Title ​Sex Pistols – Rare Original 1977 London "Evening News" Newsstand Headline Poster – "SEX PISTOL No. 2 KNIFED" (Ex-A&M Records Director Provenance) ​Specifications / Metadata ​Category: Music Memorabilia / Punk Rock & Counterculture ​Artist / Subject: Sex Pistols (Johnny Rotten / John Lydon) ​Item Type: Original Newsagent / Newsstand Billboard Headline Poster ​Publication: London Evening News ​Date: June 21, 1977 ​Size: Approx. 30" x 20" (76 cm x 51 cm) ​Provenance: Sourced directly from the personal collection of a former A&M Records director ​Condition: Very Good vintage condition; retains original newsstand fold lines with light handling marks and edge wear consistent with paper type and age ​Description ​An extraordinary and historically significant piece of original British Punk ephemera, this newsstand billboard poster was issued by the London Evening News on June 21, 1977. Featuring bold, stark block typography, it broadcasts one of the most infamous headlines of the era: "SEX PISTOL No. 2 KNIFED." ​Historical Context ​During the peak of Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee in June 1977, the Sex Pistols released their explosive anti-royalist single "God Save the Queen." The record provoked intense media outrage, widespread BBC radio bans, and violent hostility from loyalist groups. On June 18, 1977, frontman Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) was ambushed and slashed with knives and broken bottles outside the Pegasus pub in Islington by a pro-monarchist gang—just days after band members Paul Cook and Matt Humm were similarly targeted. ​Street-level newsstand posters like this were printed on lightweight newsprint paper and displayed outside newsagents for a single afternoon before being thrown away. Very few survived the trash, making this an authentic, unfiltered artifact of the moral panic that gripped the UK at the height of Punk's birth. ​Provenance & Condition ​Adding remarkable pedigree to this piece, the poster originates directly from the collection of a former director at A&M Records—the label that famously signed the Sex Pistols outside Buckingham Palace in March 1977, only to fire them six days later amidst mounting public scandal. ​Condition: Preserved flat, the poster features its original horizontal and vertical fold lines as distributed to newsagents. The paper shows minor creasing, light edge wear, and a tiny nick along the top border, but the typography remains crisp and the red and black ink is bold and striking. An exceptional candidate for conservation framing.