Sex Pistols and Marshall Team Up on Amp Inspired by Debut Album

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Amplifier manufacturer Marshall is teaming up with the Sex Pistols to mark 50 years of the legendary punk band, unveiling a limited-edition Never Mind the Bollocks-inspired half-stack guitar amp. The JCM800 half-stack amp features “anarchic” yellow and pink accents drawn from the cover art of the seminal 1977 album.

The design was made in collaboration with the Pistols’ guitarist Steve Jones, who said, “I’ve been using Marshall for a long time now and the 800 series for me are my workhorse — always reliable, always consistent. I like to keep things simple, as the sayin’ goes. It’s only rock ’n’ roll.”

“The JCM800 became a defining voice of British punk,” added Steph Carter, Culture Marketing Director at Marshall. “Working with Steve to reimagine this amp for the band’s 50th anniversary has been a powerful tribute to the sound that changed everything.”

The amplifier was manufactured in Marshall’s factory in the U.K., and the release is limited to just 81 units worldwide. The amplifier also features a 50th anniversary badge celebrating the band. The original JCM800 head, first released in 1981, later became a staple of hard rock and metal. The head comes with a matching 1960A cabinet, also featuring pink and yellow detailing.

The band was originally formed by Jones, John Lydon (a.k.a Johnny Rotten), Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock, the latter of whom was replaced by notorious bassist Sid Vicious in 1977. The band released only one album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, which became a defining record in punk rock and is widely seen as one of the best albums of all time. The current lineup features Matlock, Cook, and Jones, who have had a fractious relationship with Lydon since the four last reunited in 2008.

You can check out the limited-edition release below.