Ex Pistols

The Ex Pistols were a scam act introduced in 1979 by one-time Sex Pistols producer Dave Goodman after his services were substituted for those of professional producers. The Ex Pistols existed as a sound-alike band meant to mislead fans due to the similar music, name, and artwork, that led people to believe their songs were actually new or lost Sex Pistols recordings.

The Sex Pistols would successfully sue Dave Goodman and he was no longer allowed to use the name.

Music

The first Ex Pistols release "Land of Hope and Glory" was a punk rock version of the old English classic "Land of Hope and Glory" by Edward Elgar. Not only did it confuse fans but it also caused legal trouble between Goodman and the publisher of the original piece, Boosey & Hawkes.

The next recordings would appear on numerous Sex Pistols compilation albums including the songs "Schools Are Prisons" and "Revolution in the Classroom".

The "band" re-appeared in 1988 with an album released in Japan, The Swindle Continues. The album was made up of the band performing Ex and Sex Pistols tracks. It came in the form of a double picture disc collectable LP, and was also released in plain vinyl form (and later, CD).

In 1992 their tracks surfaced again on a limited promo album, Deny. The album consisted entirely of original Ex Pistols tracks, and was never merchandised but instead given to fans of the Sex Pistols or left in Virgin stores with a "Free" sticker.

A short while before he died, Dave Goodman released an album, "Denial of a Good Man" via his website, featuring remixed versions of some songs from the Deny LP, a video to the song "Don't Fear", and a version of "Anarchy in the UK" by the Sex Pistols with rewritten lyrics, named "Wedding Day".

Sex Pistols lawsuit

While Glen Matlock played on two songs from the Deny LP and co-wrote "Happy Families", John Lydon was not so forthcoming. After winning the rights to the Sex Pistols music and documentation from Malcolm McLaren and Glitterbest, he was outraged by Dave Goodman using the band's name and image to promote "inferior recordings" to cash in on their name and tarnish the Sex Pistols' reputation, and for using their photographs and likenesses on the Ex Pistols' records without permission. This includes the "Land Of Hope And Glory" 7" single (which has the Sex Pistols' figures on the disk, albeit with their faces crossed out), the "Revolution In The Classroom" single and The Swindle Continues. The image on the sleeve of the Deny LP is not actually Johnny, rather Ex Pistols associate Tony Barber (of the Buzzcocks), who resembles John Lydon.

After a lawsuit ensued, Dave Goodman was banned from producing any more records made to look or sound like Sex Pistols recordings. The Ex Pistols next album, Denial Of A Good Man, was put on indefinite hold and the band changed their name to Dave Goodman & Friends. After that they re-released one more single entitled "Justifiable Homicide" (originally released in August 1978 and made commercially available and available for download on Dave Goodman's website) and recorded and released a music video for "Don't Fear", segments of which were featured on the Chaos! The Ex Pistols' Secret History DVD. All the manufactured Denial Of A Good Man CDs were sold through Dave's website.

Dave Goodman and Kim Thraves owned a rehearsal studio with 4-track recording facilities where the Sex Pistols recorded some early demos. Goodman owned a PA system and became the Sex Pistols regular live sound engineer until 1977. Goodman produced the recordings that formed the Spunk album. Goodman's collection of very poor live sound recordings of the Sex Pistols have been released as Live Worldwide (Konexion Records, Belgium) and other titles. Some of these titles contain live Sex Pistols recordings interspersed with recordings of the Ex Pistols making it appear that these tracks were performed by the Sex Pistols.

Personnel on Ex Pistols recordings

Pseudonyms used on the releases were

• Rotten Johnny (for Johnny Rotten)
• Pull Cock (for Paul Cook)
• Steal Jones (for Steve Jones)
• Posh Pen Bollocks (for Glen Matlock)

Actual musicians were

• Dave Slave - vocals
• Alan Lee - guitar, vocals
• Dave Goodman - bass guitar, vocals
• Bryson Graham - drums
• Del Bartle - guitar
• Andy Boreman - drums
• Dave MacIntosh - drums
• Kevin Murphy - drums
• Dave Rose - keyboards

Discography

Land Of Hope And Glory reached #2 on the UK Independent charts.^[1]

Links and further information

• "Not the Sex Pistols" - a site documenting Ex Pistols and Dave Goodman activity
• Dave Goodman's page on the Ex Pistols
• Ex Pistols discography at Discogs

References