03-07-2025
Britain's draconian approach to pro-Gaza activism is likely to backfire
IN EARLY 1977 the Sex Pistols were mostly known, if at all, for having sworn on television. Then came the punk band's second single, 'God Save the Queen', with such lyrics as 'The fascist regime' and 'She ain't no human being'. MPs boiled with outrage; tabloids screamed treason. In forcing the BBC to ban all airplay, they only increased the song's allure. The record sold 150,000 copies a day, reaching number two during the week of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, its place in the charts marked with a blank line.
