The Ex Pistols – Land Of Hope & Glory (35144-15) Japanese 12-inch with obi

Here We Go!
Introducing another item from my Sex Pistols collection.

This time I’m looking at Land Of Hope & Glory by The Ex Pistols, continuing from the previous article.

🧷 Basic Information

・Title: Land Of Hope & Glory

・Artist: The Ex Pistols

・Format: 12-inch single

・Release date: 21 July 1985

・Label / Catalogue number: VAP 35144-15

・Sleeve: Picture sleeve

🧷 Tracklist

・Side A：Land Of Hope & Glory

・Side B：The Flowers Of Romansk

🧷 Pressing / Variation Details

✔️ Matrix numbers (runout etchings)

・35144-15-A-1

・35144-15-B-1

✔️ Sleeve

The sleeve design is credited to Hawk Norton.
He appears to have been a graphic artist active in the London indie design scene during the 1980s.

The cover features a collage of Margaret Thatcher along with sticker-style phrases such as “The Record They Tried To Ban” and “Recorded In 1976”.

✔️ Label

The label imitates the inverted triangle logo often referred to as “Triangle VAP”, which was used by VAP during the 1980s.

The release was licensed from Cherry Red Records.

・Side A

・Side B

✔️ Insert

Liner notes by Tomohiko Miyabe

Lyrics and Japanese translations
(translation by Miki Tanaka)

🧷 Collector’s Notes

✔️Sleeve

Much of the information printed on the sleeve is written in a way that makes it appear authentic.

For example, the phrase “Recorded In 1976”, and the name “The London Synthphoney Orchestra”, which is clearly a play on the famous London Symphony Orchestra.

On the back cover there is a collage of what looks like official documents, along with photographs of the band members.
The photos are just ambiguous enough to look like they might be real members — or perhaps not.

✔️Personnel

メンバー名は変名で記載されています。

• Vocals: Rotten Johnny　＝ Johnny Rotten
• Drums: Pull Cock　＝ Paul Cook
• Guitar: Steal Jones　＝ Steve Jones
• Bass: Posh Pen Bollocks　＝ ？？？
• Synths: Dave Rose　

The bassist is often assumed to be Glen Matlock, although it is not confirmed.

The name Posh Pen Bollocks translates rather crudely into something like “posh penis bollocks”.
Not the most flattering credit.

Dave Rose appears to have been a real musician.
He was active as a synthesiser and keyboard player in the UK scene during the 1980s, participating in post-punk and experimental projects.

There are theories that the recording involved Dave Goodman, an early producer connected with the Sex Pistols, along with musicians from his circle.

The liner notes and the discography in the book Sex Pistols Inside Story also mention that although the names are pseudonyms, the performances sound clearly like the actual members.

→ I believed this myself until fairly recently.

There are also rumours that the recording used a sampled drum part from an unused Paul Cook take, and that Glen Matlock may have been involved.
However, since there are no direct statements from the musicians themselves, the truth remains unclear.

✔️Obi

One of the most distinctive features of Japanese releases is the obi strip.

(The credit also includes the name Mikio Moriwaki as supervisor.)

The obi carries the rather suspicious catchphrase:

“A lost Sex Pistols take from 1976 revived at last! But…?”

It appears this release was part of a campaign called “BRITISH FRONT LINE SERIES – PUNKS NOT DEAD PART 4”.

Titles by bands such as UK Subs, Black Flag, and Broken Bones were released on the same day as part of the series.

✔️The Flowers Of Romansk

The word “Romansk” does not actually exist.

It is unclear whether the extra K is a typographical error or an intentional variation.

The title may reference Public Image Ltd (PiL) and their 1981 album Flowers of Romance, although the song itself does not seem to be directly related.

Personally, I do not enjoy this track very much, so I rarely play it.

What makes this record interesting is the balance between authentic-looking presentation and questionable authenticity.

I plan to cover other formats such as the 7-inch and CD versions in a future article.

🔜 Next Article

Next time I plan to introduce a promo copy of the first Japanese single:

God Save The Queen (YK-90-AX).

Stay tuned!

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.