The biggest news of 2024 for punk rockers of a certain age came in June, when it was announced that the Sex Pistols were to re-form – well, 75 five per cent of the Pistols, to be exact – initially to play a series of concerts in drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones’s native Shepherd’s Bush to benefit beloved-but-struggling local London venue Bush Hall.
Relations being what they are between ex-vocalist John Lydon and the remainder of the band, putting a replacement behind the microphone was the only viable option. Cook and Jones had formerly taken to the road with Billy Idol and Tony James of Generation X, as Generation Sex, but with Idol unavailable a second option had to be explored.
It was Pistols’ bassist Glen Matlock’s son who ultimately came up with the solution. On hearing the situation was vacant, he advised his dad to ‘Get Carter’. Frank Carter, that is. Eight years ago, Dead!, a band that featured Louis Matlock (and elder brother Sam), hit the road as support to Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes, and over the course of the tour Louis came to the conclusion that not only was the ex-Gallows singer ‘a great bloke’, he was also exactly the sort of frontman who’d tessellate perfectly with a revamped Sex Pistols.
After Glen and Frank met for coffee and got on, a further informal meeting was arranged where – with Glen on guitar and Cooky on drums – Carter ran through some Pistols songs. No further evidence needed, a call was made to Steve Jones in California.
Now 34 years sober, Jones suns himself under a blazing mid-morning October sun – a West London sun rather than a West Hollywood sun. He’s been in London for six months, his longest home stint since relocating to the States four decades back.
“For a long time I couldn’t wait to get out of here. Not for any reason other than my own demons,” punk’s architect admits. “I was drinking and using when I was young, but now I’ve had a shift in my head. I appreciate it now and embrace it.”
A more permanent return to Blighty to live out his twilight years is highly unlikely, though. “I’ve acclimatised to LA, and sometimes forget I’m English.”
Last time we spoke you were gearing up for Generation Sex.
“I had a lot of fun doing it,” he says, “and doing Generation X songs, but whenever we played Pistols songs people – especially festival audiences – seemed to relate more. So I thought why don’t we do it again, but just do Never Mind The Bollocks. Billy [Idol] was doing his own thing, but Glen’s boy suggested Frank. I hadn’t heard of him, to be honest, but we did a Zoom call, liked each other, and then the Bush Hall thing came up, a good cause that offered a perfect opportunity for us to see if it worked.”
He’s one hell of a performer.
“I’d looked at videos of Gallows and the Rattlesnakes, so I had an idea of what he was like. He’s got so much energy. All me, Glen and Cooky had to do was play, and it just seems to work.”
At the first Bush Hall show, while the audience watched you, you were watching Frank. The band seemed to be enjoying the show as much as anyone. “For sure. It was a buzz. And for me, at sixty-nine, if it ain’t fun I ain’t doing it. And with Frank it’s beyond fun. We get to play those songs, Frank ain’t trying to be John, and I couldn’t be happier. Who knows how long we’re gonna go on for. We’ll definitely be touring next year, with the same line-up, and maybe add a few more songs.”
No one else makes quite the same racket as Steve Jones, but is yours a complex set-up involving lots of pedals, or do you just plug in and there it is?
“I pretty much plug in. I do have a few pedals – one to make it louder when I do lead, a wah-wah, and a Phase 90 for Anarchy – but that’s it. But with them Marshall 800s? There honestly ain’t a lot to it. When I started, my biggest fear was to leave an empty hole when I did lead, so my main focus was on chords, doing eighth notes, and when I did do lead I did Chuck Berry, because you’re hitting three strings at once, and it fills that hole.”
Talking of which…
“I love eating. I’ll be trying to lose a few pounds when I’m back in LA. Walking’s my favourite exercise, and I haven’t been doing enough of it lately. But I love eating. Honestly. So it’s tough, because at this stage of the game I just want to graze.”
And as we part, Steve to gently float away on his ongoing pie-and-mash reverie, we take great heart in the fact that today’s Sex Pistols – Thristols, Frank Pistols, call them what you like – haven’t sounded quite so vital in years. Possibly because nobody on stage is putting on any kind of act.
Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter will play Australia and New Zealand in April, and will support Guns N' Roses on their European tour this summer.
