The outbreak of musical and social anarchy in the UK triggered by the arrival of the Sex Pistols in the 1970s was not merely a musical phenomenon, but a sociological and political one too. Pivotal to the group’s tumultuous impact was the graphic design work of Jamie Reid, whose artwork for the band was as thrilling and unforgettable as their music, and who has died aged 76.
Reid’s sleeve for the November 1976 single Anarchy in the UK, with its ripped Union Jack pierced by safety pins holding the band name and song title in blackmailer-style cut-up lettering, set the tone (Reid also contributed ideas to the song’s lyrics). But his most enduring coup was the sleeve for the second single, God Save the Queen (May 1977), depicting the monarch (and based on a portrait by the royal photographer Peter Grugeon) in her Silver Jubilee year, blindfolded by the song’s title, and rendered mute by having her lips sealed by the words “Sex Pistols”. The image is now in the National Portrait Gallery.
