Herer We Go!
Introducing another piece from my Sex Pistols collection!
This time we’re taking a look at the UK original pressing of the single:
Silly Thing / Who Killed Bambi
🧷 Basic Specs
- Title: Silly Thing
- Artist: Sex Pistols
- Format: 7-inch single (45RPM)
- Release Date: 30 March 1979
- Label / Catalogue No.: Virgin VS256
- Sleeve: Picture sleeve
(Condition of the sleeve isn’t great, to be honest 😅)
🧷 Track Listing
- Side A: Silly Thing (Vocals: Steve Jones)
- Side B: Who Killed Bambi (Vocals: Tenpole Tudor)
The album version of Silly Thing features Paul Cook on vocals, but this single version has Steve Jones singing instead.
🧷 Pressing & Variation Info
✔️ Matrix Numbers (Runout Etchings)
- VS-256-A-2 — A PORKY PRIME CUT A
- VS-256-B-2 — IT WUZN’T ME A
✔️ Sleeve
Design by Jamie Reid.
Silly Thing has a pop-art-style sleeve — not very “Pistols”, is it? But very fun. Maybe the popcorn is a nod to the film vibe?
On the Who Killed Bambi side, Bambi has a safety pin through its ear.
A perfect fusion of “cute” and “punk”!
✔️ Labels
- The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle-style full-colour label
- Or a plain purple label (single-colour variant)
✔️ Credits
- Side A: Silly Thing (Produced by Jones/Cook)
- Side B: Who Killed Bambi (Tenpole Tudor / Vivienne Westwood)
🧷 Collector’s Notes
✔️ Rarity & Price (as of July 2025)
The standard UK pressing (VS256) isn’t particularly rare, but there is a dinked (large centre hole) jukebox version which is slightly harder to find.
- Standard copy (small hole): Typically trades for €7–15 (£6–13) depending on condition. Complete copies with picture sleeve can fetch a bit more.
- Dinked copy (large hole): This UK variant was made in smaller numbers, likely for jukebox or promo use. It tends to sell for around €20–40 (£17–35), roughly 2–3 times the price of a regular copy.
So neither is ultra rare, but the dinked one definitely carries a premium due to its relative scarcity.
🧷 Vivienne Westwood, Burberry & Bambi
Did you know that Burberry’s 2019 spring/summer collection included a shirt with the bold slogan “WHY DID THEY KILL BAMBI?”?
It’s actually a direct reference to the Sex Pistols track Who Killed Bambi?, and it was officially acknowledged as such.
At the time, Burberry’s creative director Riccardo Tisci — known to be a huge fan of Vivienne Westwood — was steering the brand.
In fact, in 2018, Burberry and Vivienne Westwood launched an official collaboration, so this Bambi shoutout felt like a perfect continuation of that punk-inspired spirit.
The mix of a cutesy Bambi print with a slightly provocative message had an edge to it — very punk, and very un-Burberry, which was exactly what made it so good.
🔜 Coming Next
Next time, I’ll be featuring another TGRRS-related single:
C’mon Everybody / The God Save the Queen Symphony / Watcha Gonna Do About It — Virgin VS272.
Stay tuned!
byebye 👋
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