John Lydon is "pissed off" about the Sex Pistols replacing him with Frank Carter: "they’re trying to trivialise the whole show to get away with karaoke"

John Lydon of PiL performs on stage during their 'End of World Tour' at the O2 Forum Kentish Town on September 30, 2023 — (Image credit: Gus Stewart/Redferns)

John Lydon has revealed he was annoyed after hearing the news of Sex Pistols reunion tour, which saw the band announce a series of live dates with Frank Carter acting as replacement lead vocalist.

During an interview with The I, the former Pistols frontman admits that he felt "pissed off" by the arrangement, describing the new line-up as "karaoke".

In 2024, the band's remaining members Paul Cook, Glen Matlock and Steve Jones teamed up with Carter for three intimate fundraising dates at Bush Hall to help save the iconic West London venue. Due to the success of the performances, the four musicians embarked on a sold-out UK tour. They're now scheduled for a number of performances this year, including at Download Festival, Glasgow Summer Sessions, Dreamland Margate, Rock For People, and at the Royal Albert Hall for the annual Teenage Cancer Trust concert series.

Lydon was left out of the picture due to his strained relationship with the band, following years of conflict and even a lawsuit in 2021, which saw him sued by his former bandmates over his disapproval of the Sex Pistols' music being included in Danny Boyle’s Pistol, a biographical series that he noted as allegedly having "little resemblance to the truth".

“When I first heard that the Sex Pistols were touring this year without me it pissed me off. It annoyed me.” Lydon says of the Pistols reunion. “I just thought, ‘they’re absolutely going to kill all that was good with the Pistols by eliminating the point and the purpose of it all.’ I didn’t write those words lightly.”

“They’re trying to trivialise the whole show to get away with karaoke but in the long term I think you’ll see who has the value and who doesn’t. I’ve never sold my soul to make a dollar. It’s the Catholic in me – that guilt I don’t want to trip.”

Lydon continues: “Like Nancy Reagan, I’ve always found it easy to just say “no”. If something challenges your heart and your soul and your mind and your sense of purity of what is right and wrong in the world, then just say no.

“Which, according to the corporate thinking which riddles the music business, earns me the title of ‘difficult to work with’ – a title of which I’m very proud.”

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Liz manages Louder's social media channels and works on keeping the sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.