"Silly Thing" is a song by the Sex Pistols that was released in 1979. It was the 3rd single released in promotion of the film ''

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''. It was written by drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones, and recorded after the band's original lead singer,

Johnny Rotten John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and aga ...

, left the band. Typically, Jones also played bass in the studio, rather than suffer the ineptitude of the band's official bassist,

Sid Vicious John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

"Silly Thing" (A-side)

Paul Cook album version

The original version of the song, on which Paul Cook sings lead vocals and Steve Jones plays bass guitar, was recorded with engineer Steve Lipson at Regents Park Studios in London in April or May 1978. The recording of further guitar overdubs and the final mixing took place at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

in Wales with producer Dave Goodman in late May 1978.Dave Goodman: ''“My Amazing Adventures With The Sex Pistols”'' (''The Bluecat Press'', 2006, page 165) This original version of "Silly Thing" appeared on the movie soundtrack album of ''

'' and was used for the single in New Zealand, France and Japan. A different mix of this original version, with Cook singing the verses and Jones singing the chorus, was released in 1988 in Japan, along with an outtake from the same recording sessions, the original version of the Jones/Cook composition "Here We Go Again".

Steve Jones single version

In the second week of March 1979, Jones and Cook went into

Wessex Studios Wessex Sound Studios was a recording studio located at 106a Highbury New Park, London, England. Many renowned popular music artists recorded there, including Sex Pistols, King Crimson, the Clash, Theatre of Hate, XTC, the Sinceros, Queen, Talk Tal ...

in London with engineer Bill Price and recorded a new version of the song. On this version, bass guitar was played by Andy Allen of the

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, who later in the year formed The Professionals with Cook and Jones. This version of "Silly Thing" was used for the single in the UK, Australia, West Germany and Portugal. It appeared on the 1992 Sex Pistols compilation '' Kiss This''.

"Who Killed Bambi?" (B-side)

The song "Who Killed Bambi?" was written and sung by

Edward Tudor-Pole Edward Felix Tudor-Pole (also known as Edward Tenpole, though he introduced himself as "Ed" on several episodes of '' The Crystal Maze''; born 6 December 1955) is an English musician, television presenter and actor. Originally gaining fame in t ...

, with

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contributing to the lyrics. The song was recorded with a 45 piece orchestra, arranged and conducted by

Andrew Jackman Andrew Pryce Jackman (13 July 1946 – 16 August 2003) was an English keyboardist, arranger and composer who worked with many leading figures in British popular music. His most successful project was as the arranger and conductor of the ''Classi ...

, in a large studio in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

in summer 1978. Tudor-Pole's vocals were added later at the same studio. The subsequent movie sequence of Tudor-Pole performing the song was filmed in one day with actress

Irene Handl Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British author and character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austria-born father ...

at Rainbow Theatre in London.Phil Singleton: ''“Ed Tudor-Pole In Conversation With Phil Singleton”'' (''Sex-Pistols.net'' website, 2005)

Charts

*In the UK, the single spent 8 weeks in the Top 75 an
reached #6 on 15 April 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silly Thing (Song) 1979 singles Sex Pistols songs Songs written by Paul Cook Songs written by Steve Jones (musician)