When Activision announced today, September 25th that they had actually succeeded in getting the Sex Pistols back into the studio to re-record “Anarchy in the UK,” it was a sign of the times regarding the growing importance of music in video games towards attracting the new set of gamers. As our research shows in the video gaming section of our North American Youth Culture Study, games such as Guitar Hero are among the fast-growing games among 13-25-year-olds, particularly females. But the complaint with the game was the lack of punk rock music choices—which of course tends to attract younger demographics which are among the bulk of those playing the game.
The Sex Pistols were the obvious choice for obtaining music for the sequel version Guitar Hero III: legends of Rock, but because they were unable to locate the original multi-tracks, Activision had to get the boys back into the studio to re-record it. So with John Lyndon on vocals, Steve Jones on guitar, and Paul Cook on drums, re-teamed with producer Chris Thomas who went for the original analog sound desk circa 1969, the results, as Steve Jones put it, “actually turned out great and I think everyone held their own.”
According to John Lydon, “Re-recoding the songs, what a stress you put on us, but we rose to the occasion I think admirably! A bit of anarchy in a video game is alright by me.”
Fans will most likely agree. It’s the 30th anniversary for the original punk rock band that notoriously turned down their award for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On October 29th, the only studio album the Sex Pistols ever did, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols” will be re-issued on vinyl in a package including a poster and Submission 7-inch. The single “Anarchy in the UK” will also be re-issued on vinyl on October 1st along with 3 other classics. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will be the sponsors of the upcoming historic Sex Pistols show at the Brixton Academy in London on November 8th.
