Is it still the Sex Pistols without Johnny Rotten?

The Polecats at The Pistols lapping it up!

On my Facebook page, there are various Facebook debates raging about whether the recent Sex Pistols shows with Frank Carter on vocals are 'really the Sex Pistols'? I didn't go to the shows. I really couldn't make up my mind whether I fancied it or not. I've seen several shows in recent years where iconic bands have played without their main man. The ones that spring to mind were The Undertones, The Members and The Stranglers. In both cases, I was massively underwhelmed and wished I hadn't bothered. Seeing The Stranglers without Hugh Cornwell was particularly odd. When I saw the Stranglers back in the 1970's and 80's, Hugh had an electric persona, a mix of menace, jokey banter and a strange sort of vulnerability, that seemed to lure you in, so he could murder you. The new bloke, at one point, put his arm up and shouted "Awright London". It was very un Hugh and just seemed wrong. Musically both bands were great. I saw The Stranglers with a few mates who liked the music, but hadn't seen them before. They loved it. All the boxes had been ticked, they'd heard all the great tunes, they'd danced a bit. They'd had fun. Me? I was just miserable, finding fault in every little thing that I felt was wrong and Hugh wouldn't approve of. I was probably even more critical than Hugh would be, had be been standing next to me. The only bit I enjoyed was when JJ sang a few numbers. For a few minutes, I had The Stranglers back. 

But that is just me. As I said, my mates loved it. One of them said it was one of the very best gigs they've ever been to. As a musician, I get why the rest of the band didn't simply retire when Hugh left. Why should they? They put a lot of work into the whole thing. I see no reason why they shouldn't carry on and earn a few quid from their music, even if it's not my cup of tea. As a rule, I don't really like the whole 'tribute' scene. When bands dress up and pretend to be other people is really not my thing at all. We recently went to see a Bowie tribute at The Horn in St Albans. The band were great and I loved hearing all of the numbers. David has gone and it keeps the flame alive, but I hated the dressing up, pretending to be Bowie. If they'd just worn tidy suits in the style of Bowie in the mid 1980's and left it there, I'd have much preferred it. It just reminded me that they were not Bowie. But hey, ho that is me. I was probably in a minority of one and the rest of the audience lapped it up. 

But here we are with the Sex Pistols. The nearest thing I can think to what they are doing is Queen with Paul Rodgers. I am not a Queen fan, I don't like their operatic, theatrical style at all. I have a real aversion to Brian May's style of guitar playing. It sounds very heartless and soulless to me, but people seem to like it. As Freddie died, they could either hang up their boots or do something a bit different. They got Rodgers, an icon in his own right. If the three members of Queen still enjoyed playing together, then there is no reason they shouldn't. Any audience would want to hear the Freddie stuff. As such getting Paul Rodgers was, to me, a masterstroke. He wasn't pretending to be Freddie, he didn't sing the songs the same, but he could sing them pretty damn well. It wasn't a pantomime, it was an evolution of a functional band.

Which brings us to Jones, Cook and Matlock. They had the band before Rotten came along. They seem to enjoy playing together, Jones and Cook grew up together. They were never just Johnny's side men. There is no underestimating Johnny's input, but he doesn't want to play with them. Frank Carter is a recognised singer in his own right. He is not John Lydon, he doesn't pretend to be. Johnny is suitably miffed, I get it, but I think he's wrong. It keeps interest in the music and the legacy alive and I suspect he'll sell more tickets for PIL and his speaking tour than he would otherwise. Rock and Roll is a music of hype. Johnny knows this and he knows that slagging off his old bandmates efforts is good for ticket sales. It is pretty clear there is no love lost, but it is totally in Johnny's financial interests to milk the feud. 

So is it still The Sex Pistols without Johnny? This is a really good question. To me, they will be The Sex Pistols when they record some new music. I happen to think that Matlock, Jones and Cook are great musicians. I vaguely know Paul Cook, as he's mates with one of my best mates, Boz Boorer and I've had a beer with him a few times. He is one of the nicest people you'll meet. His daughter Holly rehearses at our studios. I see no reason why Paul shouldn't pay the bills with music that he made a huge contribution to. One of the biggest myths is that the Sex Pistols couldn't play. Paul Cook worked as session musician with all manner of people, including Edwyn Collins and Johnny Thunders. Glen Matlock has played with a whole host of iconic bands and artists, including The Faces, Blondie and Iggy Pop and was recognised as a talented musician even in the early days of The Sex Pistols. Steve Jones worked with such legends as Johnny Depp and Lisa Marie Presley. The point is that all three are great musicians, have co-written some of the greatest tunes in the pantheon of rock and roll and want to play together. Fans want to hear those songs. Johnny doesn't want to play so good luck to them with Frank Carter. Having made the decision not to go, when I saw all my mates clips from the 100 club, I felt a pang of regret. It looked like a great night. As tickets were like gold dust, I sort of felt it was wrong to deny someone else, who would've just gone along and enjoyed it a ticket, when I am sure I'd have grumbled. 

When the Pistols split, Malcolm Maclaren put out The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, a mish mash of recordings, milking every last penny out of the brand. Some tracks even had Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs on. all highly dodgy, but I have to say, I've always loved "No one is innocent" with Biggs singing, and have a soft spot for "frigging in the rigging" with Jones on vocals. To me, both are an important part of the Pistols legacy, which means that it isn't entirely necessary for Johnny to be there.

Having said all of that, if they can ever reconcile their differences and bury the hatchet (and not in each others heads), I'd be delighted and have no qualms about seeing them. Many people are highly critical of John Lydon and his apparent lurch to the right. I don't agree with much of what he's said recently, but I do take the view that he's entitled to his opinions. Lydon, PIL, Sex Pistols with Frank Carter, as far as I'm concerned, if you wanna pay your money and see them, great. Never mind the Bollocks was one of the best albums ever made and all those guys deserve their pension. When I first saw the Pistols on the Bill Grundy show, I never guessed that we'd still be talking about them 48 years later. Then again, I never thought I'd be in a band, still playing rock and roll 48 years later. 

I will part with my one Sex Pistols story. When we first started the False Dots in 1979, I wrote Not all She Seems with Pete Conway. We always used to invite mates down to watch. Pete especially liked inviting attractive girls (he was less shy than me back in the day). We met a couple of attractive punk girls and asked them to a rehearsal. Paul Marvin (Hank's son) was drumming. Our best song was "Not all she seems" and we excitedly played it. One of the girls turned around and said "That's a rip of from Submission by The Pistols" (It had the same chord progression on the verse). Pete, who was always far more on the ball than me and a very accomplished liar, shot back "They ripped it off from us. We wrote it in 1975 and my uncle was John Lydon's mate from the building site and he played him a cassette and he stole the idea". This was absolute nonsense, but within a month, we were getting asked by all sorts of people if it was true. We made a pact to swear that it was. Even 20 years later, I still got asked occasionally. When Paul Hircombe joined the band, we went for a rehearsal at Hank Marvin's studio. Hank came in and jammed with us. He suggested a simple, jangly riff to play over the Submission chords. This was in 1980. We modified the story, so that we co-wrote the song with Hank Marvin, before the Pistols ripped it off. The first time Boz Boorer introduced me to Paul Cook (who he knew from playing with Edwyn Collins) I was half expecting Paul to pull me up on Pete's porky! Fortunately, the rumour never got back to him. 

Anyway, what better reason to play it and you can hear it at our next gig at The Builders Arms in Barnet on 12th April!