Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones hasn’t spoken with John Lydon since 2008

Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols performing live in 1978

(Image credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones says he hasn’t spoken with the punk icons’ original singer John Lydon since 2008.

Talking to Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Jones wishes Lydon, previously known as Johnny Rotten, all the best, but says it wouldn’t have been worth asking the singer to return to the band for their recent reunion, citing a legal battle they had in 2021 about the use of their music in TV show Pistol.

“We don’t talk,” Jones says of Lydon. “The last time I spoke to him was 2008. But I wish him all the best. I really do. We had a great time when we were young, and it was life-changing for all of us. But after the court case with Pistol it wasn’t even worth asking John [about the reunion tour]. I don’t think he was interested.”

Jones’ comments come one week after Lydon slammed Sex Pistols’ comeback with punk singer Frank Carter handling vocals. “When I first heard that the Sex Pistols were touring this year without me it pissed me off. It annoyed me,” Lydon told The I. “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.”

He added: “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.”

The Sex Pistols reunited with Carter up front in 2024, initially for a handful of shows at Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush to raise funds for the venue. However, demand to see the reactivated band was so intense that they became a touring entity. They’re booked to play London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 24 and will appear at several festivals in the summer, including Download festival in Leicestershire.

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.