Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Frank Pistols!...er, the Sex Carters?!

All the living Sex Pistols not named Johnny Rotten replace him with ex-Gallows frontman Frank Carter to play the hits and save a beloved London music venue.

The Frank Pistols: (l-r) Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, Frank Carter, and Paul Cook, lining up for a press shot.

That explosion you just heard coming from Malibu is the sound of John Lydon's head blowing up. His former bandmates in the Sex Pistols announced a week ago they are playing three dates in August, replacing Johnny Rotten with another ferocious, red-headed Irish Brit a full generation younger: Frank Carter of Gallows and Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes fame.

The gigs are meant as a benefit for Bush Hall, a beloved London venue with a bit of history that’s been under threat of closure. A crowdfunding campaign activated this past March has already exceeded its £42,000 goal. But, as Carter put it, “When the Sex Pistols call, you answer.”

It was Pistols drummer Paul Cook who approached the venue, mooting the idea that the lads get back together to reprise Never Mind The Bollocks one more time to help out, all proceeds going to the intimate performance space.

“We jumped at the chance,” Bush Hall commercial director Lara Coker-Hutchins informed The Indepedent. “It is an honor to have the Sex Pistols in the venue, we couldn’t have imagined that the front runners of the punk movement would do this for us – we’re still pinching ourselves!”

“They need support and they need the money,” Cook said via a press release. “We thought it would be a great way to stop it going under. This is my local venue. I grew up in Shepherd’s Bush and I still live ‘round here. It would be a real shame to see it disappear and we want to keep it going.”

Unfortunately, after Lydon threw a losing legal shitfit at his former bandmates over the Danny Boyle-directed FX limited series Pistol, a permanent wedge was driven between singer and band. Who was gonna be singing “Anarchy In The UK” and all the rest NOW?! Well, for sheer, boiling anger like the 21-year-old Johnny Rotten delivered, they could have done a lot worse than Carter.

 “This has been a joy from start to finish,” you could practically hear Carter yelping in the same press release. “I’m very excited to be a part of it.”

“Smaller music venues are the lifeblood of new music,” bassist Glen Matlock added. “It’s in these intimate spaces that raw talent gets a chance to shine, where bands can really connect with their audiences, and where the spirit of live music truly comes alive so we need to keep them going.”

And as many people are out there who would obviously want to see the Pistols rip through those bloodthirsty anthems again, even if it’s with an asterisk? Of course, the 400 capacity hall had to add a third night to the festivities. 

Bush Hall, a grassroots music venue operational since 2001, has welcomed a diverse roster of iconic performers, including Amy Winehouse, Adele, and REM, among many others. In the wake of the pandemic, preserving the viability of live music venues in the United Kingdom has posed an escalating challenge. Bush Hall experienced a significant decline in live music bookings, with a decrease of 24.5 per cent in the previous year. This venue is not alone in its struggles; the Music Venues Trust (MVT) reports that financial difficulties compelled 125 UK venues to cease hosting live music in 2023, with over half of those venues ceasing operations altogether.

Promoter John Giddings told the NME, “Without treasured music venues like Bush Hall, we wouldn’t have the festival headliners of today. Bush Hall is where artists cut their teeth and hone their craft. It’s essential that these venues continue to exist for the music industry to thrive and evolve. That’s non-negotiable. Thanks to the Sex Pistols and Frank Carter for stepping up – this gig will be one hell of a night.”

Meanwhile, Lydon continues pissing all over the value system he once advocated as King Sex Pistol by making declarations such as immigration has led to “division and animosity”in the UK. Which is really rich, coming from the son of Irish immigrants. Johnny Rotten’s dead. God save Johnny Rotten.

The original poster, before the third date was added.

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