1976

Just over a month after the release of The Damned's "New Rose", EMI issued the Pistols' debut single on 26 November. According to Pistols engineer Dave Goodman the song was referred to as "I'm So Pretty" by the record company, who were dubious about making it a single. A plan to bring in Syd Barrett as producer was understandably abandoned and industry vet Chris Thomas was brought in to oversee the recording. Rotten and Thomas did not hit it off; the singer complained that while there were 21 guitar overdubs he was only allowed one vocal take. However, the impact of the record was undeniable. Journalist Jon Savage wrote "It's Anarchy In the UK. Here was a group that wasn't afraid to say 'This is it. This is about the whole of the country'." The record peaked at #38 in the UK singles chart and made #27 in the NME chart and was averaging sales of between and 1,500 and 2,000 a day, but the group's association with EMI didn't last long.