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TAKING THE PISTOLS

Johnny Rotten lets rip at former Sex Pistol bandmates for making biopic without him

SEX PISTOLS bad lad Johnny Rotten once sang that anger is an energy – and now he is aiming every bit of his vitriol at his former bandmates.

In an exclusive interview he says they secretly plotted for three years to make an upcoming biopic on the anarchic 1970s punk group without him.

Johnny Rotten is furious that a Sex Pistols biopic has been made without him
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Johnny Rotten is furious that a Sex Pistols biopic has been made without himCredit: Redferns

Calling guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook “dead wood”, he attacks the “underhand” decision to make new six-part Danny Boyle TV series Pistol that he says has left him feeling hurt, lied to and ostracised.

Frontman Johnny, 66 — now known by his real name John Lydon, said: “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.”

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Johnny said he will make himself watch the programme when it airs on Disney+ next month, just to see what his former bandmates have said about him.

He added: “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.

“They kept it a secret from me and away from me, and they find that acceptable.

"As a human being I couldn’t do that to another person.

“The underhandedness of it is preposterous and the assumption that I would be negative right from the start is clearly ludicrous in itself.

“I wrote all those songs. I’m the image, it’s my name they’re using to promote it, Monsieur Rotten here.”

Inappropriate thievery

The Sex Pistols formed in London in 1975 and although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, their 1977 album, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols, was a No1 and they are regarded as one of the most groundbreaking acts in pop history and responsible for initiating the punk movement.

New series Pistol stars Anson Boon as Johnny, Louis Partridge as bassist Sid Vicious and Game Of Thrones actress Maisie Williams as punk fashion icon Jordan, who died two weeks ago.

From left: Johnny, Sid Vicious, Steve Jones and Paul Cook
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From left: Johnny, Sid Vicious, Steve Jones and Paul CookCredit: Redferns
Louis Partridge as Sid, Anson Boon as Johnny and Toby Wallace as Steve
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Louis Partridge as Sid, Anson Boon as Johnny and Toby Wallace as SteveCredit: Click News and Media

John said last year’s High Court battle, when he tried to stop the band’s music being used in the series, has cost him “millions”, leaving him in a state of financial ruin.

His former bandmates won the right to invoke what is known as a majority voting rules agreement from 1998 to use the material, which includes Anarchy In The UK, Pretty Vacant and God Save The Queen.

John is clearly still deeply upset.

If you cut me out, then you’ll never know how those songs were formulated. Not ever.

He told The Sun on Sunday from his home in Malibu, California: “I had less than a few days to decide whether I was going to go along with this and grant my permission for them to use the songs for this TV series that didn’t involve me at all.

“I knew it would cause me serious financial problems going into the court case, but I had to stand up for what I view as value systems, and I’ve had to take it on the chin.

“I knew I couldn’t fight against the Disney wealth and might without suffering substantial kicks in the teeth, but I still went ahead, because what they’re doing is wrong.

“It’s wrong on every level. It’s just inappropriate thievery.”

He said the band had an understanding that if any of them disagreed, they would stop because they never wanted to hurt any other band member.

John added: “But they now disagree with that prospect, so they won the case on the grounds of majority rather than unanimity, so I’m outvoted all the time, on everything, from here on in.

"I wrote all the songs. I’m the image. I’m the front man, and now I’m not there.

“It’s bizarre that a bloke like Danny Boyle would consider doing something without speaking to me.

“I mean, where is the accuracy? If you cut me out, then you’ll never know how those songs were formulated. Not ever.”

John is notorious for his swearing, which prompted I’m A Celebrity bosses to impose a time delay on broadcasts when he appeared on the series in 2004.

But back home in Malibu, he is simply a devoted husband who prioritises the happiness of his 79-year-old wife Nora, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

He married the German publishing heiress in 1979 and first revealed her devastating diagnosis in 2018.

He has since become her carer and said: “I’m lucky. I mean, if she was a vile, horrible, disgusting, selfish bitch from hell, it would be a bit different.

“But even if she was, I’d still be loyal, because that’s the way I am. I don’t make commitments lightly but once I do, it’s there for ever.

“Covid’s been a difficult time for everybody but it’s made the bond between my wife and me even more exceptional.

“The social restrictions during the pandemic were particularly hard for Nora, as she needs company from people to keep her brain active, so it was a very cruel imprisonment for her.”

But John was determined to make her laugh.

He said: “We just love watching comedies together. It’s hilariously good fun.

“We’ll sit there and watch all those old episodes of Steptoe And Son and anything with Norman Wisdom in it and she’s rocking and laughing.

"Sometimes couples find out you’re not compatible, but we are. We both love a good laugh and that keeps her highly active.

“She’s reverting to German a lot now, her childhood language, and nein sprechen sie Deutsch!

“But as long as we have love and affection for each other, really the words are inconsequential.”

John will tour the UK and Europe this summer with his band Public Image Limited, or PiL.

He said: “It’s been four years since being on stage and I’ve done two years of the Covid nonsense that’s fed everybody up.

“I can’t wait to reconnect with the audience. The bond is phenomenal.

“It’s not arrogant to say they miss me as much as I miss them.

“The audience are like a fifth member of PiL, the eye contact, the bonds, the emotions.”

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But he says there is no way he will ever reconnect with his old band’s members. In characteristic style he said: “What do I think of them? F*** you. All of you.”

 For show dates and tickets see pilofficial.com.

Jester guy in a mask

DEVOTED John took part in America’s version of The Masked Singer because he knew it would make his wife Nora happy as she lives with Alzheimer’s disease.

He said: “I couldn’t believe it when the offer came through.

“It was in November last year and right in the middle of the ludicrous court case, and I knew that Nora loves that show. The sheer silliness makes her laugh so I thought, ‘Why not?’

“I pre-recorded the episode and came back to the house to watch it with her without telling her that I’d done it, as I wanted to see if she would guess that it was me.

“I sang School’s Out, by Alice Cooper, in this absurd jester costume and before the song came to an end Nora said, ‘That’s you’.

“It was just the most wonderful gift because it often takes her a long time to recognise me and sometimes she doesn’t recognise me at all.

“That TV company and that show gave me the opportunity to see the joy on Nora’s face.

"How can you beat that? It was really excellent, and that’s the key to keeping her spirits up. And mine.”

Johnny devotedly cares for wife Nora, who is now 79
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Johnny devotedly cares for wife Nora, who is now 79Credit: Rex Features
Director Danny Boyle has made the biopic Pistol for Disney+
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Director Danny Boyle has made the biopic Pistol for Disney+Credit: Rex
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