God Save the Queen was banned on radio

Lead singer John Lydon, formerly known as Johnny Rotten, said he had no time for the Queen's celebrations.

He said: "That's her fun and, quite frankly, even beforehand it's absolutely guaranteed that her lot will be dismal.

"Let me remind you what being British is all about. This is our country, this is our flag, they're our monarchy, [and] they don't work too well at the moment.

"Let's get rid of the useless ones and keep a few of the goodies."

Lydon also hit out at Tony Blair's government saying that he had messed up the country and that his brand of socialism was a "joke".

Conspiracy

God Save the Queen will be re-released on the 27 May.

The song shot up British charts on its release in 1977, despite being banned by radio and TV.

It peaked at number two, below Rod Stewart's I Don't Want to Talk About It, but rumours persist that the Sex Pistols song sold more copies.

After a turbulent two-year career, the Sex Pistols split up in 1978, and a year later bassist Sid Vicious died.

The surviving members of Lydon, Steve Jones and Paul Cook, along with original bass player Glen Matlock, reunited in 1996 for the Filthy Lucre Tour.

The same line-up will be at the Crystal Palace gig.