John Lydon has branded the Sex Pistols’ reunion with Frank Carter as “karaoke” during a new interview with NME.
The former Sex Pistol’s frontman and Public Image Ltd founder made the comments to. NME during a new interview for this week’s edition of Does Rock N Roll Kill Braincells?! – coming Friday – which saw him look back on his time in the music industry and reflect on some of his most memorable moments.
During one part of the discussion, the singer was asked for his opinion of his former bandmates, Glen Matlock, Paul Cook and Steve Jones, and their decision to hit the road with Frank Carter acting as frontman.
Responding, Lydon said: “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.
“It’s almost malicious in its intent. And it’s karaoke – that’s all it will ever be. Bloody hell, The Three Stooges in that band have had how many years to write some new songs? That’s what I’d like to hear.”
When asked whether he had had a chance to see footage of the band performing live – either with their intimate Bush Hall shows or subsequent UK tour – the former frontman said he hadn’t, although wasn’t too hopeful having seen previous footage of them playing with Billy Idol as frontman.
“No, but Mr Carter has to follow in Billy Idol’s footsteps, doesn’t he?,” he said, recalling how Generation X members Billy Idol and Tommy James formed the punk supergroup Generation Sex with Jones and Cook. “Poor Billy! I saw some clips on YouTube and he’s gasping for air – he can’t sing my songs! [Laughs] ‘No Feelings’ is the great separator.”
Check back on NME for the full Does Rock N Roll Kill Braincells?! interview.
In a recent interview with the Classic Album Review podcast, Lydon also hit out at the members for “eliminating the purpose” of the band by not including him in recent tours and announcements.
“I wrote the fucking songs, didn’t I? I gave them the image. I was the frontman. I am the voice what made the whole world sing,” he said. “They profess their hatred for me, but they can’t live without me. I am the punishment that goes on giving.”
Discussing their decision to come back with Carter as the singer Lydon added: “I just thought, ‘They’re absolutely going to kill all that was good with the Pistols by eliminating the point and the purpose of it all.’”
While at Download 2024, Carter spoke to NME and opened up about why he wanted to be a part of the Sex Pistols tour.
“I didn’t really think anything of it [at first], so I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s see. We’ll give it a burn, do some Sham 69, maybe some Faces songs…’ and he was like ‘No, we’re doing ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’. I thought: ‘Oh fuck!’,” he explained.
“I promise you one thing, there will be nothing left of me after [these shows]. I’m going to leave every single ounce of me on that stage because that’s what the record deserves. I’m nervous because they’re big, big shoes to fill, but I’m just going to do my best and try and make them all proud.”
Later on, Glen Matlock recalled what made Carter the right choice to be the new frontman and recalled whether fans can expect any new music from Sex Pistols. “He’s younger, for a start. He’s got a lot more energy than people of our age. He’s in the crowd; he’s a class act,” he said.
“But is the world ready for a new Sex Pistols record? I dunno. I like what John [Lydon] said with this in ’96 [during the band’s Filthy Lucre reformation tour]. This journalist asked: ‘Are you gonna make a new record?’ John said: ‘Why? What’s wrong with the old one?’”
Just last month, guitarist Steve Jones also spoke to NME about the band’s upcoming show at the Royal Albert Hall for Teenage Cancer Trust, and said how he was surprised by the little backlash they received by enlisting a new singer.
“You think you’re gonna get a negative thing by doing [it without Lydon], but I’m surprised. There was no backlash whatsoever,” he explained. “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.”
As well as the upcoming Teenage Cancer Trust show, Sex Pistols and Frank Carter are also set to head across the pond for an upcoming US tour, and also release three ‘Live In The USA 1978’ albums for the first time.
Lydon, meanwhile, has instead been preparing for a UK tour with his band Public Image Ltd (PiL) later this year. The band last hit the road in 2023 following the release of ‘End Of World’.
The singer went on to hint that the group might not tour again following the sudden death of his lifelong friend and manager John “Rambo” Stevens and his wife, Nora, in 2023. However, support from fans during his 2024 spoken word tour led to him changing his mind.
As a result, in November, PiL announced the 23-date ‘This Is Not The Last Tour’, as well as added a further four dates in December. Visit here for tickets.
More recently, the group announced plans to release an alternative US mix of their debut album ‘First Issue’ on Record Store Day 2025.
