John Lydon has again hit out at the Sex Pistols, and told new frontman Frank Carter that “you’re not Johnny Rotten, I am”.
The comments come after the punk pioneers returned last year with Carter (Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Gallows) replacing Lydon.
They kicked off the latest iteration with three small gigs at Bush Hall in London before embarking on an autumn UK tour, and playing an explosive set at Royal Albert Hall as part of this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust concert series.
Lydon – who went by Johnny Rotten while in the band and is now the frontman of Public Image Ltd. – was quick to criticise the band’s comeback, and told NME that it was “almost malicious in its intent” and no different to “karaoke”.
Now, ahead of the band performing at this year’s Download festival and crossing the pond for a North American tour, Lydon has doubled down on his stance.
“It’s weird,” he told Classic Rock. “[It’s] a dumbing down of all the integrity, intensity, genuine honesty and heartfelt emotions I put into that band.”
“Of course, it’s karaoke, but it’s like… Come on, Mr Carter, you’re not Johnny Rotten, I am. Right? Stop it,” he added, before going on to name the one thing about the new frontman that got his seal of approval: “I actually think he took it on in the right spirit.”
The comments follow a long list of criticisms Lydon has made against Sex Pistols in recent years. Last month, for instance, he claimed he would “never” rejoin Sex Pistols and went on to describe the current version of the band as “childish”.
“They’ve killed the content, or done their best to, and turned the whole thing into a rubbish, childishness, and that’s unacceptable,” he said. “Sorry, I’m not going to give a helping hand to this any longer, as far as I am concerned, I am the Pistols, and they’re not.”
As well as calling the comeback “malicious” and like “karaoke” in the aforementioned NME interview, the singer also spoke specifically about Frank Carter. “The poor sausage! Does he know what he’s walked into? Good on him, what a great fucking opportunity, but there’s something darker going on behind it,” he said.
Around that time, guitarist Steve Jones chimed in on the tension, and claimed that it “wasn’t even worth asking” Lydon to participate in the reunion shows. He then revealed that he and his bandmates hadn’t spoken to the singer in 17 years.
Lydon first left Sex Pistols in 1978, though he would later hit the road with them again during the mid-’90s and early ‘00s. The relationship between the members then soured again due to factors including Lydon’s political views and a court battle surrounding Danny Boyle’s 2022 biographical mini-series, Pistol.
Speaking to NME at the start of the year, Steve Jones reflected on the general response after introducing Carter to the line-up, and said that he was surprised to receive essentially “no backlash” to the decision.
“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,” he said. “You think you’re gonna get a negative thing by doing [it without Lydon], but I’m surprised. There was no backlash whatsoever.”
While Sex Pistols are currently gearing up to hit the road again this summer, Lydon is preparing to perform live as part of the upcoming PiL ‘This Is Not The Last Tour’ tour. Speaking to NME about more announcements from the band, he also revealed that they have started working on some “raucous” new music together.
You can find tickets to Sex Pistols’ UK shows here and international dates here, you can also find tickets and more information around PiL shows here.
