Former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon addressed questions about his relationship with his ex-bandmates and whether he would ever tour to commemorate the band’s iconic debut album, in a new Rolling Stone interview.
When asked if he had ever considered doing his own tour to mark the 50th anniversary of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols — without his former bandmates — Lydon made clear that revisiting the past holds no appeal for him.
“No. God, I’ve got what, 20 albums out now? I’m a prolific songwriter,” Lydon said. “I’m so far ahead of that first rung on the ladder that it just seems like that would be like going back to Antiques Roadshow and buying a second-hand cupboard when you could have a perfectly good new one.”
When pressed further on whether he would consider such a move out of spite, Lydon was equally dismissive of the idea of revenge.
“I don’t have spite in me. I can’t be like that; I can’t continue a hate,” he said. “It would wear off very, very quickly on me as wasting my time and energy. I’m not even looking for revenge. My God, it’d be nice to think that they were angry and furious at my wonderful solo adventures, but that would be it. No, if they’d gone about this another way and were open and friendly with me, who knows what gifts that may have brought, but they decided skullduggery was the order of the day. That’s what frigging in the rigging gets you.”
Lydon also responded to comments made by guitarist Steve Jones, in which Jones suggested Lydon would return to the Pistols if he needed money — such as to build a new kitchen.
“There’s desperation for you. How little they know me,” Lydon said. “They must be the only fools on the planet that could think that about me. Well, then, they are special people with special needs.”
The interview underlines Lydon’s continued distance from his former Sex Pistols bandmates. He remains focused on his solo career rather than any reunion or anniversary celebration.
Lydon’s indifference toward the Sex Pistols’ legacy is not simply a matter of personal pride. It is rooted in a deeper and ongoing rift that has kept him firmly separated from the band’s current activities and anniversary plans.
The Sex Pistols have continued performing without Lydon, moving forward with new singer Frank Carter in his place. No reunion with their original frontman has been pursued for the Never Mind the Bollocks anniversary. The decision reflects the depth of the divide between Lydon and his former bandmates. A bitter legal dispute has further entrenched that separation, and it is widely understood to be a central reason why Lydon has no part in the band’s current anniversary activities.
While the Sex Pistols carry on under a different lineup, Lydon has been channeling his energy into Public Image Ltd. (PiL), the post-punk band he founded after leaving the Pistols. PiL is currently in one of its busiest periods in decades. The band has an extensive tour schedule, a live album titled Alive, and new studio recordings underway for a follow-up album tentatively titled AI: Actual Intelligence.
Lydon turned 70 in January and has shown no signs of slowing down. PiL has announced a sweeping North American tour dubbed “This Is Not… The Final PiL Tour.” Dates run through the fall and extend into early 2027. The tour marks the band’s first major U.S. run in nearly a decade, taking in cities including Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, New York, and Boston.
The scale and ambition of PiL’s current activity makes Lydon’s position clear. For him, the future has always been more interesting than the past. With new music in progress and a world tour underway, the 50th anniversary of a record he made nearly half a century ago is, by his own account, the last thing on his mind.
