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John Lydon’s Handwritten Sex Pistols Lyrics Are Going Up for Auction

The lyrics for "Holidays in the Sun" and "Submission" are expected to exceed $80,000 by the time the hammer falls.

Penned by frontman John Lydon(aka Johnny Rotten), the lyrics are for the songs “Holidays in the Sun”, which opened the band’s 1977 debut, and “Submission”, which appeared as a standalone single with the record, and was included in later editions. The sheet is presented in “fine condition, with three folds and general light handling wear”, and features a signed letter of authenticity, and one from music journalist Jon Savage, from whose personal collection the lyrics are derived from. The letter notes that the lyrics were “collected during the research of England’s Dreaming, now regarded as the classic book on Punk Rock and that period (1975-79) in British social and political life”, and that “it was most likely written when the Sex Pistols signed a publishing deal with Warner Brothers in autumn 1977 and is an original from the collection of Jamie Reid that came into my possession during 1980”.

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