Sex Pistols’ Paul Cook sat down with Rockonteurs for a new interview and chatted about the band’s new singer Frank Carter.
“We’re back in the game with as you know a new great guy up front,” he explained. “Who knows where this is going to go? We’ve done those gigs as you know guy for the benefit of Shepherd’s Bush and we didn’t know where it was going. The Press has been off the Scout and we’ve got a new few more shows to see where we go and we thought, ‘Why not? Let’s have a bit of fun while we’re at it.’”
When the topic switched to their former singer John Lydon, the drummer added, “He is not trying to be Johnny. He’s got the energy, he’s got the attitude, he’s got the moves, everything. He’s being himself, he’s not trying to be John. We’re not trying to replace John and it’s totally advertised as Frank Carter with Pistols. You can never replace John that’s for sure.”
Sex Pistols announced that they would be coming back for new shows but with another frontman joining them back in June this year.
“We’re doing a benefit for Bush Hall with the famous Frank Carter. We’re going to be playing Pistols numbers cause they need support and they need the money,” Cook said earlier about the shows. “We thought it would be a great way to stop it going under. 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. So everyone get down to the gig!”
Sex Pistols got back together for two special concerts this summer. Lydon didn’t join the band, but the punk vocalist Frank Carter did join for the shows. The shows took place at Bush Hall, a historic venue in West London, on August 13 and 14, 2024. These concerts were the first time the Sex Pistols have played together since 2008 and they performed ‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols’ in its entirety.
While the band got back together for the special shows, John Lydon announced a spoken tour.
He will be visiting England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales next fall. His 2024 tour, called ‘I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right,’ started in May and featured his free-form spoken word sessions.
The press release says that next year’s events will feature Lydon reflecting on the Sex Pistols, Public Image Limited, his art, and his life story during casual evenings of conversation and audience questions.