Sex Pistols (Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Glen Matlock) featuring Frank Carter
Tickets: 18+
On sale axs.com
About
On the day of his first show fronting the Sex Pistols in summer 2024, Frank Carter was walking near Shepherd’s Bush when a stranger outside a pub shouted at him: “Big shoes.” Hours later, at Bush Hall, Carter filled them. Across three explosive benefit gigs for the venue, the Pistols roared back to life—reborn with ferocity, humour and joy.
Now billed as Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter, the band—Carter, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and bassist Glen Matlock - have gone global this year. From Australia to Japan, through European festivals and a legendary Teenage Cancer Trust show at the Royal Albert Hall (where Carter conjured a giant circle pit in that hallowed venue), the new Pistols are once again a force of chaos and celebration. A return to London’s 100 Club sealed the revival: before an audience that included Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Bobby Gillespie, they tore the place apart. A historic tour to the USA was on hold after an injury to Steve Jones, but they will return soon to conquer the continent.
For Jones, the mission is simple: “If it ain’t fun, I ain’t doing it. I’m too old for bullshit.” The fun is undeniable. Matlock’s son Louis, himself a musician, first suggested his friend Carter as a natural fit. A coffee meeting became rehearsals, then Bush Hall. From the moment Cook kicked into the drum intro of Holidays in the Sun, it was clear: “This is how it was and how it should be,” he says.
Carter’s Pistols apprenticeship began as a teenager in Watford, sneaking listens to his dad’s vinyl copy of Never Mind the Bollocks. The album’s serrated energy set him on his path as a performer. By the time he emerged with Gallows in the 2000s, Carter already embodied punk’s dangerous spirit—famously chasing a pint-throwing fan out of the 100 Club mid-set, or releasing the uncompromising Grey Britain after Gallows signed a million-pound record deal. Punk fury, sharpened by wit, was in his blood.
That same energy now drives his partnership with Jones, Cook and Matlock. For the Pistols, the change feels less like reinvention than renewal. “The three of us learned to play together,” Matlock says. “We grew as musicians side by side. And now we’re enjoying it in a way we maybe never did before.”
Nearly 50 years after the band detonated British music, their message still lands. When Carter screams those words, they’re not museum pieces—they’re a living, furious address to now.
As for what comes next, the band will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the great 1976 punk explosion with shows at home and abroad. Frank Carter and Sex Pistols continue storming stages across the globe, vital and unrepentant. For however long it lasts, it’s worth witnessing. Because we won’t see their likes again.
IAN WINWOOD
Live Reviews:
"...the injection of fresh blood, and fresh energy, centre-stage means that the Pistols cohere as a unit, as a complete band... the purity of it all is a joy to behold."
- Kerrang!
"a brilliantly brutish, chaotic, and entirely joyful homage..." - Evening Standard
"...the vibe is spot-on, and the Pistols are thunderous..." - Mojo
“Rip-roaring punk rock redux” - The Guardian
“Delivered with a pile-driving, wall-shaking intensity” - Daily Telegraph
“Sheer joy. They should tour it everywhere. God save their mad parade.” - Louder
“The group performs with the tightness and chemistry of a band that have been playing together for years. Sex Pistols are f**kin’ back.” – CLASH
$.25 from each ticket purchased will go to The Shout Syndicate, a Boston-based, volunteer-run fundraising effort who raises money to help fund youth-led arts programs at proven non-profit creative youth development organizations in Greater Boston. Housed at The Boston Foundation, The Shout Syndicate works in partnership with the Mayor's Office of Arts & Culture's creative plan, Boston Creates. https://www.theshoutsyndicate.com/
Now billed as Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter, the band—Carter, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and bassist Glen Matlock - have gone global this year. From Australia to Japan, through European festivals and a legendary Teenage Cancer Trust show at the Royal Albert Hall (where Carter conjured a giant circle pit in that hallowed venue), the new Pistols are once again a force of chaos and celebration. A return to London’s 100 Club sealed the revival: before an audience that included Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Bobby Gillespie, they tore the place apart. A historic tour to the USA was on hold after an injury to Steve Jones, but they will return soon to conquer the continent.
For Jones, the mission is simple: “If it ain’t fun, I ain’t doing it. I’m too old for bullshit.” The fun is undeniable. Matlock’s son Louis, himself a musician, first suggested his friend Carter as a natural fit. A coffee meeting became rehearsals, then Bush Hall. From the moment Cook kicked into the drum intro of Holidays in the Sun, it was clear: “This is how it was and how it should be,” he says.
Carter’s Pistols apprenticeship began as a teenager in Watford, sneaking listens to his dad’s vinyl copy of Never Mind the Bollocks. The album’s serrated energy set him on his path as a performer. By the time he emerged with Gallows in the 2000s, Carter already embodied punk’s dangerous spirit—famously chasing a pint-throwing fan out of the 100 Club mid-set, or releasing the uncompromising Grey Britain after Gallows signed a million-pound record deal. Punk fury, sharpened by wit, was in his blood.
That same energy now drives his partnership with Jones, Cook and Matlock. For the Pistols, the change feels less like reinvention than renewal. “The three of us learned to play together,” Matlock says. “We grew as musicians side by side. And now we’re enjoying it in a way we maybe never did before.”
Nearly 50 years after the band detonated British music, their message still lands. When Carter screams those words, they’re not museum pieces—they’re a living, furious address to now.
As for what comes next, the band will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the great 1976 punk explosion with shows at home and abroad. Frank Carter and Sex Pistols continue storming stages across the globe, vital and unrepentant. For however long it lasts, it’s worth witnessing. Because we won’t see their likes again.
IAN WINWOOD
Live Reviews:
"...the injection of fresh blood, and fresh energy, centre-stage means that the Pistols cohere as a unit, as a complete band... the purity of it all is a joy to behold."
- Kerrang!
"a brilliantly brutish, chaotic, and entirely joyful homage..." - Evening Standard
"...the vibe is spot-on, and the Pistols are thunderous..." - Mojo
“Rip-roaring punk rock redux” - The Guardian
“Delivered with a pile-driving, wall-shaking intensity” - Daily Telegraph
“Sheer joy. They should tour it everywhere. God save their mad parade.” - Louder
“The group performs with the tightness and chemistry of a band that have been playing together for years. Sex Pistols are f**kin’ back.” – CLASH
$.25 from each ticket purchased will go to The Shout Syndicate, a Boston-based, volunteer-run fundraising effort who raises money to help fund youth-led arts programs at proven non-profit creative youth development organizations in Greater Boston. Housed at The Boston Foundation, The Shout Syndicate works in partnership with the Mayor's Office of Arts & Culture's creative plan, Boston Creates. https://www.theshoutsyndicate.com/
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