Queen Elizabeth II Turned 90 Today: Here’s John Lydon Talking About “God Save the Queen”

During Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Sex Pistols released their Monarchy-scorching single, “God Save the Queen.” The song was so controversial at first, broadcasters refused to play it. Over time, however, “God Save the Queen” has become one of punk rock’s greatest anthems and arguably one of the most powerful protest songs of all-time.

Seeing as today is the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, we thought it’d be worth looking back on a 2012 interview John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon had with NME regarding “God Save the Queen.”

Here’s what Lydon had to say about the song:

“It’s musically timeless, although it absolutely encapsulates that period and free spirit of teenage angst and rebellion,” explained Lydon. “But it’s bigger than that. It’s braver. It’s by far the hardest thing to have done initially: it was a full-on challenge to the establishment, and I meant it to be so.

“I knew it would get me into all kinds of hell on earth, and I was fully prepared for that,” he continued. “To me, it was an incredible achievement for a record to be discussed openly in the Houses of Parlimaent under the Traitors And Treasons Act.”