Here We Go!
Sex Pistols collection time!
This time it’s…
Pretty Vacant (VJCP-20005) —
a Japan-only CD combining the contents of the two UK 1992 CD singles, VSCDG 1448 and VSCDT 1448, on a single disc.
▼ Related article
🧷 Basic Specs
- Title: Pretty Vacant
- Artist: Sex Pistols
- Format: CD
- Release date: 27 January 1993
- Label / Catalogue number: Virgin (Toshiba EMI) / VJCP-20005
- Packaging: Jewel case with booklet
🧷 Tracklist
- Pretty Vacant
- Seventeen (Demo Version)
- Submission (Demo Version #2)
- Whatcha Gonna Do About It?
- No Feelings (Demo Version)
- EMI (Unlimited Edition) (Demo Version)
- Satellite (Demo Version)
Produced by Chris Thomas, except track 4.
When it comes to Submission, I actually prefer this demo version to the album version.
🧷 Pressing & Variant Details
✔️ Disc Details
✔️ Booklet / Back Inlay
▼ Booklet — front
▼ Booklet — back
▼ Back inlay — it uses the same design as the booklet.
▼ Inside the booklet you’ll find the track listing, liner notes, lyrics and Japanese translations.
✔️ Obi Strip
This edition of Pretty Vacant was the second single taken from the Kiss This compilation.
The obi also notes that Whatcha Gonna Do About It? was being released in Japan for the first time.
🧷 Collector’s Notes
✔️ A Japan-only Release Combining Two UK CDs into One
VJCP-20005 is a Japan-only release that combines the tracks from the two UK CD singles issued in 1992, VSCDG 1448 (CD1) and VSCDT 1448 (CD2), onto a single disc.
▼ UK CD1 — VSCDG 1448
▼ UK CD2 — VSCDT 1448
Each UK CD contains four tracks, with Pretty Vacant appearing on both.
The Japanese CD removes the duplicate title track, leaving seven tracks in total.
The running order isn’t simply CD1 followed by CD2, either. It starts with all four tracks from VSCDT 1448, followed by the three tracks from VSCDG 1448 other than Pretty Vacant.
VSCDG 1448 came in a double Digipak designed to hold both discs, allowing CD2 to be added later.
When CD1 was released, the second slot contained a thin cardboard dummy disc made to look like CD2.
▼ CD1 — the stronger contrast between the text and images makes this one a little easier to read than the Japanese disc.
When I first saw the dummy disc on the right, I thought CD2 was actually included — so that was a bit disappointing 😓
▼ CD2 — the strong green-and-orange colour scheme makes the text a little harder to read.
※ VSCDT 1448 comes in a slimline CD case, so there is no back inlay.
✔️ Royal Artwork That Recalls GSTQ
One of the most striking things about this 1992 edition of Pretty Vacant — released in Japan the following year — is the artwork featuring members of the British Royal Family.
The front features a portrait of Princess Diana, with Pretty Vacant across her eyes and a large safety pin through her nose.
On the back is Sarah Ferguson (Fergie), with the words Sex Pistols, No Feelings and Submission placed across her eyes.
The use of Royal portraits with bold lettering and graphics immediately brings to mind the artwork for 1977’s God Save The Queen.
Princess Diana was extremely well known and popular not only in Britain but also in Japan, so she was certainly an instantly recognisable choice for a sleeve like this in 1992.
▼ The God Save The Queen sleeve features a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II.
※ Princess Diana: former wife of the then Prince Charles.
※ Sarah Ferguson: former wife of Prince Andrew and Duchess of York, commonly known as “Fergie”.
✔️ Different-colour Sleeves on the 7-inch and 12-inch
The 1992 release of Pretty Vacant also appeared on 7-inch (VS 1448) and 12-inch (VST 1448) vinyl.
The 7-inch uses a purple-and-green colour scheme, while the 12-inch uses purple with yellow/orange — both different from the CD artwork.
The track listings also vary between formats, so collecting the CD, 7-inch and 12-inch versions gives you a nice selection of the different colour variations used for this 1992 release.
I don’t have either of the vinyl editions in my collection, so if you’re curious, have a look on Discogs.
Discogs: ▶ 7-inch (VS 1448) ・ 12-inch (VST 1448)
✔️ Comparing the Different Pressings by Discogs Have / Want
Looking at the numbers on Discogs, there are some interesting differences between the UK and Japanese editions.
| 盤 | Have | Want |
|---|---|---|
| VSCDT 1448 | 276 | 50 |
| VSCDG 1448 | 235 | 50 |
| VS 1448（7インチ） | 250 | 127 |
| VST 1448（12インチ） | 247 | 106 |
| VJCP-20005 | 36 | 58 |
| VJCP-20005 Promo | 6 | 24 |
| Promo Cassette | 1 | 0 |
I don’t come across either of the UK CDs very often here in Japan, but more than 200 Discogs users have each version in their collections.
They can feel quite scarce from a Japanese collector’s point of view, but they seem to be relatively widely owned overseas.
The Japanese VJCP-20005, on the other hand, has 36 Have and 58 Want.
I see this one reasonably often in Japan, but on Discogs there are actually more people wanting a copy than owning one.
The promo CD is scarcer still in Discogs terms, with just 6 Have and 24 Want.
The numbers are fairly small compared with the UK releases, so it’s difficult to draw any firm conclusions, but from an overseas collector’s point of view, the Japanese editions seem to be the less commonly owned ones.
And then there’s the mystery promo cassette.
Discogs currently shows Have 1 / Want 0.
Whether hardly any were made, or whether the cassette simply isn’t widely known among collectors, the figures alone don’t really tell us.
After all, only one user has registered a copy…
※ Discogs Have / Want figures only reflect copies registered by Discogs users. They do not directly indicate pressing quantities, the number of copies in circulation, or actual rarity.
🧷 Coming Up Next
Next time, I’m planning to take a look at another CD single connected with Kiss This:
Anarchy In The U.K. (VJCP-12003).
See you then!
byebye👋
For collectors interested in Japanese editions
If you are drawn to the design and information found on Japanese releases, particularly obi strips, you may want to take a look at my Never Mind The Bollocks Japanese CD OBI Gallery.
This page organises each obi strip variation issued for the album individually, presenting the obi itself as the main focus in a collector-oriented reference format.
It is intended as an entry point for those interested in Japanese obi strips.
コメント