Joe Strummer Pinpointed the Exact Moment When This Iconic Punk Band Had Lost Their Way Forever: ‘That Was the End’
· Vice
Joe Strummer was a very important part of the early punk scene, and as such, was in a position to see things others couldn’t. For example, the Clash frontman says he was able to pinpoint the exact moment that “was the end” for his peers in the Sex Pistols.
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It was when the British anarchists fired original bassist Glen Matlock that Strummer felt they’d gone off the rails forever. “After they sacked Matlock, that was the end, because Matlock was the tunesmith,” he said, per Far Out magazine.
Strummer later indicated that, in his opinion, Matlock was only fired because the Pistols were on an ego-trip. He recalled Matlock being the rational and practical backbone of the band, while the other members were more focused on living extreme punk rock lifestyles.
“That shows how crazy they were,” Strummer asserted, “just because he liked The Beatles, they sacked him.”
The Sex Pistols’ infighting did not stop at Glen Matlock
The Sex Pistols would go on to fully break up about a year after firing Matlock, but reunited a couple of different times. They’ve since fully returned to touring, but without frontman John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon.
In an April 2025 interview with PA news—via The Independent—Lydon was asked if he’d ever want to reunite with his old band. “Never, not after what I consider their dirty deeds, let them wallow in Walt Disney woke expectations,” he replied. The “dirty deeds” he references seem to 2022 legal fight between himself, guitarist Steve Jones, and drummer Paul Cook.
Lydon ultimately failed to stop the use of Sex Pistols songs in the limited series Pistol, which depicted the rise of London’s punk scene. The show was a Disney production by way of the FX channel.
“They’ve killed the content, or done their best to, and turned the whole thing into a rubbish, childishness, and that’s unacceptable,” Lydon protested. “Sorry, I’m not going to give a helping hand to this any longer, as far as I am concerned, I am the Pistols, and they’re not.”
The angry vocalist also weighed in on the band hiring new frontmen, which includes Frank Carter (Gallows, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes). “They had to get Billy Idol last year and now Mr Carter, to come in and listen to them (his lyrics) for them,” he said. “That’s a clown’s circus at work.”
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