3 Classic Rock Albums That Turned Feuds Into Full-Blown Diss Tracks

In the mood for some particularly spicy classic rock diss tracks? Plenty of famous bands and musicians in the 20th century had some choice words for other musicians and even their own labels. Let’s look at a few legendary classic rock albums that feature diss tracks you might have missed.

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‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’ by Sex Pistols (1977)

This punk rock classic was the only studio album from The Sex Pistols. And it really pulled no punches with its controversial songs. One song that might have slipped past fans’ radar is the tune “E.M.I.”, which was, no matter how you look at it, a diss track against the band’s label.

Their label, E.M.I., offered a deal to Sex Pistols that included a pretty hefty bonus. They also promised to release “Anarchy In The U.K.” about a month after they signed the deal. However, when the band started stirring up controversy, particularly among the label’s shareholders, E.M.I. didn’t promote the single as they promised. Eventually, the label dropped them. Sex Pistols were picked up by Warner, which would be the label to produce their only album. “E.M.I.” was tacked onto the tracklist, and it’s a clear and stiff middle finger to the band’s former label. Lines like “There is no reason why, E.M.I. / I tell you it was all a frame, E.M.I. / They only did it ’cause of fame, E.M.I.” are pretty direct.

‘Who Do You Think We Are’ by Deep Purple (1973)

Who Do You Think We Are is one of hard rock outfit Deep Purple’s most commercially successful albums, one with a bluesier sound than their previous releases. Though, there was a bit of turmoil around the album’s production. All of the members of Deep Purple allegedly had serious illnesses. Singer Ian Gillan quit the band after this album was released, partly due to his issues with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore’s control-freak tendencies. Hidden on that album is “Smooth Dancer”, the closer of Side One, written by Ian Gillan. And that song was a diss track about Blackmore… and his sense of style.

“Black suede, I sense your mockery” and “You can never break me / Though you try to make me think you’re magical / I think you’re crazy” are just a couple of harsh lines from the track.

‘The Queen Is Dead’ by The Smiths (1986)

The Smiths’ The Queen Is Dead is a fan favorite for good reason. Amazing tracks like “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” and “Bigmouth Strikes Again” can be found on the record. The second song on Side One, though, is a bit of a diss track that casual fans might have skipped past. “Frankly, Mr. Shankly” makes it to our list of classic rock diss tracks because the song was a pretty obvious jab at Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade. The band blamed Travis for not paying them appropriate royalties. Before The Smiths blew up, Travis allegedly sent poetry to Morrissey for feedback. That note made lines like “I didn’t realize you wrote such bloody awful poetry, Mr. Shankly” particularly rough.

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