Steve Jones Says He Hasn’t Spoken To Johnny Rotten Since 2008 Sex Pistols Tour

After their initial disbanding in 1978, the British punk rock sensation Sex Pistols never released another original album and only ever met up for reunion tours every decade or so. Their Combine Harvester tour in 2008 was, evidently, the last straw, as the band, in this form, never reunited for another appearance.

Now, as reported on by Consequence, the band’s lead guitarist, Steve Jones, has gone on record on the Rockonteurs podcast that this tour was the last time he and the band’s original lead singer, John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten), ever spoke to one another. Jones, seemingly, gives no further explanation of what caused this falling out, though one can infer that it was a culmination of issues from the prior thirty years.

Although he hasn’t been speaking to the other members personally, Lydon has been fighting for his claim of the band and its music, despite having sold his rights in the 1990s. As such, he lost recent court case regarding him working to prevent FX from using the band’s music in their biographical miniseries Pistol. He has also begun to engage more in right-wing political views and looking more favorably on the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II, stances which oppose the views of Steve Jones and other members of Sex Pistols.

Fans of the band shouldn’t fret, though, for starting this year, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock have begun to perform shows under the Sex Pistols moniker once again. The role of lead singer has been taken up by Frank Carter of Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes fame, who Jones finds to be a greatly welcome addition. 

In the same podcast interview, he describes Carter’s time with the band, saying, “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.”

Their 2024 shows have been going quite well, thereby extending their schedule of performances into 2025, including the popular rock festival Download Festival.