Bragg to release anti-Jubilee track

Bragg is hoping for a number one single

Musician Billy Bragg is to release an anti-Jubilee single to mark the 50th anniversary of the Queen's coronation.

He will compete for attention with the Sex Pistols, who are re-releasing their once controversial punk anthem God Save The Queen.

Britain isn't cool you know, it's really not that great
It's not a proper country, it doesn't even have a patron saint

Take Down the Union Jack

Bragg, an anti-royalist, is hoping his CD Take Down the Union Jack, which will be released on 20 May, will end the "fawning and flag-waving" of the celebrations.

"This single offers everyone a chance to register their opposition to the Golden Jubilee in a communal act of defiance," he said.

"What better time to be blowing a raspberry than in the week of the celebrations themselves?"

Lyrics to the Bragg single include the lines: "Britain isn't cool you know, it's really not that great.

"It's not a proper country, it doesn't even have a patron saint."

The left-wing performer is donating profits from his single to the Living Wage Campaign.

If the song succeeds it would follow the anti-royal success of the Pistols' God Save The Queen which was a hit during Silver Jubilee week.

Although the anthem was beaten to the number one spot by Rod Stewart, it was actually the biggest seller that week.

Conspiracy theorists believe there was a cover-up to prevent the embarrassment of having the Pistols topping the charts during the celebrations.

The Sex Pistols signed a deal outside Buckingham Palace in 1977

Last week the Pistols called off a gig planned for the Queen's Jubilee weekend.

Their promoter, John Gidding, said the decision to cancel the Jubilee concert came because "they simply didn't want to play that weekend".

But he promised that a later concert would go ahead.

Mr Giddings said the Pistols' singer and frontman John Lydon, formerly Johnny Rotten, would fly in from Los Angeles to join the three UK-based members this summer.