Steve Jones claims that it has been sixteen years since he last spoke with Johnny Rotten

Guitarist Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols claims that it has been more than ten years since he last spoke with his old bandmate John Lydon, also known as Johnny Rotten. Members of the Sex Pistols have moved on to their own endeavours. Pistol, a limited TV series that centred on the band’s turbulent past, put them back in the spotlight in 2022. Lydon tried in vain to suppress the release of the shows by suing his former bandmates.

I haven’t spoken to him in years. 2008 was the last time I spoke to him. We did 30 shows around Europe. We did a bunch of festivals and all that, Japan, Australia. We ended up at Hammersmith Odeon, Hammersmith Apollo, and then we had one more show in the Basque country and that was it. I was done after that, no more. Too much. Too old, too much, not enough done.

Jones brought the Sex Pistols back to life earlier this year by getting back together with bassist Glen Matlock and drummer Paul Cook. Lydon was replaced on vocals by Frank Carter, frontman of the English punk band Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes. Together, the quintet performed nine times, receiving extremely positive reviews from both fans and reviewers.

This is different. It’s a different vibe. Night and day. He doesn’t try to be John. It’s just fun. You know what I mean? And it comes across as fun. Plus we’re playing it how it should be played. And you got this lunatic jumping around all over the place. And he brings a big element to the fun part of it. We are going to go on the road next year.