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116-650: Capitol Music Group was formed in February 2007 as a merger of Capitol Records and Virgin Records America in an effort by EMI to restructure and save an average of $ 217 million yearly. Both Virgin Records and Capitol Records, however, remained imprints of the label. Virgin Records CEO Jason Flom was named the head of the division, with Capitol Records CEO Andy Slater resigning after receiving

232-516: A Pink Floyd T-shirt with the words 'I Hate' handwritten above the band's name and holes scratched through the Floyd members' eyes. Soon after, either Rhodes or McLaren asked Lydon to audition. During the session, Lydon improvised to Alice Cooper 's " I'm Eighteen " on the Sex jukebox. According to Jones, "he came in with green hair. I thought he had a really interesting face. I liked his look. He had

348-614: A heroin overdose in February 1979 following his arrest for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen . Rotten, Jones, Cook and Matlock later reunited for a successful tour in 1996. Further one-off performances and short tours followed over the next decade. In June 2024, it was announced that Frank Carter would perform with Jones, Cook and Matlock, as the Sex Pistols, for two fundraiser concerts in England in August. A UK tour

464-410: A 1950s revival Teddy Boy theme. It had been renamed in 1972 to focus on another revival trend, the '50s rocker look. The shop then became a focal point of the early London punk rock scene, bringing together participants such as the future Sid Vicious , Marco Pirroni , Gene October , and Mark Stewart . Jordan , the wildly styled shop assistant, is credited with "pretty well single-handedly paving

580-425: A 7" single) and as a result allowed this relatively unknown band a massive audience as the album sold over 60,000 copies and also reached number 12 in the charts, though it was later redacted its spot on the grounds of the cover price. Other early albums include Gong 's Flying Teapot (Radio Gnome Invisible, Pt. 1) , which Daevid Allen has been quoted as having never been paid for. The first single release for

696-696: A December 1976 television interview. Their May 1977 single " God Save the Queen ", which described the monarchy as a "fascist regime", was released to coincide with national celebrations for the Queen's Silver Jubilee . The song was promptly banned from being played by the BBC and by nearly every independent radio station in Britain, making it the most censored record in British history. Their sole studio album Never Mind

812-513: A UK top-ten hit with their debut single, 1978's " Public Image ". The following year Lydon initiated legal proceedings against McLaren and the Pistols' management company, Glitterbest, which McLaren controlled. Among the claims were non-payment of royalties, improper usage of the title "Johnny Rotten", unfair contractual obligations and damages for "all the criminal activities that took place". Vicious moved to New York, where he attempted to launch

928-432: A band of kids who could be perceived as being bad." The group began writing original material: Rotten was the lyricist and Matlock the primary melody writer (though their first collaboration, " Pretty Vacant ", had all lyrics by Matlock, which Rotten tweaked a bit); official credit was shared equally among the four. Their first gig was arranged by Matlock, then studying at Saint Martin's School of Art . The band played at

1044-540: A career as a solo artist with Spungen as his manager. In September 1978, backed by members of the New York Dolls, Vicious recorded songs eventually released on his posthumous 1979 live album Sid Sings . On 12 October 1978, Spungen was found dead aged 20 in the Hotel Chelsea room she was sharing with Vicious, from a stab wound to her stomach. Police recovered drug paraphernalia from the scene and Vicious

1160-433: A club; one of Rotten's friends threatened a friend of A&M's English director; A&M broke their contract with the Pistols on 16 March. Although 25,000 copies of the "God Save the Queen" single had already been pressed, nearly all were destroyed. Vicious first performed with the Pistols at London's Notre Dame Hall on 28 March. That May, the Pistols signed with Virgin Records , their third label in little more than half

1276-473: A connection with Virgin, and some UK and European Virgin albums that were distributed internationally (instead of being manufactured in each country) named Caroline as their American distributor. Some Caroline records bore the label name Caroline Blue Plate , which was mainly used for reissuing on CD many early progressive rock albums and artists from Virgin and Caroline's UK branches. The first Canadian editions were distributed by WEA, and were parallel issues of

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1392-673: A consortium led by Sony/ATV Music Publishing acquired EMI Music Publishing for $ 2.2 billion. However, the European Union ruled that Sony/ATV would represent over half of all the charting hits in the United Kingdom, and required the company to auction off Virgin Music and Famous Music UK, as well as twelve unrelated authors. In December 2012, BMG Rights Management acquired the Virgin and Famous publishers, and concluded

1508-581: A contemporary interview that he was sacked because he "liked the Beatles", In 2005, Jones admitted that although Matlock was a good songwriter, he "didn't look like a Sex Pistol" In 1990, Matlock described the reason as his bitter relationship with Rotten, exacerbated—in Matlock's account—by Rotten's attitude "once he'd had his name in the papers". Jon Savage suggests that Rotten pushed Matlock out to demonstrate his power and autonomy from McLaren. Matlock

1624-522: A few hours later, the Evening News was reporting that the band had "vomited and spat their way" to the flight. Despite categorical denials by the EMI representative who accompanied the group, the label, which was under political pressure, released the band from their contract. In one journalist's later description, the Pistols had "stoked a moral panic   ... precipitating the cancellation of gigs,

1740-1101: A further £110,000 to his airline. After being acquired by Thorn EMI, Virgin launched several subsidiaries like Realworld Records , Innocent Records , blues speciality label Point Blank Records , and indie music label Hut Recordings , and continued signing new and established artists like Korn , A Fine Frenzy , Thirty Seconds to Mars , Tina Turner , Beenie Man , The Rolling Stones , Spice Girls , The Smashing Pumpkins , We Are Scientists , The Kooks , dcTalk (mainstream releases, contract ended in 2000), Belinda Carlisle , Meat Loaf , Placebo , Janet Jackson (contract ended in 2006), Daft Punk (contract ended in 2008), My Favorite Highway , Does It Offend You, Yeah? , The Future Sound of London , The Chemical Brothers , Brooke Allison , The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus , The Almost , Mariah Carey (contract ended in 2002), N.E.R.D , Laura Marling , Swami , RBD , Thalía and Priscilla Renea . Because business models increasingly diverged, Thorn EMI shareholders voted in favour of demerger proposals on 16 August 1996. The resulting media company became

1856-431: A good chance to be spotted in all the right places, adoration." Early in 1977, he met Nancy Spungen , an emotionally disturbed drug addict and sometime prostitute from New York. Spungen worsened Vicious's heroin addiction, and their emotional codependency alienated him from the other band members. Lydon later wrote, "we did everything to get rid of Nancy   ... She was killing him. I was absolutely convinced this girl

1972-521: A lot about the Situationists   ... the Sex Pistols seemed the perfect vehicle to communicate ideas directly to people who weren't getting the message from left-wing politics". McLaren was also arranging for the band's first photo sessions. According to the writer Jon Savage , Lydon "with his green hair, hunched stance and ragged looked   ... looked like a cross between Uriah Heep and Richard Hell". Their first gig to attract attention

2088-831: A major event for 29 August at The Screen on the Green in London's Islington district, with the Buzzcocks and the Clash opening for the Pistols. Three days later, the band were in Manchester to tape their first television appearance, for Tony Wilson 's So It Goes . The Pistols played their first gig outside Britain on 3 September, at the opening of the Chalet du Lac disco in Paris. The Bromley Contingent were in attendance and Siouxsie

2204-536: A minute without Sid starting a fight   ... Then on top of that you had Rotten, who was on his own trip and basically thought he was God by that stage." On 14 January 1978, during the tour's final date at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, a disillusioned Rotten introduced the band's encore saying, "You'll get one number and one number only 'cause I'm a lazy bastard." That one number

2320-635: A movie featuring the Sex Pistols. Temple's first task was to assemble Sex Pistols Number 1 , a 25-minute mosaic of footage from various sources, much of it refilmed from television screens. Number 1 was often screened at concert venues before the band took stage. Using media footage from the Thames incident, Temple created another short, Jubilee Riverboat (aka Sex Pistols Number 2 ). Beginning in early 1977, Lydon, Jones and Cook began to record tracks for their debut album with producer Chris Thomas. Initially titled God Save Sex Pistols , it became known during

2436-419: A note trying to fill Glen's shoes, but it was never about the music for McLaren   ... from the minute Sid joined the band, nothing was ever normal again." Julien Temple , then a film student McLaren had employed to create a comprehensive audiovisual record of the band, agrees: "Sid was John's protégé in the group, really. The other two just thought he was crazy." McLaren later stated that, much earlier in

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2552-538: A pension reportedly worth more than $ 15 million. As the head of the label, Flom reported directly to EMI Group CEO Eric Nicoli. A total of 283 artists signed to Capitol Music Group, including Mims , LeToya Luckett , J. Holiday , Royal Bliss , Mack 10 , Faith Evans , Fat Joe , and since 2007, Katy Perry , Barbara Pravi , Paul McCartney , Duncan Laurence , Calum Scott , Ferras , and Rucka Rucka Ali . In 2014 both Morrissey and Neil Diamond were confirmed to have signed with Capitol Records, Morrissey having signed

2668-471: A punk rock boom in the city. On 4 and 6 July, respectively, two newly formed London punk rock acts— The Clash , with Strummer as lead vocalist, and the Damned —made their live debuts opening for the Sex Pistols. On their off-night on the 5th, the Pistols attended a Ramones gig at Dingwalls , like virtually everyone else at the centre of the early London punk scene. During a return Manchester gig on 20 July,

2784-411: A purple label with round logo up to 1992 when Virgin was acquired internationally. Soon after Virgin Records was founded, the label created a music publisher for its artists, who also served as songwriters. Starting in the 1980s, Virgin Music signed songwriters from other record labels. After Virgin was acquired by EMI, the publisher was folded into EMI Music Publishing as EMI Virgin Music. In 2012,

2900-402: A restructuring that would see Capitol operate under the same umbrella with Interscope Geffen A&M , Jubelirer left her post and was replaced by former Geffen head Tom March, who reports to ICLG chair John Janick . As a result both CMG and IGA combined their operations into a new Universal Music label unit, Interscope Capitol Labels Group. Source: Through flagship label Capitol, CMG handles

3016-420: A significant influence on the early punk image . The Sex Pistols' first line-up consisted of vocalist Johnny Rotten (born John Lydon), guitarist Steve Jones , drummer Paul Cook , and bassist Glen Matlock , with Matlock replaced by Sid Vicious (born John Richie) in early 1977. Under the management of Malcolm McLaren , the band gained widespread attention from British press after swearing live on-air during

3132-594: A two-album deal. However, the latter was given to Parlophone as a result of that label's sale to Warner Music. In 2010, Virgin Records was spun off from Capitol Music Group to form Virgin Music Group ; as of 2013, however, the Virgin Music Group was dissolved, resulting in Virgin Records returning to its placement under CMG. In November 2012, it was announced that Steve Barnett would become

3248-662: A worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul , Janet Jackson , Devo , Tangerine Dream , Genesis , Phil Collins , OMD , the Human League , Culture Club , Simple Minds , the Spice Girls , Lenny Kravitz , the Sex Pistols , and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M and Island Records . Virgin Records

3364-480: A year. During Virgin's release campaign for "God Save the Queen", workers at the pressing plant laid down tools in protest at the song's lyrics and Reid's cover art of Queen Elizabeth II with her face obscured by cutout letters forming the song title and the band name. The single was eventually released on 27 May. Its lyrics–"God save the queen / the fascist regime..She ain't no human being / and there's no future / in England's dreaming"–lead to widespread outcry from

3480-596: Is scheduled for September 2024 with the group and tour billed as "Frank Carter and Paul Cook, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols do Never Mind the Bollocks". The Sex Pistols have been recognised as a highly influential band. In 2006, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame although, true to their image, they refused to attend the ceremony, with Rotten referring to the museum as "a piss stain". The Sex Pistols evolved from The Strand (sometimes known as

3596-535: The Bromley Contingent , after the suburban south-east London borough that several of them were from. Their cutting-edge fashion, much of it supplied by Sex , ignited a trend that was adopted by the new fans the band attracted. McLaren and Westwood saw the incipient London punk movement as a vehicle for more than just couture. They were influenced by the May 1968 radical uprising in Paris , particularly by

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3712-625: The Capitol Music Group imprint, now also owned by UMG, since 2012. The US operations had also taken on the name Virgin Records. A minor number of artists remained on Virgin Records America's roster, which was mostly occupied with European artists such as Bastille , Barbara Pravi , Circa Waves , Corinne Bailey Rae , Ella Eyre , Grizfolk , Walking on Cars , Seinabo Sey , and Prides ; American artists include Knox Hamilton, L'Tric, Loren Gray , and Rise Against . Virgin Classics

3828-465: The "Gemini" or "Twins" logo) was designed by English artist and illustrator Roger Dean : a young naked woman in mirror image with a large long-tailed lizard and the word "Virgin" in Dean's familiar script. A variation on the logo was used for the spin-off Caroline Records label. The first release on the label was the progressive rock album Tubular Bells by multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield , who

3944-516: The "God Save the Queen" session, while Lydon remembers him being there during the recording of an unused version of "Submission". Two further singles were released from the Thomas sessions; "Pretty Vacant" on 1 July and " Holidays in the Sun " on 14 October. Each was a top-ten hit. The album was released on 28 October 1977. Rolling Stone described it as "the most exciting rock & roll record of

4060-674: The "fight at the Nashville: that's when all the publicity got hold of it and the violence started creeping in   ... I think everybody was ready to go and we were the catalyst." The leading New York punk band, the Ramones , released their debut album on 23 April 1976. Although regarded as seminal to the growth of English punk rock, Lydon has repeatedly rejected that it influenced the Sex Pistols, claiming that they "were all long-haired and of no interest to me. I didn't like their image, what they stood for, or anything about them". On 11 May,

4176-431: The 'I Hate Pink Floyd' T-shirt on...held together with safety pins... he was a real arsehole—but smart." Jones renamed Lydon as "Johnny Rotten" as a joke, apparently because of his particularly bad teeth. Cook had a full-time job and was threatening to quit the band. New Musical Express journalist Nick Kent occasionally played second guitar with the band but left acrimoniously when Lydon joined. An advertisement

4292-793: The 1980s was Culture Club. In 1978, Virgin set up US operations first in New York on Perry Street, with distribution from Atlantic Records . Virgin Records soon moved operations to New Jersey along with a short-lived subdivision called Virgin International , handled by independent New Jersey–based distributor Jem Records . Virgin International was used mainly for progressive rock artists and reissues of earlier Virgin / Atlantic albums such as Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield, and Fish Rising by Steve Hillage, which Columbia chose not to reissue. Virgin International also issued albums by some of Virgin's reggae artists, including Gregory Isaacs . At

4408-542: The Banshees, has said, "After that, it was nothing to do with music anymore. It would just be for the sensationalism and scandal of it all. Then it became the Malcolm McLaren story". Being in the Pistols had a progressively destructive effect on Vicious. As Lydon observed, "Up to that time, Sid was absolutely childlike. Everything was fun and giggly. Suddenly he was a big rock star. Rock star status meant press,

4524-474: The Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (1977) was a UK number one and is regarded as seminal in the development of punk rock. In January 1978, at the final gig of a difficult and media-hyped tour of the US, Rotten announced the band's break-up live on stage. Over the next few months, the three remaining members recorded songs for McLaren's film of the Sex Pistols' story, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle . Vicious died of

4640-593: The Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols in the window. Afterwards they signed other new wave groups: Public Image Ltd , Boxer , Culture Club , Fingerprintz , Gillan , Holly and the Italians , The Human League (whose " Don't You Want Me " was the label's first chart-topping single, in 1981), Magazine , Skids , the Motors , Penetration , the Ruts , Shooting Star , Simple Minds , and XTC . After modified versions of

4756-412: The British tabloids , leading to several major chains withdrawing it from sale. It was banned by BBC radio and television and every independent radio station, making it, according to the music critic Alexis Petridis, the "most heavily censored record in British history". The song's social impact has been described by the musician and journalist Sean O'Hagan as "punk's crowning glory". The single

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4872-490: The Dark , and XTC . Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became one of the most culturally influential acts in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspired many later punk, post-punk and alternative rock musicians, while their clothing and hairstyles were

4988-719: The EMI Group. In 1997, Virgin absorbed the remainder of EMI USA , which earlier consolidated EMI America Records and Manhattan Records , with Capitol Records acquiring EMI's other American operations, and in 1998, opened a country music division called Virgin Records Nashville, of which record producer Scott Hendricks was president. The label's signees comprised Julie Reeves , Jerry Kilgore , Roy D. Mercer , Tom Mabe , Chris Cagle , Clay Davidson , and River Road . In 2001, Virgin Nashville closed and its roster

5104-474: The Melody Makers , Redhead Kingpin & The F.B.I. , Neneh Cherry , Steve Winwood , Hindsight and, after her MCA contract ran out in 1991, Belinda Carlisle. Virgin Records America's releases were distributed through WEA again by Atlantic Records until 1992. The label was then acquired by EMI-Capitol Special Markets . In 1996, Virgin Records offered Janet Jackson one of the best and highest deals at

5220-521: The Moon , was brought in to produce. The band's first single, " Anarchy in the U.K. ", was released on 26 November 1976. The musician and journalist John Robb later described the record's impact: "From Steve Jones' opening   ... descending chords, to Johnny Rotten's   ... sneering vocals, this song is the perfect statement   ... a stunningly powerful piece of punk politics." Colin Newman of

5336-745: The Muffins and Nash the Slash signed to Dindisc in the UK as well; both artists had releases in Canada and the UK on Dindisc. In 1983, an independent Virgin Records Canada Inc. company was created, three years before a similar move occurred in the US. From this time onward, Virgin Canada used unique label designs not seen in other countries: a red label with five horizontal bars across the top and an extra-large "scrawl" logo from 1983 to 1985, followed by

5452-639: The Pegasus assault, Rotten was attacked again. According to Cook, after the "God Save the Queen" single and the Grundy incident, the Pistols were public enemy number one, and there was a rivalry between gangs of rockabillies , Teddy Boys and punks, which often led to violence. By that August the band were unable to publicise UK dates, forcing them to tour pseudonymously as the SPOTS (Sex Pistols on Tour Secretly) to avoid cancellation. McLaren had long wanted to make

5568-555: The Pistols began a four-week Tuesday night residency at the 100 Club. They devoted the rest of the month to touring small cities and towns in the north of England and recording demos in London with producer and recording artist Chris Spedding . The following month they played their first gig in Manchester , arranged by Devoto and Shelley. The Sex Pistols' 4 June performance at the Lesser Free Trade Hall set off

5684-461: The Pistols played two shows at Ivanhoe's in Huddersfield , the first show being for the children of striking firemen. These were the band's final UK performances for more than eighteen years. The Pistols January 1978 US tour was initially scheduled for nine dates, but due to Vicious's drug use and the breakdown in the relationship between Lydon and McLaren was cut short after seven shows. It

5800-458: The Pistols premiered a new song, " Anarchy in the U.K. ", reflecting elements of the radical ideologies to which Rotten was being exposed. According to Savage, "there seems little doubt that Lydon was fed material by Vivienne Westwood and Jamie Reid, which he then converted into his own lyric". "Anarchy in the U.K." was among the seven original songs recorded in a demo session overseen by the band's sound engineer, Dave Goodman . McLaren organised

5916-543: The Pistols were outselling Stewart two to one. There is evidence that exceptional measures were taken by the British Phonographic Institute , which oversaw the compilation of the UK chart, to exclude sales from Virgin's shops. Attacks on punk fans rose and in mid-June, Rotten was assaulted by a knife-wielding gang outside Islington's Pegasus pub, causing tendon damage to his left arm. Reid and Cook were beaten up in other incidents; three days after

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6032-526: The Seventies". Some critics were disappointed that the album contained all four previously released singles, and dismissed it as little more than a "greatest hits" compilation. Containing the track "Bodies"—in which Rotten says "fuck" six times—and "God Save the Queen", and featuring the word bollocks in its title, the album was banned by Boots , W. H. Smith and Woolworths . The Conservative shadow minister for education condemned it as "a symptom of

6148-438: The Sex Pistols. After chatting with McLaren at Sex , they saw the band at a couple of late February gigs. The two friends immediately began organising their own Pistols-style group, Buzzcocks . As Devoto later put it, "My life changed the moment that I saw the Sex Pistols." The Pistols soon played other important venues, notably playing at Oxford Street 's 100 Club for the first time on 30 March. On 3 April, they played for

6264-669: The Swankers), formed in London in 1972 by teenagers Steve Jones on vocals, Paul Cook on drums and Wally Nightingale on guitar. According to Jones, both he and Cook played on instruments he had stolen. The band regularly hung out at two clothing shops on the King's Road in Chelsea , London: John Krivine and Steph Raynor's Acme Attractions and Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood 's Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die. McLaren's and Westwood's shop had opened in 1971 as Let It Rock, with

6380-469: The Virgin Classics artist roster and catalogue in its Erato Records division, and the "Virgin Classics" name, along with "EMI Classics," disappeared. Branson and Powell had initially run a small record shop called Virgin Records and Tapes on Notting Hill Gate , London, specializing in krautrock imports, and offering bean bags and free vegetarian food for the benefit of customers listening to

6496-718: The Virgin Records label exclusively until gradually other parts of the Virgin Group adopted it, including Virgin Atlantic , Virgin Mobile and Virgin Money . Virgin Records was sold by Branson to Thorn EMI in June 1992 for a reported US$ 1 billion (around £560 million) (equivalent to $ 2,171,211,762 in 2023), with a special non-competition clause that would prevent Branson from founding another recording company during

6612-569: The back catalogs and has assumed the copyrights of master recordings from the following labels and sub-labels acquired or distributed by UMG's predecessor EMI throughout its existence: Virgin Records America Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group . They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson , Simon Draper, Nik Powell , and musician Tom Newman . They grew to be

6728-477: The band and their entourage were offered drinks as they waited to go on air. During the interview, encouraged by Grundy, Jones said the band had "fucking spent" its label advance , and Rotten used the word "shit". Grundy—who later claimed to have been drunk—then attempted to flirt with Siouxsie Sioux, who replied that she had "always wanted to meet" him. Grundy responded, "Did you really? We'll meet afterwards, shall we?", prompting Jones to repeatedly swear. Although

6844-519: The band decided on the name while McLaren was in the United States before Rotten joined. Jon Savage says the name was not firmly settled on until just before their first show in November 1975. McLaren later said the name derived "from the idea of a pistol, a pin-up, a young thing, a better-looking assassin". Not given to modesty, false or otherwise, he added: "[I] launched the idea in the form of

6960-403: The band's career, Westwood had told him he should "get the guy called John [Sid Vicious] who came to the store a couple of times" to be the singer. When Lydon was recruited, Westwood said McLaren had recruited "the wrong John". Vicious was arrested after hurling a glass that shattered and blinded a girl in one eye at a Damned gig at the 100 Club Punk Special. He served time in a remand centre and

7076-443: The band's expulsion from their EMI record deal and lurid tabloid tales of punk's 'shock cult ' ". As McLaren fielded offers from other labels, the band went into the studio for a round of recordings with Goodman, their last with either him or Matlock. On 28 February 1977 McLaren announced Matlock was leaving the band because Matlock "went on too long about Paul McCartney ." Although Matlock says he left voluntarily, Jones claimed in

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7192-452: The boat to dock, and constabulary surrounded the gangplanks at the pier. While the band members and their equipment were hustled down a side stairwell, McLaren, Westwood, and many of the band's entourage were arrested. "God Save the Queen" opened at number 2 on the official UK record chart for Jubilee week, behind Rod Stewart 's " I Don't Want to Talk About It ". McLaren claimed that CBS Records , who distributed both singles, told him that

7308-410: The chairman and CEO of the company. With EMI's absorption (sans Parlophone) into Universal Music Group complete, Capitol Music Group is now part of UMG's five label units in the UK. The Beatles have been confirmed to appear on Capitol UK. In April 2013, Robbie McIntosh was named head of Capitol's international operations. In November 2016, the company's chairman and CEO Steve Barnett announced that

7424-459: The company has three endeavors planned out that include music, film and literary projects that pay tribute to eight decades' worth of artists signed to the label. In November 2020, Jeff Vaughn was named new Chairman/CEO, replacing Steve Barnett. In December 2021, Michelle Jubelirer was promoted to chair and CEO of Capitol Music Group. She reported to Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge . In early 2024, after Grainge announced

7540-574: The concerts were cancelled by organisers or local authorities; of approximately twenty scheduled gigs, only about seven actually took place. Following a campaign in the south Wales press, a crowd including carol singers and a Pentecostal preacher, protested against the group outside a show in Caerphilly . Packers at the EMI plant refused to handle the band's single. London Conservative councillor Bernard Brook Partridge said, "Most of these groups would be vastly improved by sudden death. The worst of

7656-579: The deal in May 2013. Virgin Music was renamed BMG VM Music, while Famous Music became BMG FM Music. Before its demise, Virgin Music's songwriters included Iggy Pop , Texas , Ozzy Osbourne , Cannibal Corpse , Nirvana , Winger , Wax , Tears for Fears , The Prodigy , Goo Goo Dolls , Tool , The Crystal Method , Terence Trent D'Arby , Lenny Kravitz , Ben Harper , Warrant , Mark Ronson , Devo , Culture Club , Take That , Bullet for My Valentine , Robbie Williams , Wayne Hector , Orchestral Manoeuvres in

7772-467: The early post-punk band Wire , described it as "the clarion call of a generation". The lyrics of "Anarchy in the U.K." linked punk to a newly politicised and nihilistic attitude, typified by phrases such as "I am an anti-Christ" and "Destroy!". The single's packaging and visual promotion also broke new ground. Reid and McLaren came up with the idea of selling the record in a completely wordless, featureless black sleeve. The primary image associated with

7888-461: The face. He was admitted to hospital later that night to treat various injuries. Offstage he is said to have kicked a photographer, attacked a security guard, and challenged one of his own bodyguards to a fight. Rotten was suffering flu and coughing up blood, and he felt increasingly isolated from Cook and Jones and disgusted by Vicious. Jones later said that he and Cook "couldn't stand being around Johnny and Sid anymore. You couldn't turn round for

8004-465: The first time at the Nashville, supporting the 101ers . The pub rock group's lead singer, Joe Strummer , saw the Pistols for the first time that night—and recognised punk rock as the future. A return gig at the Nashville on 23 April highlighted the band's growing musical competence. However Westwood started a fight with another audience member which also dragged in McLaren and Rotten. Cook later said,

8120-520: The five years following the agreement (see the final paragraph in EU Merger Decision IV/M202 of 27 April 1992). It now faces competition from Branson's new label: V2 Records . Branson sold Virgin Records to fund Virgin Atlantic which at that time was coming under intense anti-competitive pressure from British Airways . In 1993, BA settled a libel action brought by Branson over BA's " dirty tricks " campaign, giving him £500,000 and

8236-561: The ideology and agitations of the Situationists . These interests were shared with Jamie Reid , a friend of McLaren who took over the design of the band's visual imagery in the spring of 1976. His cut-up lettering—based on notes left by kidnappers or terrorists—were used to create the classic Sex Pistols logo and many subsequent designs for the band, although they were actually introduced by McLaren's friend Helen Wellington-Lloyd . Reid has said that he used "to talk to John [Lydon]

8352-533: The incident contributed to the 100 Club banning punk bands. He assaulted Nick Kent with a bicycle chain during a gig at the 100 Club. According to McLaren, "when Sid joined he couldn't play guitar but his craziness fitted into the structure of the band." "Everyone agreed he had the look," Lydon later recalled, but musical skill was another matter. "The first rehearsals   ... with Sid were hellish". Marco Pirroni, who had performed with Vicious in Siouxsie and

8468-399: The interview effectively ended his career. Steve Jones reflected; Grundy was the big dividing line in the Sex Pistols' story. Before it, we were all about the music, but from then on it was all about the media. In some ways it was our finest moment, but in others it was the beginning of the end   ... In terms of the Sex Pistols having any kind of long-term future, this sudden acceleration

8584-461: The label PM in a new-wave outpost, a move that plunged the record company into the mainstream of the punk rock era. Under the guidance of Tessa Watts , Virgin's Head of Publicity (and later, also Director of Production), the Pistols rocketed the label to success. Shortly afterwards, the Nottingham record shop was raided by police for having a window display of the Sex Pistols' album Never Mind

8700-479: The label was Kevin Coyne 's "Marlene" (b/w "Everybody Says"), taken from his album Marjory Razorblade and released in August 1973. Coyne was the second artist signed to the label after Oldfield. Although Virgin was initially one of the key labels of English and European progressive rock, the 1977 signing of the Sex Pistols (who had already been signed and then dropped by both EMI and A&M ) reinvented

8816-657: The label's president, with Virgin Records now operating as an imprint of latter label. In February 2021, the Universal Music Group announced that it will rebrand the Caroline Music Group as Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, the name change was "inspired and influenced by the spirit and ethos of the iconic Virgin Records label". In September 2022, UMG consolidated Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, Ingrooves Music Group , and

8932-438: The limit". The record label EMI signed the band on a two-year contract on 8 October 1976. The Pistols were soon in a studio recording a full-dress session with Dave Goodman. According to Matlock, "The idea was to get the spirit of the live performance. We were pressurized to make it faster and faster." The results were rejected by the band. Chris Thomas , who had produced Roxy Music and mixed Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of

9048-662: The meaning of nonsense." In the context of the album title, the term does in fact primarily signify "nonsense". Steve Jones off-handedly came up with the title as the band debated what to call the album. An exasperated Jones said, "Oh, fuck it, never mind the bollocks of it all." After dates in the Netherlands, the band set out on a Never Mind the Bans tour of Britain in December 1977. Of eight scheduled dates, four were cancelled due to illness or political pressure. On Christmas Day,

9164-563: The music on offer. The first real store was above a shoe shop at the Tottenham Court Road end of Oxford Street . After making the shop into a success, they turned their business into a fully fledged record label. The name Virgin , according to Branson (in his autobiography), arose from Tessa Watts , a colleague of his, when they were brainstorming business ideas. She suggested Virgin – as they were all new to business – like "virgins". The original Virgin logo (known to fans as

9280-455: The next several months, McLaren arranged for recordings in Brazil (with Jones and Cook), Paris (with Vicious) and London; they and others stepped in as lead vocalists on later tracks. These recordings were to make up the musical soundtrack for the reconceived Pistols feature film project, directed by Temple, to which McLaren was now devoting himself. On 30 June, a single credited to the Sex Pistols

9396-588: The programme was only broadcast in the London region, the ensuing media coverage occupied the tabloid newspapers for days. The Daily Mirror famously ran the headline "The Filth and the Fury!", and asked "Who are these punks?"; other papers such as the Daily Express ("Fury at Filthy TV Chat") and the Daily Telegraph ("4-Letter Words Rock TV") followed suit. Thames Television suspended Grundy and

9512-813: The punk look". In late 1974, Jones asked McLaren to take over the band's management. Glen Matlock , an art student who occasionally worked at McLaren's and Westwood's shop, joined as bassist. McLaren and Westwood conceived a new identity for their shop: renamed Sex , it changed its focus away from retro 1950s couture to S&M -inspired " anti-fashion ". After managing and promoting the New York Dolls , McLaren returned to London in May 1975 and began to take more of an interest in The Strand. The group had been rehearsing regularly, overseen by Bernard Rhodes (who would later go on to manage The Clash ) and performing live. Soon after McLaren's return, Nightingale

9628-404: The punk rock groups I suppose currently are the Sex Pistols. They are unbelievably nauseating   ... the antithesis of humankind. I would like to see somebody dig a very, very large, exceedingly deep hole and drop the whole bloody lot down it." Three concerts were arranged in the Netherlands for January 1977. The band, hungover, boarded a plane at London Heathrow Airport early on 4 January;

9744-433: The recently acquired mtheory Artist Partnerships as part of the newly launched division Virgin Music Group . UMG also appointed mtheory founders JT Myers and Nat Pastor as Co-CEOs of the new division. The Virgin label was distributed in the US by Atlantic from 1973 to 1975. During this period, 14 albums were issued. All had been previously issued in the UK on Virgin, although one album, Marjory Razorblade by Kevin Coyne,

9860-600: The same early 14 albums issued in the US by Virgin/Atlantic. In 1975, distribution transferred to Columbia (as it had in the US), but the following year distribution was transferred again to Polydor Records (which changed its name to PolyGram by 1980), and issued a different and larger selection of records from what was being issued in the US. Canadian editions of the Dindisc label were issued as Dindisc/Virgin. Virgin's Canadian division arranged to have Canadian artists Martha &

9976-628: The same time, Virgin releases distributed by Columbia continued, distribution returning to Atlantic (later WEA) in 1980, at which time Virgin International ceased operations. In 1986, Virgin Records opened up another American division, Virgin Records America . Its first release was the debut album by Cutting Crew which included the hit single " (I Just) Died in Your Arms ". Other Virgin America signings included Camper Van Beethoven , Bob Mould , Warren Zevon , Paula Abdul , T'pau , Ziggy Marley and

10092-692: The school in November 1975, supporting the pub rock group Bazooka Joe . They performed several covers including the Who 's " Substitute ", the Small Faces ' " Whatcha Gonna Do About It ", and the Monkees ' " (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone ". The Saint Martins gig was followed by performances at colleges around London. The band's core early followers—including Siouxsie Sioux , Steven Severin and Billy Idol , Jordan, and Soo Catwoman —came to be known as

10208-533: The security team hired by Warner Bros. , the band's American label. He subsequently appeared with the words "Gimme a fix" scarred on his chest. During a concert in San Antonio , Vicious called the crowd "a bunch of faggots" before hitting an audience member on the head with his bass guitar. Suffering from heroin withdrawal during a show in Dallas , he spat blood at a woman who climbed onstage and punched him in

10324-657: The single was Reid's "anarchy flag" poster: a ripped up and partly safety-pinned back together Union Flag , with the song and band names clipped across the middle. These and other of Reid's images for the band quickly became punk iconography . The Pistols' behaviour as much as their music attracted national media attention. On 1 December 1976, the band, accompanied by members of the Bromley Contingent, repeatedly swore during an early evening live broadcast of Thames Television 's Today programme, hosted by Bill Grundy . Appearing as last-minute replacements for Queen ,

10440-437: The social context in which the band formed, John Lydon said that mid-seventies Britain was "a very depressing place   ... completely run-down, there was trash on the streets , total unemployment, just about everybody was on strike   ... if you came from the wrong side of the tracks   ... then you had no hope in hell and no career prospects at all." In August 1975, Rhodes spotted Lydon, then 19 years old, wearing

10556-538: The summer as Never Mind the Bollocks . Vicious's lack of musical ability became apparent soon after he joined the sessions; according to Jones they "tried as hard as possible not to let [Vicious] anywhere near the studio". Although Matlock was asked to return as a session musician , Jones ultimately played most of the bass parts. Vicious's bass is reportedly present on " Bodies ": According to Jones, "we just let him do it. When he left I dubbed another part on, leaving Sid's down low." Jones says that Vicious showed up for

10672-423: The time estimating an $ 80 million deal. The agreement also required Virgin to allocate about $ 25 million in video production, marketing and promotion costs – a much larger sum than most deals. Virgin Records America was founded by the executive team of Jordan Harris, Jeff Ayeroff and Phil Quartararo . Another American company called Caroline Records co-existed during this time. Caroline records rarely mentioned

10788-533: The twins label came the red, white and blue design introduced in 1975, which coincided with the height of punk and new wave. The current Virgin logo (known informally as "the scrawl") was created in 1978, commissioned by Simon Draper, then managing director of Virgin Records Limited. Brian Cooke of Cooke Key Associates commissioned a graphic designer to produce a stylised signature. The logo was first used on Mike Oldfield's Incantations album in 1978 and by

10904-533: The way society is declining", and both the Independent Television Companies Association and Association of Independent Radio Contractors banned its advertisements. Nonetheless, advance sales were sufficient to make it number one on the album chart. The album title led to a high-profile legal case after a Nottingham Virgin Records store was threatened with prosecution for displaying "indecent printed matter". The case

11020-462: Was a Stooges cover, "No Fun". At the end of the song, Rotten, kneeling on the stage, chanted an unambiguous declaration, "This is no fun. No fun. This is no fun—at all. No fun." As the final cymbal crash died away, Rotten addressed the audience directly—"Ah-ha-ha. Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? Good night"—before throwing down his microphone and walking offstage. He later observed, "I felt cheated, and I wasn't going on with it any longer; it

11136-442: Was a ridiculous farce. Sid was completely out of his brains—just a waste of space. The whole thing was a joke at that point   ... [Malcolm] wouldn't speak to me   ... He would not discuss anything with me. But then he would turn around and tell Paul and Steve that the tension was all my fault because I wouldn't agree to anything." On 17 January the band travelled separately to Los Angeles. Vicious, in increasingly bad shape,

11252-491: Was arrested and charged with her murder. While on bail , Vicious was arrested for smashing a beer mug in the face of Patti Smith 's brother Todd Smith. Vicious was taken into custody on 9 December 1978 and spent the next 54 days in Rikers Island jail, where he underwent enforced cold turkey detox. He was released on bail on 1 February 1979. Later that night, following a small party to celebrate his release, he died of

11368-663: Was as a supporting act for Eddie and the Hot Rods , a leading pub rock group, at the Marquee in February 1976. The band's first review appeared in the NME , accompanied by a brief interview in which Jones declared, "Actually we're not into music. We're into chaos." Among those who read the article were two students at the Bolton Institute of Technology , Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley , who headed down to London in search of

11484-491: Was brought by a friend who then took him to New York; Vicious took a mixture of valium and methadone (later excused as "nervous exhaustion") and was hospitalised on arrival. Rotten flew to New York to visit Vicious, and announced the band's break-up on 18 January. Virtually broke, he telephoned the head of Virgin Records, Richard Branson , who agreed to pay for his flight back to London. Cook, Jones and Vicious did not play live together again after Rotten's departure. Over

11600-534: Was delayed due to American authorities' reluctance to issue a visa to Jones, given his criminal record, leading to the cancellation of several dates in the Northeast . Although the tour had been highly anticipated in the US, it was plagued by in-fighting and poor planning, leading to frustrated and belligerent audiences. Early in the tour, Vicious was arrested while trying to buy heroin in Memphis and beaten by

11716-494: Was discovered by Tom Newman and brought to Simon Draper – who eventually persuaded Richard and Nik to present it as their first release in 1973, produced by Tom Newman, for which the fledgling label garnered unprecedented acclaim. This was soon followed by some notable krautrock releases, including electronic breakthrough album Phaedra by Tangerine Dream (which went Top 20), and The Faust Tapes and Faust IV by Faust . The Faust Tapes album retailed for 49p (the price of

11832-476: Was dismissed and Jones, uncomfortable as frontman, took over guitar. McLaren had been talking with the New York Dolls' Sylvain Sylvain about coming over to England to front the group. When those plans fell through, McLaren, Rhodes and the band began looking locally for a new member to assume the lead vocal duties. As described by Matlock, "Everyone had long hair back then, even the milkman, so what we used to do

11948-784: Was folded into Capitol Records' Nashville division. Capitol Records and Virgin Records America merged in 2007 to form Capitol Music Group after a massive restructuring of EMI Group Ltd. Stepping down as chief executive of Capitol Records was Andy Slater, with Jason Flom, former executive of Virgin, taking the reins as chairman and CEO of the newly created company. Universal Music Group (UMG) purchased EMI in 2012, thus acquiring Virgin. UMG absorbed Virgin's UK operations to create Virgin EMI Records in March 2013. On 16 June 2020, Universal rebranded Virgin EMI Records as EMI Records and named Rebecca Allen (former president of UMG's Decca label) as

12064-505: Was founded in 1988 as part of Virgin Records. Along with EMI Classics , it too was acquired by UMG in 2012 as part of the takeover of the EMI Group. But the terms of the European Commission 's approval of the takeover required divestment of the two classical labels. Accordingly, both were sold in February the following year to Warner Music Group , and this transaction was approved by the European Union that May. Warner placed

12180-457: Was harassed by locals due to her outfit with bare breasts. The following day, the So It Goes performance aired. On 13 September, the Pistols began a tour of Britain. A week later, back in London, they headlined the opening night of the 100 Club Punk Special . Organised by McLaren (for whom the word "festival" had too much of a hippie connotation), the event was "considered the moment that

12296-417: Was if someone had short hair we would stop them in the street and ask them if they fancied themselves as a singer". For instance, Midge Ure , the later front man of Rich Kids (with Matlock) and Ultravox , claims to have been approached, but refused the offer. With the search for a lead singer proving fruitless, McLaren made several calls to Richard Hell , who also turned down the invitation. Describing

12412-471: Was on a slow suicide mission   ... She wanted to take Sid with her." The Pistols signed to A&M Records at a March 1977 press ceremony held outside Buckingham Palace . Afterwards, intoxicated, they went to the A&;M offices where Vicious reportedly broke a toilet bowl and Rotten verbally abused members of the label's staff. A couple of days later, the Pistols got into a fight with another band at

12528-565: Was placed in Melody Maker looking for a "whizz kid guitarist ... not older than 20 ... not worse looking than Johnny Thunders ." As Steve New was the most talented guitarist to audition, he was asked to join. However, Jones' playing had greatly improved, and New left a month after joining the band. After considering band name options such as Le Bomb, Subterraneans, the Damned, Beyond, Teenage Novel, Kid Gladlove, and Crème de la Crème, they decided on Sex Pistols. Matlock said

12644-492: Was released: on one side, notorious criminal Ronnie Biggs sang " No One Is Innocent " accompanied by Jones and Cook; on the other, Vicious sang the classic " My Way ", over both a Jones–Cook backing track and a string orchestra. The single charted at number seven. After leaving the Pistols, Rotten reverted to his birth name of Lydon and formed the influential post-punk band Public Image Ltd with former Clash member Keith Levene and school friend Jah Wobble . The band scored

12760-543: Was replaced by Rotten's friend Sid Vicious , previously the drummer of two inner circle punk bands, Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Flowers of Romance . According to Matlock, Rotten wanted Vicious in the band because "[i]nstead of him against Steve and Paul, it would become him and Sid against Steve and Paul. He always thought of it in terms of opposing camps." According to Jones, "to Cookie [Paul Cook] and me, it just didn't make any sense to have someone who couldn't play

12876-574: Was sold to Thorn EMI in 1992. EMI would later be acquired by Universal Music Group (UMG) in 2012 with UMG creating the Virgin EMI Records division. The Virgin Records name continues to be used by UMG in certain markets such as Germany and Japan. Virgin Records America, Inc. was the company's North American operations founded in 1986. They are no longer active and were headquartered in Hollywood , California , and operated under

12992-481: Was the catalyst for the years to come". Belying the common perception that punk bands couldn't play their instruments, contemporary music press reviews, later critical assessments of concert recordings, and testimonials by fellow musicians indicate that the Pistols had developed into a tight, ferocious live band. As Rotten tested out wild vocalisation styles, the instrumentalists experimented "with overload, feedback and distortion   ... pushing their equipment to

13108-529: Was the worst thing that could possibly have happened. The interview made the band a household name overnight in Britain and brought punk into the mainstream. They launched the UK Anarchy Tour, supported by the Clash and Johnny Thunders' band the Heartbreakers , over from New York. The Damned were briefly part of the tour, before McLaren kicked them off. Media coverage was intense, and many of

13224-418: Was thrown out when defending QC John Mortimer produced an expert witness who established that bollocks was an Old English term for a small ball, that the word appeared in place names without causing local communities erotic disturbance, and that in the nineteenth century bollocks had been used as a nickname for clergymen: "Clergymen are known to talk a good deal of rubbish and so the word later developed

13340-606: Was timed to coincide with the height of Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee celebrations. By Jubilee weekend, a week and a half after the record's release, it had sold more than 150,000 copies. On 7 June, McLaren chartered a boat to have the Sex Pistols perform while sailing the River Thames , passing Westminster Pier and the Houses of Parliament . The event was conceived as a mockery of the Queen's river procession planned for two days later, but ended in chaos. Police launches forced

13456-439: Was truncated from a 20-song double album to an 11-song single album. Beginning with Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn album in 1975, American distribution switched to CBS Records/ Columbia Records . CBS/Columbia was unwilling to release all Virgin artists, and so many were licensed to other labels: Some of these records had a small Virgin logo added to the regular company design on the label. One of Virgin's and Epic's biggest acts of

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