Sex Pistols, Panic Shack

Sex Pistols On the day of his first show fronting the Sex Pistols in summer 2024, Frank Carter was walking near Shepherds 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 lifereborn with ferocity, humour and joy. Now billed as Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter, the bandCarter, 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 Londons 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 aint fun, I aint doing it. Im too old for bullshit. The fun is undeniable. Matlocks 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. Carters Pistols apprenticeship began as a teenager in Watford, sneaking listens to his dads vinyl copy of Never Mind the Bollocks. The albums serrated energy set him on his path as a performer. By the time he emerged with Gallows in the 2000s, Carter already embodied punks dangerous spiritfamously 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 were 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, theyre not museum piecestheyre 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, its worth witnessing. Because we wont see their likes again.