Rebellious, groundbreaking, loved and feared, British punk rockers the Sex Pistols were royally blunt on their hit, “God Save the Queen.” With a defaced photo of Queen Elizabeth II as cover art, their second single featured Johnny Rotten’s caustic vocals equating the Queen with a fascist regime and declaring that England had no future. The scathing song was released during the Queen’s 1977 Silver Jubilee, and the band notoriously attempted to play it while sailing on a boat past Westminster Palace. Although outraged authorities banned it from airplay on the BBC, the song still became a #2 hit on the British charts and remains an all-time rock classic.

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