John Lydon slams Sex Pistols for performing in Scotland without him
Lydon, who fronted the original line-up from 1975 to 1978 as Johnny Rotten, says the original members don’t want him in the line-up
Punk legend John Lydon has blasted the Sex Pistols for performing in Scotland without him.
Lydon, who fronted the original line-up from 1975 to 1978 as Johnny Rotten, says the original members don’t want him in the line-up, despite the fact that he helped write the legendary band’s 1970s hits such as Anarchy in the UK and God Save The Queen.
He believes those who go to catch his old band partners at a show in Glasgow may be left with the feeling they've been had.
In an exclusive interview with The Record, the 69-year old punk icon fumed: “If you're into karaoke, I recommend them. It's a shame they don't want me or anything to do with me.
“They love deriding me, but it's my words they’re f***ing singing.
“It's my mentality and my approach and my outlook on life and yet they’re abandoning the cause. It’s very sad.
“All the Sex Pistols mock bands out there are now being put out of a career because of this lot who I recommend get on a cruise ship called Uranus Travels.
“That would be the best place for them.”
In 2021, Lydon took the other members to court but lost his bid to stop Sex Pistols music being used in a TV drama, Pistol, directed by Danny Boyle.
The singer, who is heading to Scotland with his own band, PiL in July, said: “I’m gonna try and get a shaman to lay a curse a month before I get there.
“If they were worth anything at all as human beings, they'd have written their own songs ever since.
“Instead, they fought me in court.”
Original Pistols members Steve Jones, 69, Paul Cook, 68, and Glen Matlock, 68, have replaced Lydon with Frank Carter, 41, on vocals for their headline show at Bellahouston Park on June 21.
The Summer Sessions festival will include sets by veteran rockers The Stranglers, Buzzcocks, Undertones, Skids and The Rezillos.
Lydon, who formed the post-punk act PiL after quitting the Pistols in 1978, is bringing his band to Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Bandstand on July 29.
He insists his PiL show, featuring hits such as Public Image, Death Disco and This is Not A Love Song, is not karaoke – despite the fact that he is the only remaining original member.
Keith Levine, who was also a founding member of The Clash, died in 2022, aged 65. The original bass player, Jah Wobble, left the band after two albums.
Lydon said: “I set it up. I can't help it that people have to move on for various different reasons. There wasn't much sacking going on, a few but that was the rare exception.
“I think most people that came through PiL learned a lot. It was almost like a college of further education for musicianship. And they've now all got their own solo things, and that's happy days for them. But I don't own people, and I can't keep hold of people in that way.
“I think every band, if you really look at it out there, has problems and issues with membership. It's just the way it is. Personality shifts. And you know, if you've ever watched Spinal Tap, you’ll know some blokes girlfriends are just really not worth the effort."