The album, released in 1977, galvanised the growing punk movement in Britain, featuring hits like “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy In The UK”.

It was the only offering from the band, as they split up a few months later in 1978 following a chaotic US tour.

He described the Pistols fanbase as “very demanding” in an interview with Blitzed Magazine, saying: “They’ll grab hold of you, and they won’t let go of that vision of you. You can’t live your life according to somebody else’s illusions about you. You just can’t.”

“You’ve got to be true to yourself. For me, I’ve always declared I had a vast, vast record collection of music, so I was influenced in many different directions and some of them completely contradictory to each other.”

“And so I’d say to those that were still expecting ‘Never Mind the Bollocks Part 2’ – f**k off you idiot. What are you not listening to?”

Last year, The Sex Pistols held two reunion shows at London’s Bush Hall, playing ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ in full. They chose Gallows frontman Frank Carter to take Lydon’s place as lead vocalist.

Following an overwhelming response to their reunion, they embarked on a UK comeback tour.

John voiced his disapproval, telling the i Paper that he was “pissed off” when the remaining band members were set to tour without him last year, calling it a “karaoke” act that undermines their legacy.

He explained: “I just thought, ‘they’re absolutely going to kill all that was good with the Pistols by eliminating the point and the purpose of it all’.

“They’re trying to trivialise the whole show to get away with karaoke but in the long term I think you’ll see who has the value and who doesn’t,”

“I’ve never sold my soul to make a dollar. It’s the Catholic in me – that guilt I don’t want to trip.”

The relationship between Lydon and the rest of the band has been sour for some time – guitarist Steve Jones told NME that the band haven’t spoken to him in 17 years. Recently, the former frontman lost a legal battle against his old bandmates, after refusing to license the use of the Sex Pistols music in Danny Boyle’s 2022 biographical mini-series, Pistol.

Meanwhile, Lydon’s band Public Image Ltd will be touring in 2025. The post-punk group debuted in the late 70’s following the disbandment of the Sex Pistols.

The Pistols have scheduled a handful of dates for 2025, including at Download Festival, alongside acts such as Green Day, Sleep Token and Korn. You can see our writeup on the rock festival here.

“When I first heard that the Sex Pistols were touring this year without me it pissed me off. It annoyed me,” Lydon said. “I just thought, ‘They’re absolutely going to kill all that was good with the Pistols by eliminating the point and the purpose of it all.’”

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Lydon went on to call the tour a “karaoke” act, suggesting the lineup were trivialising the Pistols’ history. “They’re trying to trivialise the whole show to get away with karaoke, but in the long term, I think you’ll see who has the value and who doesn’t,” he said. He also added, “I’ve never sold my soul to make a dollar. It’s the Catholic in me – that guilt I don’t want to trip.”

Lydon hasn’t performed with his former band since 2008, but tensions between the two ignited again in 2022 over the release of Danny Boyle’s miniseries, ‘Pistol’, based on a memoir from guitarist Steve Jones. Lydon had no involvement or input on the series, and criticised the historical accuracy of events within. Jones responded to the singer, telling him to “grow up and move on,” and explaining that it was based on his experiences, not Lydon’s.

The current lineup of the band first played together at a gig at London’s Bush Hall, where they were raising funds for the iconic venue. Lydon questioned their motives, suggesting that it wasn’t an entirely altruistic endeavour. A source quoted by The Sun suggested that the shows were also meant to send a message to Lydon. “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,” the source said. “Rotten thinks he IS the Pistols, but these gigs will show they don’t need him anymore.” Lydon reportedly dismissed the reunion as “b****cks.”

Reactions to the PiL frontman’s latest comments have been mixed, with one X user calling him a hypocrite, claiming that Lydon initiated previous reunion tours. Underneath the same post, another X user compared the shows to Queen touring without Freddie Mercury.

Poor Johnny Forgotten.
Always moaning and moaning. Phone your orange friend TRUMP and ask if you can cry on his shoulder.

YOU started the KARAOKE thing with those SEX PISTOLS reunion tours back then. Hey, @lydonofficial once a HYPOCRITE, always a HYPOCRITE. pic.twitter.com/HyITkEz4jX

— TURN UP THE VOLUME (BLOG) (@TurnUpBlog) February 19, 2025

Controversy is nothing new to the band, and the current feud hasn’t affected sales for their upcoming show at the Royal Albert Hall. Raising funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust, the show is effectively sold out, with only resale tickets available on Ticketmaster. Beyond that performance, the Pistols will also play at Download Festival, Glasgow Summer Sessions, and various international dates, taking them across Europe, with stops in Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil too.

Whether the band still has that spark that ignited the UK punk explosion in the 70s or not, their upcoming shows will be a chance to see one of the most influential bands of the last 50 years. Meanwhile, Lydon will be taking PiL around the festival circuit this summer too.

Public Image Ltd have added shows in Torquay, Brighton, Warrington and Cheltenham to their already extensive tour around the UK, which will see the band take the stage in Bristol, Newcastle, Limerick, Sheffield, and Coventry and many more exciting locations.

The tour will take place over four months next year, from May to August and will occur alongside several festival appearances in the summer. The ‘This Is Not A Love Song’ performers will headline Blackpool’s Rebellion Festival, Stone Valley Festival in their South, Midlands and North variations of the festival, and the UK Sister event to Cruel World Festival, Forever Now, sharing a stage with Kraftwerk, Johnny Marr, Happy Mondays and Billy Idol. 2025 will also see PiL provide support for Stiff Little Fingers during their upcoming Belfast gig.

On sale today, Wednesday, December 18th from 10am.

Monday, May 26th, Torquay, Foundry, UK

Tuesday, May 27th, Brighton, Chalk, UK

Tuesday, July 1st, Warrington, Parr Hall, UK

Thursday, August 7th, Cheltenham, Town Hall, UK

See full dates at https://t.co/x5g3uGyKjP pic.twitter.com/1heVQhvGJA

— Public Image Ltd (@pilofficial) December 18, 2024

Tickets for the additional shows went on general sale today, Wednesday 18 December at 10am GMT.

PiL are a post-punk band founded in the late-1970s, emerging from the disbandment of Sex Pistols in 1978. The initial lineup featured John Lydon as frontman, alongside former Clash member Keith Levene and school friend Jah Wobble. Their debut ‘Public Image’ set a standard for the group, gaining their acclaim as a top ten hit. Since then, as Lydon remains the only constant member throughout the group’s changing lineup, the band have remained renowned for their thought-provoking lyrics, experimental instrumentation, and fusion of rock and post-punk melodies.

The band have been met with a turbulent few years. Alongside the release of ‘End Of World’ in August 2023, which led to a tour of the album in the UK and Europe in late 2023, there was a marked degree of uncertainty for the band’s future, especially surrounding the occurrence of live shows, due to the personal loss frontman Lydon has faced during 2023. Lydon encountered an unimaginable degree of loss, following the passing of his wife Nora in April 2023, along with his friend and manager John Rambo Stevens who passed that December. The track ‘Hawaii’ from their recent release depicts the deep loss and desperate pain Lydon experienced due to losing his wife to Alzheimer’s. A clear standout track from the release as Pitchfork referred to the “melodic and wistful edge” of ‘Hawaii’ which “evokes life slipping away in a fog of morphine and sunshine”.

Lydon has stated on many occasions that the enthusiasm and support from fans is what has pushed the band to tour again in 2025. As the fans have created the momentum of demand for PiL’s upcoming tour, it will be no surprise if the band perform their most memorable hits and fan favourites during their ‘This Is Not The Last Tour’ next year.

The additional dates are as followed:

May 26  –Foundry, Torquay

May 27 –Chalk, Brighton

July 1 – Pyramid and Parr Hall, Warrington

August 7 – Town Hall, Cheltenham

The tour will span across the UK and Ireland, visiting cities and venues often overlooked by other acts to bring PiL’s unique sound to fans old and new. Kicking off in June, the tour is planned to last until early August, although the new dates could take them later into the year.

Frontman, and former Sex Pistol, John Lydon previously hinted that PiL’s 2023 tour might be their last, following a period of personal loss. In April 2023, Lydon’s wife, Nora Forster, passed away after a five-year battle with Alzheimer’s. Later that year, his manager and childhood friend, John “Rambo” Stevens, died suddenly after the last PiL tour in December.

In spring 2024, Lydon embarked upon a spoken word tour across the UK, where he shared stories and reflections with fans. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with many urging him to return with PiL. He shared, “People were so overwhelmingly positive, and they asked me to tour PiL again… I couldn’t just stay on my sofa and not tour – tempting though that obviously is.”

Founded in 1978, PiL emerged as a major force in post-punk, pushing boundaries with their experimental mix of punk, dub, and rock. Formed after Lydon left The Sex Pistols, it was an outlet for him to explore music that his previous band wouldn’t have allowed him to. Their work has influenced alternative music through artists such as U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Massive Attack.

While the full setlist hasn’t been disclosed, fans can expect a mix of PiL classics. Songs such as ‘This Is Not a Love Song’, ‘Public Image’, ‘Rise’, and ‘Death Disco’ were all staples of PiL shows of the past, and it’s difficult to imagine a show without them.

The “This Is Not The Last Tour” will play at smaller venues, with some notable omissions. There are no dates in Manchester or Liverpool, Scotland, or Leeds, which has left some fans voicing their frustrations. On the other hand, the punk-legend will be delivering his set to crowds who are often forgotten about by major acts.

Hoping for some Scottish dates

— ScottLardo1970 (@scottlardo1970) November 12, 2024

With a strong lineup of dates, “This Is Not The Last Tour” is set to bring PiL’s genre-blending sound and defiant spirit back to the stage, allowing fans an intimate experience with one of alternative music’s most influential artists. Tickets will go on general sale at 10am on Friday, November 15, but if you just can’t wait, here’s a performance from 1983 at the legendary Rockpalast!

The series is based on founding guitarist Steve Jones’s book Lonely Boy and follows him and the rest of the band’s rise to notoriety and prominence in early 1970’s Britain. The series is set to premier on Disney plus on May 31st 2022 and features rising star Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious, Anson Boon as Johnny Rotten, Toby Wallace as Steve Jones, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, and Game Of Thrones star Maisie Williams as Pamela Rooke.

The series enjoyed it’s global premier on the red carpet at Leicester Square on Monday night, but has received a mixed response from critics in the wake of John Lydon’s scathing criticism. Empire were positive, giving the series 4/5 stars in a recent review, and saying “Danny Boyle’s sensibilities come out in full force for this serrated slice of music history. The performances vary in strength — but the collective scrappy energy of the ensemble under the director’s guidance is undeniable.“. Whilst The Telegraph gave it 2/5 stars, explaining that it simply didn’t manage to balance the multiple tones and themes that run throughout the story “It’s caught between the very different dynamics of an in-your-face punk assault on TV convention, an accurate historical account of a moment in pop history or an winkingly entertaining showbiz comedy about how to make it in the music business. Pistol comes on fully loaded but ends up firing blanks.”

Much like the band and their marmite touch, “Pistol” will inevitably not be everyone’s cup of tea. But with Danny Boyle publicly inviting John Lydon’s criticism in a recent interview with The Guardian, saying “I think that’s his absolute right. Why would you change the habit of a lifetime?” I suspect that the critical reception of the series will not matter as much as the viewership it’s likely to amass. The pull of the iconic band is undeniable and likely to result in heavy footfall wherever their legend wanders. Given that one of the band’s main strengths was always drawing attention and controversy, I doubt Boyle has anything to worry about, as “Pistol” is already providing that in abundance.

‘Pistol’ is due to be released on Hulu and Disney + on the 31^st of May 2022 spanning over 6 episodes. The programme was written and created by Craig Pearce (who incidentally is also involved in Baz Luhrmann’s forthcoming biopic which centres around the life and times of Elvis Presley) and is based on the Sex Pistol’s founding member Steve Jones’s memoir ‘Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol’. Danny Boyle set to take the reigns as the director having worked closely with Lydon for the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. Take a look at the official teaser down below:

Having since made his opinions on the series abundantly clear; “It’s a disgrace. I fronted this band. I’m the man that wrote the words. I supplied the image and direction, and I think the questions hang on their actions here. If they needed to be this secret squirrel about it then they must have something to hide.”

A statement on Lydon’s official site went on to say; “We were originally led to believe “Pistol” was a Steve Jones story, not a Sex Pistols story. Going by the trailer it doesn’t seem to be the case. John’s “likeness” is clearly being used to sell this series, a series he was not involved in, and was put together behind his back. Putting words in John’s mouth and rewriting history. A middle class fantasy. Disney have stolen the past and created a fairytale, which bears little resemblance to the truth. It would be funny if it wasn’t tragic.”

However, with the release looming large, Lydon has turned his focus to the actions of his bandmates, stating;“Cutting me out is a shockingly stupid move. It’s so ridiculous. It’s so preposterous. They can all f*** off. I supported them for years and years and years, knowing they were dead wood. None of these f***s would have a career but for me. They did nothing before, they’ve done nothing since.”

He went on to say; “I don’t really want to watch it but I will need to fact-check it. I have not seen one single second of it. Not any script, I’ve been completely ostracised. To be misrepresented in such a rude manner is unacceptable. If there was any truth in it, they wouldn’t have kept it from me. They were putting this together for three solid years behind my back without involving me in any way, shape or form.”