Fragrance launches from music stars like Britney Spears, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Avril Lavigne have become commonplace, but it’s still an eyebrow-raising move from the legendary punk band Sex Pistols, which has been known for making cash from chaos, not from cologne.
 
The unisex scent, which comes in a tartan-topped bottle featuring the band’s God Save the Queen imagery, is a collaboration with Paris-based perfume brand Etat Libre d’Orange, which licensed the Sex Pistols name from the band’s merchandising partner, Live Nation Merchandise.
 
Etat Libre launched the perfume in France in mid-July through an exclusive deal with the Sephora chain of beauty shops, which has 150-plus stores across France. It retails for $51 (Dh187).

The scent is expected to launch in the United States Septembr 10, initially in the Henri Bendel store in New York.
 
Etat Libre CEO Etienne de Swardt says the company also hopes to launch a Never Mind the Bollocks-branded soap by year’s end and a second Pistols-themed perfume in 2011, subject to the band’s agreement.
 
The group declined requests for comment. But Michael Krassner, executive vice president of worldwide retail and licensing for Live Nation Merchandise, says frontman Johnny Rotten (aka John Lydon) and other band members are “closely involved” with all licensing decisions.
 
Krassner says Pistols-branded merchandise has proved to be a consistent seller, despite lingering resistance from some retailers over the band’s name.

He cites its January 2010 partnership with skate-wear brand Vans on a Pistols-branded range of shoes, shirts and denim as helping the band reach a younger demographic.
 
The perfume will be far from the only quirky Pistols product on the market.

Officially licensed alarm clocks, refrigerator magnets and removable laptop skins are already available, as is virtual Pistols merchandise for characters in the computer game The Sims.
 
Krassner says opening up new merchandise revenue streams has become particularly important for heritage acts, as income from recorded-music sales continues to shrink.

The Sex Pistols have sold 1.2 million albums in the United States since 1991, according to Nielsen SoundScan, but they’ve moved just 13,000 albums year to date, compared with 27,000 in full-year 2009 and 35,000 in full-year 2008 (when the band last re-formed for live shows).