"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 The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. It was written by drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones, and recorded after the band's original lead singer, Johnny Rotten, left the band. Typically, Jones also played bass in the studio, rather than suffer the ineptitude of the band's official bassist, Sid Vicious.
"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[1] in April or May 1978. The recording of further guitar overdubs and the final mixing took place at Rockfield Studios in Wales with producer Dave Goodman in late May 1978.[2]
This original version of "Silly Thing" appeared on the movie soundtrack album of The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle 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,[2] the original version of the Jones/Cook composition "Here We Go Again".[3]
Steve Jones single version
In the second week of March 1979, Jones and Cook went into Wessex Studios in London[4] with engineer Bill Price and recorded a new version of the song. On this version, bass guitar was played by Andy Allen of the Lightning Raiders, 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.
The song was recorded with a 45 piece orchestra, arranged and conducted by Andrew Jackman, in a large studio in Wembley[5] 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 at Rainbow Theatre[6] in London.[7]
