Seventies punk icons The Sex Pistols have reunited to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee in their own unique anarchistic style.

The band caused uproar 25 years ago with their distinctly anti-royal anthem God Save the Queen, which was banned from radio stations.

The group, widely seen as the first and greatest of the punk rockers, caused outrage on 3 June 1977 by playing a gig on a boat in the Thames - a stunt which got them arrested.

Who said punk was dead?

The remaining members played at Crystal Palace in London on Saturday to an audience which spanned the generations - from new fans to those who experienced the Pistols in their heyday.

And singer John Lydon, who was known as Johnny Rotten, was in his usual unapologetic mood.

"I'm sorry for nothing to no-one - ever," he shouted to the crowd.

And he espoused vitriolic expletives about the Queen, Tony Blair and David Beckham.

Entwistle tribute

Lydon was joined on stage by band members Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock to race through their back catalogue, including hits from their Never Mind the Bollocks album.

Lydon dedicated one song, Substitute, to John Entwistle of The Who, who died of a heart attack in Las Vegas in June.

He also dedicated another, Pretty Vacant, to chat show host Graham Norton.

Although fans were delighted to see the band back together, some admitted that the shock value that had brought them to notoriety had gone.

Ellie Howlett, 17, said: "It was not shocking, we've heard it all before - though it was still good."

God Save the Queen was banned on radio

Paul Taylor, 37, agreed: "It can never have the same impact but they're still a great band and its great to relive the punk era."

The Sex Pistols rose to infamy with God the Queen, a song which shot up the 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 reunited in 1996 for the Filthy Lucre Tour.