The Great Rock And Roll Swindle soundtrack album of the film of the same name by Julien Temple. Following the end of the US tour the Pistols had gone their seperate ways. Lydon left the group entirely and refused to participate. The tracks featuring Johnny’s vocals were taken from earlier demo versions with the backing tracks re-recorded by Paul and Steve. The remaining tracks, original songs and covers, on the album were written and recorded in 1978 and feature a number of guest singers, including Sid Vicious, Ronnie Biggs, and Malcolm McLaren amongst others.
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Album Facts
Release Date: 26 February 1979 (Double Album version) / 6 June 1980 (Single Album version)
Recorded: 1976-1978
Duration: 78:39 (Double Album version)
Label: Virgin
Original
Catalogue Number: VD2510 / V2168
UK Chart Peak: 7
Producer(s): Dave Goodman, Steve Jones, Paul Cook
Country: UK
Tracklist – Double Album Version
| TRACK | WRITERS | VOCALS | |
| God Save The Queen (Orchestral) | Cook, Jones, Lydon, Matlock | Malcolm McLaren | 4:00 |
| Rock Around The Clock | Max C. Freedman, James E. Myers | Edward Tudor-Pole | 2:00 |
| Johnny B Goode | Chuck Berry | Johnny Rotten | 6:20 |
| Road Runner | Jonathan Richman | Johnny Rotten | |
| Black Arabs | Rotten, Jones, Matlock, Cook, Biggs | The Black Arabs | 4:45 |
| Anarchy In The UK | Cook, Jones, Lydon, Matlock | Johnny Rotten | 4:00 |
| Watcha Gonna Do About It | Ian Samwell, Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane | Johnny Rotten | 1:55 |
| Who Killed Bambi? | Edward Tudor-Pole, Vivienne Westwood | Edward Tudor-Pole | 3:07 |
| Silly Thing | Jones, Cook | Paul Cook | 3:05 |
| Substitute | Pete Townshend | Johnny Rotten | 3:05 |
| Don’t Give Me No Lip Child | Barry Richards, Jean Thomas, Don Thomas | Johnny Rotten | 3:30 |
| (I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone | Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart | Johnny Rotten | 3:05 |
| Lonely Boy | Jones, Cook | Johnny Rotten | 3:05 |
| Something Else | Eddie Cochran, Sharon Sheeley | Rock Around The Clock | 2:10 |
| L’Anarchie Pour Le U.K. | Rock Around The Clock | Sid Vicious | 3:26 |
| Einmal Belsen War Vortrefflich (Live) | Rotten, Jones, Matlock, Cook | Johnny Rotten | 2:10 |
| Einmal Belsen War Wirklich Vortrefflich | Rotten, Jones, Matlock, Cook | Ronnie Biggs | 2:10 |
| No One Is Innocent | Jones, Cook, Biggs | Ronnie Biggs | 3:00 |
| My Way | Paul Anka, Claude François, Jacques Revaux | Sid Vicious | 4:05 |
| C’mon Everybody | Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart | Sid Vicious | 2:10 |
| E.M.I. (Orch) | Rotten, Jones, Matlock, Cook | Steve Jones | 3:45 |
| The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle | Jones, Cook, Julien Temple | Rock Around The Clock | 4:30 |
| You Need Hands | Max Bygraves | Malcolm McLaren | 2:50 |
| Friggin’ In The Riggin’ | Traditional (arr. Jones) | Steve Jones | 3:40 |
Performers:
- See Track Listings – lead vocals
- Steve Jones – guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals
- Paul Cook – drums
- Dave Goodman – production
- Jamie Reid, Trevor Key – Artwork
The album has been released in different variations featuring different track listings. There have been two main versions, which were featured on double-album vinyl and CD. The biggest differences between the track lists is that the songs are re-arranged and version A features “I Wanna Be Me” and the Dave Goodman produced version of “Anarchy in the UK” while version B features “Watcha Gonna Do About It” and the Chris Thomas produced version of “Anarchy in the UK”. Version A was the most common track list until 1992, afterwards version B is the most common. A 2012 reissue by Universal incorporates both track lists, as it features the Version A track list with “Watcha Gonna Do About It” added on to the end.
Additionally, a single-album version was released in May 1980 to tie in with the release of the film, and featured a different cover and a pared-down track list, which excluded all of Johnny Rotten’s tracks. Early releases came with a copy of the original movie poster.
Tracklist – Single Album Version
| TRACK | WRITERS | VOCALS | |
| God Save The Queen (Orchestral) | Cook, Jones, Lydon, Matlock | Malcolm McLaren | 4:00 |
| The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle | Jones, Cook, Julien Temple | Edward Tudor-Pole, Steve Jones, Paul Cook & others | 4:30 |
| You Need Hands | Max Bygraves | Malcom McLaren | 2:50 |
| Silly Thing | Cook, Jones | Paul Cook | 3:05 |
| Lonely Boy | Cook, Jones | Johnny Rotten | 3:05 |
| Something Else | Eddie Cochran, Sharon Sheeley | Sid Vicious | 2:10 |
| Rock Around The Clock | Max C. Freedman, James E. Myers | Edward Tudor-Pole | 2:04 |
| C’mon Everybody | Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart | Sid Vicious | 2:10 |
| Who Killed Bambi? | Edward Tudor-Pole, Vivienne Westwood | Edward Tudor-Pole | 3:07 |
| No-one Is Innocent | Jones, Cook | Paul Cook | 3:05 |
| L’Anarchie Pour Le U.K. | Rock Around The Clock | Sid Vicious | 3:26 |
| My Way | Paul Anka, Claude François, Jacques Revaux | Sid Vicious | 4:05 |