{"id":469692,"date":"2026-05-27T15:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/469692\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:08:08","slug":"glen-matlock-responds-to-john-lydon-calling-sex-pistols-a-tribute-act-without-him-and-if-hed-ever-rejoin-the-band","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/469692\/","title":{"rendered":"Glen Matlock responds to John Lydon calling Sex Pistols a “tribute act” without him \u2013 and if he’d ever rejoin the band"},"content":{"rendered":"

Glen Matlock<\/a> has responded to former frontman John Lydon<\/a> describing the current iteration of Sex Pistols<\/a> as a \u201ctribute act\u201d, and said whether or not he can see the singer ever rejoining the line-up.<\/p>\n

The discussion from the bassist comes as he is the subject of a new documentary called I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol. Directed by Andre Relis (Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon) and Nick Mead (Who Do I Think I Am?), the film is out now on Apple TV and Prime Video, and is based on his 1996 memoir of the same title.<\/p>\n

Featuring guest appearances from Matlock alongside his close friends and peers \u2013 including Billy Idol<\/a>, Blondie<\/a>\u2019s Debbie Harry<\/a>, Chris Stein and the late Clem Burke, Spandau Ballet<\/a>\u2019s Gary Kemp, Rat Scabies of The Damned<\/a> and more \u2013 the film explores Matlock\u2019s place in the punk scene and the impact he had on Sex Pistols.<\/p>\n

The bassist co-wrote 10 of the 12 songs on their 1977 album \u2018Never Mind the Bollocks, Here\u2019s the Sex Pistols\u2019, before leaving the group later that year. His time and contributions to the band have also been somewhat overlooked over the years too, with bassist Sid Vicious<\/a>\u2019 image and reputation often taking the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Vicious \u2013 who replaced Matlock in the band in 1977 \u2013 is represented in the documentary via archival footage, as is frontman John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), and the band\u2019s late manager Malcolm McLaren.<\/p>\n

Matlock has always insisted that he chose to leave the group, while other band members have said that he was fired, and after departing the line-up Matlock formed Rich Kids with Midge Ure<\/a>, and also worked with Blondie, The Damned, Iggy Pop<\/a> and Faces<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking about those who are not featured in the documentary, Matlock said (via Billboard<\/a>) that there were \u201ca few people I did ask\u201d to take part who turned it down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were maybe more in the John camp.. so probably said \u2018no\u2019 because it could\u2019ve been awkward,\u201d he added, also confirming that he did not ask Lydon as he assumed he \u201cjust wasn\u2019t interested\u201d and too busy with his band Public Image Ltd.<\/a> (PiL).<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s moved on from [the Sex Pistols] now. But good luck to John; he\u2019s got the Public Image thing going,\u201d he continued. \u201cPeople say we\u2019re a tribute band without John, but there\u2019s three of us, and he\u2019s the only Public Imager. I think he\u2019s painted himself into a corner of a very big hallway.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comments about the \u201cthree of us\u201d refer to how Matlock, Paul Cook and Steve Jones reformed with Frank Carter as vocalist in 2024 \u2013 initially to raise funds for London\u2019s Bush Hall venue<\/a> \u2013 and have been playing regularly since.<\/p>\n

Lydon has criticised the reunion multiple times in the past, describing it as \u201ckaraoke\u201d and \u201calmost malicious in its intent\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Asked by Billboard whether or not he\u2019d be open to having Lydon back in the Sex Pistols if he wanted to, Matlock simply said: \u201cIt\u2019s just not gonna happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lydon has been busy with his band Public Image Ltd. in recent years, and has made it clear that he is not wanting to return to Sex Pistols any time soon. Last year, he told PA that he would \u201cnever\u201d return to the line-up.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNot after what I consider their dirty deeds, let them wallow in Walt Disney woke expectations. They\u2019ve killed the content, or done their best to, and turned the whole thing into a rubbish, childishness, and that\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cSorry, I\u2019m not going to give a helping hand to this any longer, as far as I am concerned, I am the Pistols, and they\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matlock also spoke to NME in 2024 about Lydon\u2019s criticism of the band<\/a> for performing with Carter, saying that he was \u201cwrong\u201d when he assumed their live shows would be \u201cbollocks\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn\u2019s made his bed \u2013 he can lie in it. He\u2019s happy doing his Public Image stuff. Good luck to him. It\u2019s not my thing and I\u2019m sure my thing isn\u2019t his thing,\u201d he said. \u201cWith me doing my club-level stuff, because I\u2019ve been doing the Pistols, I don\u2019t feel obligated to just turn up and be Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols. Marky Ramone, who I like, goes and plays all the Ramones<\/a> songs. I think that\u2019s a little bit lame.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sex Pistols and Frank Carter will be going on tour later this year to celebrate their 50th anniversary<\/a> \u2013 shows include multiple festival appearances and US dates kick off in September, before heading to the UK in December.<\/p>\n

As for Public Image Ltd. it looks like a new album is on the way. At the start of the year, Lydon was unveiled as being part of the ITV singing contest<\/a> The Masked Singer\u00a0\u2013 and confirmed afterwards that he was using the paycheck to fund a new record<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The singer also Lydon revealed that he was working on a new PiL album last year, when he told NME that he was channelling the grief of losing his wife Nora into the songwriting process<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to get out of the house,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve done enough wallowing, which of course you can\u2019t avoid, even if you think, \u2018No, be the bigger man\u2019. You cannot stop it. You cannot stop the sadness when it comes on, but enough already.\u201d<\/p>\n

The interview also saw him reveal that the band were going back-to-basics for their 12th album, and add: \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be a dismal record. We\u2019re going to take it back to the roots of a proper rock band, tearing the fucking building down. It\u2019s going to be full on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all need that. And that will help me mentally no end. It\u2019s like shout therapy,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Glen Matlock has responded to former frontman John Lydon describing the current iteration of Sex Pistols as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469693,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,93,61,60,84549],"class_list":["post-469692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-punk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}