Here We Go!
A look at another item from my Sex Pistols collection.
Overview
This time, I’m introducing and we don’t care (RB1320),
a bootleg 7-inch EP featuring the Chris Spedding demo recordings.
Although this EP was released in West Germany (now Germany),
it is well known that reproduction copies are also in circulation.
🧷 Basic information
・Title: and we don’t care
・Artist: Sex Pistols
・Format: 7-inch single (45 RPM)
・Year: 1980
・Label / Catalogue number: Not On Label / rb1320
・Sleeve: Picture sleeve
🧷 Tracklist
・A1：Problems
・B1：No Feelings
・B2：Pretty Vacant（incomplete）
All tracks play at a noticeably fast pitch.
“No Feelings” in particular sounds even faster, probably due to the nature of the song itself.
According to the three releases listed on Discogs,
the B-side track order is consistently shown as
B1: No Feelings / B2: Pretty Vacant.
However, on my copy, the actual playback order is reversed.
On Discogs, Pretty Vacant is described as “incomplete”,
and when played, the track does indeed fade out partway through.
🧷 Pressing and variation details
✔️ Matrix numbers (runout)
・BR/13/201-A
・BR/13/201-B
✔️ Sleeve
The sleeve uses a photograph taken by Ray Stevenson,
the same image found in his book Sex Pistols File.
It is a bag-style sleeve construction with relatively thick paper,
rather than a single flat sheet.
The top right of the sleeve features an EMI logo,
although this is, of course, not an official EMI release.
✔️ Label
The label credits the band as “ROTTEN BOYS”.
It is a white label, and the underlying print appears to show through slightly.
This point is sometimes mentioned as a way to distinguish originals from copies,
but given the age of the record, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions.
🧷 Collector’s notes
As also pointed out in Discogs comments,
reproduction copies of this bootleg are known to exist.
Since this is an old bootleg release to begin with,
there is no clear-cut definition of what is “original”,
and distinguishing between copies is not straightforward.
The sleeve carries a DM 7.50 price sticker.
The Deutsche Mark (DM) was introduced in West Germany in 1948,
continued in use after reunification in 1990,
and remained the official currency until the introduction of the euro in 2002.
At the time, 7.50 DM was not an unusually high retail price for a record,
and considering that the exchange rate around 1980 was roughly
1 DM ≈ 60–70 yen, this would have been around 500 yen in Japanese currency.
Using a later reference rate of roughly 1 DM ≈ 90 yen,
the same price would be just under 700 yen.
Adjusting very roughly for inflation, this corresponds to around
¥1,200–1,500 in today’s terms (2025).
From this, it seems more likely that the EP was sold as a regularly priced bootleg,
rather than being treated as a high-priced collector’s item at the time.
I originally found this copy after spending half a day digging at
the Ikebukuro CD & Record Fair held at the Toshima Civic Centre.
Even if it turns out to be a reproduction, it remains a personally meaningful item in my collection.
Related releases
The complete versions of these recordings can be found on
Never Mind The Bollocks / Spunk and the Sex Pistols Box Set.
76–77 includes three takes of “No Feelings”, which makes it particularly interesting.
The bootleg Pirates Of Destiny appears to be sourced from this release as well,
and also plays at a noticeably fast pitch.
Related item:
76–77 (Sex Pistols)
🔜 Coming up next
Next time, I’ll be looking at the live recording from the first date of the US tour
(5 January 1978, Atlanta – Great Southeast Music Hall): Rot-N-Roll.
Byebye 👋
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All items introduced are based on my personal collection.
No adult content included.
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