Sex Pistols’ Matlock says reconnecting with bandmate Rotten a ‘two-way street’

Glen Matlock has revealed he has not seen former Sex Pistols bandmate Johnny Rotten since 2008 but says reconnecting is a “two-way street”.

The former bassist for the punk rock band reunited with fellow original members Paul Cook and Steve Jones this week to help raise funds for west London music venue Bush Hall.

The trio were joined by singer Frank Carter, who stepped into Rotten’s role for the gigs as the former frontman has distanced himself from the band.

Tensions were raised between the group following a court case in 2021 which saw the band’s former drummer Cook and former guitarist Jones sue Rotten, real name John Lydon, to allow their songs to be used in a new TV series Pistol about the group.

During the case, Cook said the original group were probably “gone for good” as a result of a legal dispute.

Discussing Rotten on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Friday, Matlock said: “I haven’t seen him since 2008.”

Asked if he had received a WhatsApp from him, Matlock added: “No, it’s a two-way street and he knows my number.”

The Sex Pistols were formed in 1975 and disbanded in 1978, but later performed live shows together on a number of occasions, most recently in 2008.

The punk band were known for their rebel spirit and speaking out against the monarchy and the established political order in provocative lyrics.

Matlock said: “There were lots of things that had to be said back then, I think they do now, really.

“I don’t think we ever really set out to shock for the sake of it. We just spoke our minds. Johnny wrote some fantastic lyrics.”

Reflecting on if he feels new artists will take on the current unrest in the country, he said: “I don’t lay awake at night worrying about it but it is a concern.

“The guy we’ve got singing with us now, Frank Carter, he’s younger than us, but he’s got that kind of punk spirit, and there’s a whole coterie of people that do believe in that kind of thing.

“Whether everybody’s got the gift of the gab the way that Rotten had is another matter. John was fantastic back then.”

Matlock released his latest album, Consequences Coming, last year which he said was inspired by controversial political figures such as Donald Trump and Boris Johnson but “not in a good way”.

“I wrote a lot of the songs kind of pre-lockdown. I was trying to see what was going on in the world and I couldn’t finish the album because it was lockdown so I qualified the album”, he said.

“But the album is called Consequences Coming. I think I was kind of right. Johnson is gone, he was one of the biggest nitwits we’ve ever had.”

He also referenced the former US president’s historic hush money case in which he was found guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a deal to pay off porn actor Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.

Mr Trump is now asking the judge to delay his sentencing until after the November presidential election.

On the case, Matlock said he thought “maybe I haven’t missed the moment” for Trump to face his consequences, but added he feels “the moment never seems to come”.

The bassist is set to reunite with Cook, Jones and Carter again in September for another gig at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London.