After parting ways with John Lydon and continuing with a new singer, Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones was surprised by the positive feedback from fans.
In a new interview with NME, the rocker talked about the band’s new singer Frank Carter and how the decision came about. “None of us knew. Frank was the first singer we [tried], because me, Cookie and Glen wanted to play. It just worked straight away,” the guitarist explained. “He’s a lot younger than us. He’s 40, so he has all that energy and us old farts can just jam at the back! It was so much fun and people loved it, and I loved looking at people loving it.”
“I was ready to throw it in, touring and all that. I couldn’t care less. But with Frank, it just made it easy. We all get along. There’s no aggro. It’s just fun,” he added.
He then shared his excitement over not receiving any backlash from fans for continuing without John Lydon. “John ain’t interested in doing it. You think you’re gonna get a negative thing by doing [it without him], but I’m surprised. There was no backlash whatsoever. There was a few die-hards on Instagram, but they hadn’t even seen us. They just can’t see it without John, which I get, but even the ones that came out of curiosity were into it after a couple of songs.”
Sex Pistols performed their first shows with Carter on August 13 and 14 last year. These concerts were the first time the Sex Pistols have played together since 2008 and they performed ‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols’ in its entirety.
While the band continues their shows, John Lydon is set to visit the UK and Ireland in 2025. He will be performing in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. His 2024 tour, titled ‘I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right,’ began in May last year and included his free-form spoken word sessions.
According to the press release, this year’s events will feature Lydon reflecting on the Sex Pistols, Public Image Limited, his art, and his life story during informal evenings of conversation and audience interaction.
