"The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" is the title song of '' The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'' movie soundtrack album. The single was released on 12 September 1979 and featured vocals by Edward Tudor-Pole on both sides.

Recording

According to producer Dave Goodman, both songs were recorded at The Who's

Ramport Studios Ramport Studios was a recording studio on Thessaly Road, Battersea, south London, owned by the Who. The studio was built in an old church hall. Several major albums were recorded at Ramport, including 1974's ''Crime of the Century'' by Supertram ...

with himself playing bass on both tracks. According to Edward Tudor-Pole, the song originally featured lead vocals by

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist *Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...

. Phil Singleton: ''“Ed Tudor-Pole In Conversation With Phil Singleton”'' (''Sex-Pistols.net'' website, 2005) The final vocals were recorded live on the second day of an audition for singers specially filmed for inclusion in The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle movie. Vocal takes by Edward Tudor-Pole and three others were recorded and later edited together. According to the soundtrack album record sleeve, filming and recording took place at the Duchess Theatre in June 1978, however

John Lydon 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 ...

wrote in his autobiography that it was actually the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...

in Finsbury Park near his parents' home. Vocals for the B-side, ''“

Rock Around The Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was record ...

”'', were recorded several weeks later.

Charts

*The single spent 6 weeks in the

UK Top 75 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, peaking at #21 on 13 October 1979.''Theofficialcharts.com'' website *

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

also released the single in the Netherlands and West Germany, but it did not chart.

Covers

The song was covered by several bands, including

Chaotic Dischord Chaotic Dischord are a punk rock band from Bristol, England, allegedly formed by members of Vice Squad and their road crew in 1981, although this still remains unconfirmed by members of the band. The band also recorded a one-off EP under the ...

Lolita No.18 Lolita No.18 (ロリータ18号) is a Japanese all-girl punk rock band formed in 1989, known for their cartoony, high-pitched vocals. Members *Masayo Ishizaka (石坂マサヨ) - vocals (1989-) Former members *Kim*Rin (キム☆リン) - origi ...

, Niblick Henbane, Rumble Militia

References

1979 singles Sex Pistols songs Songs written by Paul Cook Songs written by Steve Jones (musician) Virgin Records singles 1978 songs {{1970s-single-stub