In a recent conversation with NME, Glen Matlock replied to John Lydon calling Sex Pistols’ new lineup ‘bollocks.’
“Well, he was wrong, wasn’t he, because they were good,” the bassist said when Lydon was reportedly upset about their shows with Frank Carter, calling them ‘bollocks.’
“Not personally, no,” Matlock responded when asked if the singer said anything to him about it. “There’s probably been a few little ‘use of the name’ rights issues, which have been scattered around, but we’ve sorted that one out. John’s made his bed – he can lie in it. He’s happy doing his Public Image stuff. Good luck to him.”
The rocker continued, “It’s not my thing and I’m sure my thing isn’t his thing. With me doing my club-level stuff, because I’ve been doing the Pistols, I don’t feel obligated to just turn up and be Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols. Marky Ramone, who I like, goes and plays all the Ramones songs. I think that’s a little bit lame.”
On June 3, 2024, Paul Cook, Steve Jones, and Matlock announced two reunion shows at Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush called ‘Frank Carter and Sex Pistols.’ Carter, from Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Gallows, sang in place of Lydon.
Still, Lydon was reportedly angry after the Sex Pistols announced reunion gigs with a new singer instead of him. A source told The Sun that John, 68, ‘thinks he IS the Pistols’ and told friends the upcoming shows will be ‘bollocks.’
The source explained, “These Pistols gigs aren’t just for charity, they’re to show Rotten how rotten they think he’s been to the rest of the band over the years by battling to stop them earning royalties from their music. Rotten thinks he IS the Pistols and has the rights to all their music, but these gigs will show they don’t need him anymore. In typical fashion, John has told pals he thinks the upcoming gigs will be bollocks.”
On August 25, Sex Pistols headlined the 2024 AMA Music Festival with The Editors. A UK tour was announced for September 2024, listed as ‘Frank Carter and Paul Cook, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols do Never Mind the Bollocks.’ They played in Nottingham on September 20, Birmingham on September 21, and London on September 26. On November 12, 2024, they were announced for the 2025 Download Festival lineup.
