Frank Carter stepped in as the new frontman for Sex Pistols. He has now opened up about how he came to replace original singer John Lydon for the band’s reunion shows, sharing a heartfelt message for his predecessor.
Carter explained how the opportunity came about unexpectedly, through a call from Glenn Matlock’s son. He also detailed his growing involvement with the band, culminating in a heartfelt statement about wanting to honor Lydon’s legacy despite never having met him.
“Towards the end of [Rattlesnakes], I think we needed a break, and randomly that’s when I got a call from Louis Matlock, who’s Glenn Matlock’s son. He’s like, ‘My dad wants to meet you.’ I’m thinking, ‘I don’t want to meet your dad. I love the Sex Pistols. Don’t ruin this for me!'” Carter said. “[But] Glenn is lovely. He’s very quiet, very softly spoken, but a legend of music. He says ‘Hey, we want to do this reunion, but we can’t seem to make it work with John [Lydon, original Sex Pistols frontman]. So we thought…could this work with another singer? Is that something that you would be interested in?'”
Carter went on to describe his immediate reaction to the offer and the early days of joining the band.
“I was really blindsided. I just thought he wanted to hang out and maybe write a song together, and immediately I was just like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it’. I just knew in the very soul of me, and I gave it no thought,” he continued. “The first practice I did with Paul ‘Cookie’ Cook and Glen I thought I totally fucked it. I was really struggling, but! After that Steve Jones flew over and we had, I think, maybe two rehearsals, and then we would just go straight into three gigs. It was a beautiful, beautiful week, amazing shows. Right off the back of that, they were like, ‘Hey, we’ve been offered this gig in Italy, do you fancy doing that?’ At that point, I was like, ‘Yeah, cool, f*ck it.'”
He then reflected on how the arrangement evolved into an ongoing role with the band. He also discussed the mindset he brings to performing.
“I think off the back of that, they really saw who I was and what I was about, and the next thing I know, they’re like, ‘We’re thinking about doing some gigs next year. You busy?’ So it just all kind of fell together. Here we are in 2026 and we’re still f*cking still doing it,” Carter said. “[With Sex Pistols shows] rather than switching off, I switch on more. I think maybe when it’s when it’s your own stuff it’s a lot easier to switch off and just go with the motion, but this I’ve had to really work at. I want to do them proud.”
Carter turned to the subject of Lydon directly, expressing both admiration and a desire to live up to the legacy of the band’s original frontman.
“I’ve not met John, and I’d love to, but I want to do him proud as well because without him, I wouldn’t be in music. I remember seeing him back in the day, skinny orange-haired maniac, and I was like, that’s me! The greatest gift is being able to walk on stage with them and make them all smile. I’ll be thinking about that on my deathbed. The band that gave me so much, helped me find my people, helped me find my identity, the band that gave punk rock to the world, I’m able to put smiles on their faces,” he said. “They’re also all very big characters, and I’m not trying to diminish any of that. What the world needs is their fucking songs, the world needs that music more than ever now. If one young kid comes to the show with their dad or their grandparent, and they see one guitar, one bass drum, and a singer sweating, and they think ‘I’m going to start a ban’? Then it was all worth it.”
Carter also addressed the possibility of new Sex Pistols material. He noted that any decision would ultimately rest with the rest of the band.
“When it comes to new Sex Pistols music, you’d have to ask the others about that. I’m ready. I’ve written some bits that I think would be cool with them, but l think they just really enjoy playing live. I think it would be a lot harder for them to make some new tunes now, because the whole world is watching. So, I understand the pressure. There’s no pressure from me, and if they ever want to, I’d love to,” he concluded.
Carter’s remarks come at a pivotal moment for the reshaped lineup. The band has spent much of 2026 proving itself on stages across Europe and beyond while the rift with Lydon remains unresolved.
Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock have kept the band on the road throughout the year under the banner Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter. They have played festivals and headline shows across the UK and Europe, including stops at the Piece Hall in Halifax, Cardiff Castle, and the Isle of Wight Festival. The group is set to extend the run with a North American leg beginning in September. That will be followed by a UK arena tour billed as the “Anarchy In The U.K.” tour in December, marking 50 years since punk first exploded onto the scene.
Lydon, for his part, has made no secret of his feelings about the reunion moving forward without him. He has bluntly dismissed the idea of the Sex Pistols continuing under a new singer, calling it “a load of shite.” He has also made clear he has no plans to reconcile with his former bandmates.
The rift adds weight to Carter’s comments about wanting to honor Lydon’s legacy on stage. The band is pushing ahead with a packed touring schedule that includes major festival slots alongside acts like Iggy Pop and Blink-182, yet the shadow of the original frontman’s absence continues to hang over the project.
For now, the split leaves fans with two very different versions of the band’s history playing out simultaneously. Lydon fronts Public Image Ltd on his own touring circuit, while Carter carries the Sex Pistols name forward with the surviving original members.
