# Anarchy in the U.K. guitar solo

> Steve Jones's guitar solo on Anarchy in the U.K. by Sex Pistols (1976) starts at about 1:53. From the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols.

Canonical URL: <https://greatestsolos.com/song/sex-pistols-anarchy-in-the-u-k/>

Sex Pistols, 1976, from *Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols*. Solo by *Steve Jones*.

Jones layered heavy guitar overdubs into a solo that sounds bigger and more rock-trained than punk myth allows.

Anarchy in the U.K. is often held up as punk's rejection of rock virtuosity, but Steve Jones' guitar tells a different story. His solo is built from heavily layered overdubs, making it sound thick, powerful and surprisingly polished. Jones draws on classic rock and glam influences, creating a dense wall of sound that gives the song its weight. It reveals that punk's energy often relied on skilled studio craft. Listen for the stacked guitar tones that create a massive, roaring sound, and for how the solo blends raw aggression with a clear sense of structure, balancing chaos and control in a way that became a template for punk guitar.

Anarchy in the U.K. by Sex Pistols is ranked #370 in our consensus of 80 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Steve Jones and the song was released in 1976. It appears on 1 lists, placing as high as #63 (Classic Rock (Louder)).

## In our lists

- [The 25 Greatest Punk Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/punk/) — #4
- [The Best Sex Pistols Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/sex-pistols-guitar-solos/) — #1
- [Top 20 Guitar Solos of 1976](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-guitar-solos-1976/) — #18

## Sources

- [Classic Rock (Louder): The 100 greatest guitar solos in rock](https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-100-greatest-guitar-solos-in-rock) — #63

### Who played the guitar solo on Anarchy in the U.K.?

Steve Jones played the solo on Sex Pistols's Anarchy in the U.K. (1976).

### Where does Anarchy in the U.K. rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#370 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 80 published lists; it appears on 1 of them.

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