John Lydon Says He’s Still Waiting to Hear From the Sex Pistols: ‘I Expected Some Kind of Connection’
John Lydon says he hasn’t heard from his former Sex Pistols bandmates in years and that their silence following the death of his wife, Nora Forster, in 2023 still surprises him.
“I expected some kind of connection when Nora died,” Lydon told The Times in a recent interview. “But nothing.”
The comment underscores the enduring and seemingly unbridgeable rift between Lydon, formerly known as Johnny Rotten, and the rest of the Sex Pistols, a schism that has defined the band’s post-1970s history as much as its brief, explosive run helped define punk itself.
Relations between Lydon and his former bandmates, guitarist Steve Jones, bassist Glen Matlock, and drummer Paul Cook, have been openly hostile for more than a decade. The tensions reached a legal boiling point in 2021, when Jones and Cook sued Lydon to block his attempt to veto the use of the band’s music in Pistol, the FX miniseries directed by Danny Boyle and based on Jones’ memoir.
Lydon lost that case, with the court ruling that a “majority rules” agreement among the band members allowed the others to overrule his objections. The decision effectively formalized what had long been the reality: Lydon no longer held sway over how the Sex Pistols’ legacy would be presented.
Since then, Jones, Matlock, and Cook have moved forward without him. The trio reunited under the Sex Pistols name with Frank Carter stepping in as frontman, embarking on a series of live dates that pointedly excluded the singer whose snarling delivery once defined the band’s identity. When asked by The Times whether he would ever consider reuniting with his former bandmates, Lydon was unequivocal. “No,” he said.
He also reiterated his disdain for Pistol, calling the series “terrible” and lamenting that he was never consulted. “Something in me wanted it to be good,” he commented, “but it might as well have been about the Partridge Family.”
None of this has come as a shock to those who have followed the Pistols’ internal dynamics over the years. In past interviews, Jones has been particularly blunt about his feelings toward Lydon. Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2017, the guitarist said he had “no friendship” with Lydon and no interest in rekindling one. Matlock has similarly characterized Lydon’s behavior during past reunions as immature, while Cook has repeatedly dismissed the idea of working with him again, even for milestone anniversaries.
The estrangement has persisted even as both camps remain active. The Sex Pistols’ current iteration with Carter has tour dates scheduled across Europe next summer, while Lydon continues to front Public Image Ltd., his long-running post-punk project. The itineraries do not overlap, and neither act has announced U.S. dates.
