Sex Pistols Are Reforming – Without Johnny Rotten

The surviving members of the Sex Pistols are getting back together, but not with the former Johnny Rotten (aka John Lydon).

Guitarist Steve Jones, bassist Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock will play the band's iconic debut album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols during a pair of August benefit shows. Frank Carter will be stepping in for John Lydon.

The two camps split over 2022's Pistol. Lydon sued to stop their music from being used in the Disney FX television biopic series, which was based on a memoir by Jones. Lydon later said he faced "financial ruin" after losing the lawsuit.

"This entire juggernaut of confusion has cost me millions," he said. "Such a hideous, nasty onslaught. I never expected Steve, Paul and Glen to be that evil – and we never even sat down and had a conversation about it." Lydon also disavowed a subsequent Sex Pistols compilation called The Original Recordings, describing it as "substandard" and distancing himself from its production.

The group last performed together – with Lydon – back in 2007-2008. More recently, Jones and Cook joined with Billy Idol and Tony James from Generation X to form a short-lived supergroup called Generation Sex.

Sex Pistols' shows with Carter are set for Aug. 13 and 14, at London's Bush Hall, with proceeds to benefit the legendary local venue. (Tickets go on sale on Wednesday.) Like many independent live music stages, Bush Hall has been struggling lately.

"Smaller music venues are the lifeblood of new music," Matlock said in an official release. "It's in these intimate spaces that raw talent gets a chance to shine, where bands can really connect with their audiences, and where the spirit of live music truly comes alive, so we need to keep them going."

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Carter, 40, fronts the modern-day English punk band Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes. His debut performance with former group Pure Love was at Bush Hall in 2012. "This has been a joy from start to finish," Carter said. "When the Sex Pistols call, you answer. I'm very excited to be a part of it."

Cook sparked the benefit reunion idea. “We're going to be playing Pistols numbers, 'cause they need support and they need the money," he said. "This is my local venue. I grew up in Shepherd's Bush and I still live round here. It would be a real shame to see it disappear and we want to keep it going."

Jones offered a final quip: "If it all goes wrong, it's Paul's fucking fault."