Here We Go!
Sex Pistols Collection
This time we’re looking at…
Never Mind The Bollocks
Alternative Takes (SexPissbox1976)
Released for RSD (Record Store Day, April 19, 2014) in a limited run of 5,000 sets, this is a box of seven 7-inch singles.
🧷 Basic Specs
- Title: Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Sex Pistols Alternative Takes
- Artist: Sex Pistols
- Format: 7″ single (45RPM)
- Release date: 19 April 2014
- Label / Catalogue number: UMC / SexPissbox1976
- Sleeve type: Picture sleeve
🧷 Track Listing
Side One：Holidays In The Sun
（Rough Mix）
Producer – Chris Thomas
Matrix – 117199H1/A www.gzvinyl.com- 3774146-A
Sleeve – Same design as the HITS from the “Pistols Pack“
Side Two：Body
（Demo）
Producer – Chris Thomas
Matrix – 117199H2/A 3774146-B |”’|
Sleeve – NMTB poster
Side Three：No Feeling
（Demo）
Producer – Dave Goodman
Matrix – 117200H1/A www.gzvinyl.com- 3774147-A
Sleeve – NMTB poster
Side Four：Liar
（Demo）
Producer – Dave Goodman
Matrix – 117200H2/A 3774147-B |”’|
Sleeve – NMTB poster
Side Five：No Future
（Demo Version of ‘GSTQ’）
Producer – Dave Goodman
Matrix – 117201H1/A www.gzvinyl.com- 3774148-A
Sleeve – GSTQ promotional poster
Side Six：Problems
（Demo）
Producer – Dave Goodman
Matrix – 117201H2/A 3774148-B |”’|
Sleeve – NMTB poster
Side Seven：Seventeen
（Rough Mix）
Producer – Chris Thomas
Matrix – 117202H1/A www.gzvinyl.com- 3774149-A
Sleeve – NMTB poster
Side Eight：Anarchy in the UK
（Alternative Mix）
Producer – Chris Thomas
Matrix – 117202H2/A 3774149-B |”’|
Sleeve – Based on the Belgian pressing of Anarchy
Side Nine：Submission
（Rough Mix）
Producer – Chris Thomas
Matrix – 117203H1/A www.gzvinyl.com- 3774150-A
Sleeve – NMTB poster
Side Ten：Pretty Vacant
（Demo）
Producer – Dave Goodman
Matrix – 117203H2/A 3774150-B |”’|
Sleeve – Same design as the New Zealand pressing of Pretty Vacant
Side Eleven：New York
（Demo）
Producer – Dave Goodman
Matrix – 117204H1/A www.gzvinyl.com- 3774151-A
Sleeve – NMTB poster
Side Twelve：EMI
（Rough Mix）
Producer – Chris Thomas
Matrix – 117204H2/A 3774151-B |”’|
Sleeve – NMTB poster
Side Thirteen：Belsen Was A Gas
（Demo）
Producer – John Tiberi
Matrix – 117205H1/A www.gzvinyl.com- 3774152-A
Sleeve – Artwork styled on a master tape box
Side Fourteen：Belsen Was A Gas
（Demo2）
Producer – John Tiberi
Matrix – 117205H2/A 3774152-B |”’|
Sleeve – The same photo used on the reverse of the bootleg EP “Never Mind The Box Set Belsen Demo”, it looks like
Aside from the two Belsen tracks, the twelve alternate takes of NMTB (demos, rough mixes and so on) are split evenly between Dave Goodman and Chris Thomas as producer, six tracks each.
The seventh record, “Belsen Was A Gas”, was recorded to 4-track by John “Boogie” Tiberi and was long thought lost, before turning up again and appearing on the 35th Anniversary Super Deluxe Box. This time round, a second version (Demo 2) has been added.
Mind you, with most of the sleeves just reusing the SPOTS001 poster, one does wonder if they couldn’t have made a bit more effort 😓
▼ Related article
All fourteen labels share the same design — a white label with an aged finish.
🧷 Package Contents
✔️ Box Specification
Box lid
Styled on a Wessex Studios tape management sheet, complete with a rather naff (sorry!) “SEX PISTOLS” logo. The Wessex logo sits top left, along with what looks like some kind of reference number — “Charge Nr. B 736 E” — nicely detailed.
The same logo turns up on UMC’s “Live ’76” and “76-77” as well. Both box sets, as it happens.
Box, reverse
The edition number is stamped here, and mine reads “04877/05000” — one of 5,000 sets, though fairly far along in the run.
The producer field reads “CHRIS THOMAS or DAVE GOODMAN”, and the client field “SEX PISTOLS RESIDUALS” — presumably replicating an actual tape box, at a guess.
Box, interior
Open the lid and there’s a lining styled to look stained and worn. The handwritten “SEX PISTOLS” and the ink-splatter marks suggest a fair amount of care went into the details.
✔️ Insert
Insert, front
The front is styled as a multitrack recording sheet, with “Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols Alternative Takes” printed above a long list of recording take-sheet items — Bass Gtr, Bass Drum, Toms, Snare, Hi Hat, Cymb, Overheads, Gtr and so on.
Even the handwritten “DONE.” in the top corner is faithfully reproduced. Proper attention to detail.
Insert, reverse
The reverse is the credits page.
Creative direction, archive research and compilation by John Rambo Stevens and Scotty Murphy.
Product management and creative direction by Johnny Chandler.
Design by Phil Smee (Waldo’s Design & Dream Emporium).
Mastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios.
The handwritten “VS” scrawled in red ink is reproduced as well.
Insert, inner pages
▼ Inner page 1
▼ Inner page 2
The inner pages carry detailed credits for all fourteen takes.
Inner page 1 covers Holidays In The Sun through to Seventeen; inner page 2 covers Anarchy In The UK through to Belsen Was A Gas 2. Each track lists Lead Vocals, Guitar, Drums and Bass Guitar credits, along with producer name and recording year (℗ notation).
The only tracks on this box where Sid actually plays bass are “Body” and the two “Belsen” takes — three tracks in total.
✔️ Download Code
The box includes a coupon for MP3 downloads.
It reads “This coupon allows you to access all the tracks from this boxset as mp3 downloads”, and entering the unique code at backtoblackvinyl.com lets you download the full set.
The code’s been blacked out in the photo, just to be safe.
💡 What’s a unique code?
It’s a serial code assigned to each individual box. In the blacked-out part of the photo, there’d normally be nine random alphanumeric characters — that’s the code. It works the same way as those “each copy has a different code, and you enter it on a dedicated site to verify you’re the owner” schemes. Since no two codes are meant to match (hence “unique”), it’s essentially a one-time-use serial number.
Aside from Belsen (Demo 2), everything here has been released before — but a box of seven 7-inches still does a fair job of satisfying that collector’s urge. And with downloadable tracks included, it’s nice to be able to carry the music around easily too.
🧷 Coming Up Next
Next time, we’ll be looking at the “Never Mind The Box Set Here’s The Sex Pistols Belsen Demo” — something we’ve touched on briefly in other posts already!
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.
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