TICKETS were snapped up in record time for their special summer fund-raising gigs. So it’s safe to assume the nation rejoiced when Sex Pistols legends Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Glen Matlock announced two shows at Bush Hall in West London this August. In fact, it didn’t take long for a third date to be added due to phenomenal demand.
But someone who is far from happy about the concerts is ex- frontman John Lydon — who has been replaced by Frank Carter. In fact, I’m told John is furious and thinks the move is well and truly “Rotten”. The band has recruited singer and tattoo artist Frank to play the entirety of their seminal Never Mind The Bollocks album on August 13, 14 and 15.
They will be raising funds for a bid to save Bush Hall, a famous live music venue in Shepherd’s Bush. But they are more than just benefit gigs. The group is also giving two fingers to Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, after their battles over music rights with the punk hero.
Over the years, he has launched a string of attempts to stop their tracks being used in TV shows, and even in Danny Boyle’s six-part drama based on the memoirs of his bandmate Steve Jones. A source said: “These Pistols gigs aren’t just for charity. “They’re to show Rotten how rotten they think he’s been to the rest of the band over the years by battling to stop them earning royalties from their music.
Rotten thinks he IS the Pistols and has the rights to all their music, but these gigs will show they don’t need h.