Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock has disclosed that the band was on the verge of hiring a different singer to replace John Lydon for their upcoming U.S. tour. The plan was completely shut down after Matlock’s son overheard the conversation and successfully suggested Frank Carter instead. The band had exhausted its options with Lydon and needed to move forward with a fresh direction.
“Nobody wanted to tour with John,” Matlock explained. “We’ve run out of road with John. Good luck to him, he’s doing his thing, but he’s too tricky for his own good, with us anyway.”
Matlock revealed that a potential replacement singer had been suggested while he was on the phone with the band’s manager in the States. “Somebody else was suggested and I’m sitting at home by myself on the phone, chatting to the manager in the States. All of a sudden, my son had come in, I hadn’t heard him come in and he overheard and he’s going, ‘No, no no.’ I won’t say who it was, but I wasn’t keen on that either in the first place.”
The turning point came when Matlock asked his son Louis for his opinion on who should front the band. “I said, ‘I’ll have to call you back.’ I said to him, my boy Louis, ‘Who do you think we should get?’ He said, ‘You should get Frank Carter.'” This suggestion would ultimately reshape the future of the iconic punk band.
Frank Carter, the lead singer of the punk band Gallows, has since become the frontman for the Sex Pistols’ reunion efforts. He performs alongside original members Steve Jones on guitar and Paul Cook on drums. The group has been billed as “Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter” to distinguish this lineup from the original version with Lydon.
Matlock has been vocal in his support for Carter. He argues that the band’s music must survive beyond its original singer. The bassist believes that the songs themselves are the true foundation of the Sex Pistols. Carter is a capable and legitimate successor who can handle the weight of the band’s punk rock heritage. This perspective reflects a broader philosophy that the band’s impact and influence transcend any single member, even one as iconic as John Lydon.
The split between Lydon and the rest of the band has been contentious. The original frontman has criticized the new lineup as a “tribute act.” He claims that the band has eliminated the “point and purpose” of the Sex Pistols by moving forward without him. Lydon has ruled out any possibility of reuniting with the group, cementing the divide between the original frontman and his former bandmates. Despite this conflict, Matlock and the other surviving original members remain committed to keeping the Sex Pistols’ music alive and relevant for contemporary audiences.
