Ex Pistols

Lore & Background

The Ex Pistols' first release was a punk rock version of Edward Elgar's 'Land of Hope and Glory,' which caused legal trouble between Dave Goodman and the publisher Boosey & Hawkes. Subsequent recordings appeared on Sex Pistols compilation albums, including 'Schools Are Prisons' and 'Revolution in the Classroom.' In 1988, the band released an album in Japan, The Swindle Continues, featuring performances of Ex and Sex Pistols tracks on double picture disc and plain vinyl. In 1992, their tracks surfaced on a limited promo album, Deny, consisting entirely of original Ex Pistols tracks, given away for free in Virgin stores. The sleeve of Deny features a lookalike of John Lydon, not Tony Barber. Shortly before his death, Dave Goodman released Denial of a Good Man via his website, with remixed songs, a video for 'Don't Fear,' and a rewritten-lyrics version of 'Anarchy in the UK' titled 'Wedding Day.'

Reader's Guide

The Ex Pistols are significant primarily as a footnote in the legal and commercial history of the Sex Pistols. Formed by former producer Dave Goodman after he was replaced on the Sex Pistols' seminal album, the band deliberately mimicked the Sex Pistols' sound, name, and artwork to confuse fans and capitalize on the original band's reputation. This led to a 1992 lawsuit by John Lydon, who had won rights to the Sex Pistols' music and documentation, and who objected to what he called 'inferior recordings' being used to tarnish the Sex Pistols' name. The lawsuit resulted in Goodman being banned from producing records that looked or sounded like Sex Pistols recordings. The Ex Pistols' legacy is thus tied to issues of intellectual property, fan deception, and the boundaries of parody in music. Their recordings, while obscure, occasionally resurface on compilations and are of interest to collectors of punk ephemera.

Did You Know?

• The Ex Pistols were formed in 1979 by Dave Goodman, who had been the Sex Pistols' producer before being replaced on Never Mind the Bollocks.
• Their first single, 'Land of Hope and Glory,' reached No. 2 on the UK Indie Chart.
• The sleeve of the Deny LP features Ex Pistols associate Tony Barber, not John Lydon, though he resembles him.
• After the 1992 lawsuit, the band changed their name to Dave Goodman & Friends.

Origins and the Sound-Alike Concept

Dave Goodman first crossed paths with the Sex Pistols when he and Kim Thraves operated a rehearsal studio equipped with 4-track recording facilities, a space the Pistols used to lay down some of their earliest demos. Goodman went on to serve as the band's regular live sound engineer until 1977 and produced the recordings that would later be compiled into the Spunk album. However, when it came time to produce the band's landmark studio record, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, his services were swapped out for those of other producers. That professional displacement appears to have set the stage for what followed. In 1979, Goodman assembled a new London-based punk group with a deliberately confusing name and aesthetic. The Ex Pistols were conceived from the outset as a sound-alike act: their music, their name, and even their artwork were designed to blur the line between them and the original band, misleading listeners into believing they were hearing the real thing.

A Catalogue of Confusion

The Ex Pistols' debut single, a punk rock rendition of Edward Elgar's 'Land of Hope and Glory,' climbed to number two on the UK Indie Chart and simultaneously triggered a dispute with the publisher Boosey & Hawkes over the use of the original composition. Subsequent tracks such as 'Schools Are Prisons' and 'Revolution in the Classroom' found their way onto numerous Sex Pistols compilation albums, further muddying the waters for unwary collectors. In 1988 the group resurfaced with The Swindle Continues, a double picture-disc collectable LP pressed for the Japanese market that mixed Ex and Sex Pistols material, later also issued on plain vinyl and CD. By 1992, the band released Deny, a limited promo album of entirely original Ex Pistols songs that was never merchandised commercially; instead it was handed to Sex Pistols fans or left in Virgin stores bearing a 'Free' sticker. A short while before his death, Goodman released Denial of a Good Man via his website, featuring remixed Deny material, a video for 'Don't Fear,' and a re-lyriced Sex Pistols song retitled 'Wedding Day.'

The Lawsuit and Its Aftermath

When John Lydon secured the rights to the Sex Pistols' music and documentation from Malcolm McLaren and Glitterbest, he turned his attention to Dave Goodman's years of using the band's name, photographs, and likenesses without authorization. Lydon described the Ex Pistols output as 'inferior recordings' designed to cash in on the Pistols' reputation. The evidence was extensive: the 'Land of Hope and Glory' single displayed the Sex Pistols' figures with their faces crossed out, while the sleeve of the Deny LP featured Tony Barber of the Buzzcocks, a look-alike for Lydon. In 1992 the Sex Pistols won their case, and a court order barred Goodman from producing any further records intended to resemble Sex Pistols material. The planned album Denial of a Good Man was shelved indefinitely, and the group rebranded as Dave Goodman & Friends. Under that name they reissued the 1978 single 'Justifiable Homicide,' filmed a music video for 'Don't Fear,' and sold remaining Denial of a Good Man CDs exclusively through Goodman's personal website.

Pseudonyms and the Real Musicians

Every Ex Pistols release credited its performers under deliberately misleading pseudonyms that parodied the Sex Pistols' lineup: Rotten Johnny stood in for Johnny Rotten, Pull Cock echoed Paul Cook, Steal Jones mimicked Steve Jones, and Posh Pen Bollocks was a clear nod to Glen Matlock. Behind those names stood a rotating cast of actual musicians. Dave Slave handled lead vocals, while Alan Lee played guitar and shared vocal duties. Dave Goodman himself took bass guitar and additional vocals. Drummers included Bryson Graham, Andy Boreman, Dave MacIntosh, and Kevin Murphy, while Del Bartle contributed guitar and Dave Rose played keyboards. The project also attracted genuine Sex Pistols connections: Glen Matlock performed on two tracks from the Deny LP and co-wrote the song 'Happy Families.' Meanwhile, the Deny sleeve photograph, which many assumed showed Lydon, actually depicted Ex Pistols associate Tony Barber, whose resemblance to the former frontman was part of the deliberate deception that ran through the band's entire identity.