Hold onto your safety pins, punk fans: the Sex Pistols are hitting the road again. The legendary band has just announced their first North American tour in over two decades, set to kick off this fall. But here’s the twist that’s got everyone buzzing—Johnny Rotten, the sneering voice that defined their anarchy, won’t be along for the ride. Instead, Frank Carter, a punk stalwart from Gallows and Pure Love, is stepping up to the mic. It’s a reunion that’s equal parts thrilling and divisive, raising the big question: can the Sex Pistols still deliver the goods without their original chaos agent? Or, as Rotten himself might snarl, are we all just being cheated again?
Let’s rewind the tape. Back in 1975, the Sex Pistols exploded out of London like a Molotov cocktail, torching the rulebook of rock ‘n’ roll. With their jagged riffs, spit-flecked lyrics, and a middle finger to the establishment, they didn’t just start the punk movement—they were the punk movement. Their lone studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, dropped in 1977 and became the soundtrack to a revolution. But the flame burned fast and furious. By 1978, their U.S. tour—a trainwreck of hostility, redneck bar gigs, and internal meltdowns—ended with Rotten walking offstage in San Francisco, effectively killing the band. Or so we thought.
Fast forward through the years of reunions and cash-ins: the 1996 “Filthy Lucre” tour, a few more jaunts in the early 2000s, and their last North American trek in 2003. Their final U.S. gig was in 2008, and then—silence. Until now. In 2025, the Pistols are dusting off their leather jackets for another go, but this time, the lineup’s got a new face. Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock—the original instrumental backbone—are back, joined by Frank Carter on vocals. No Rotten, no Sid Vicious (obviously), just the core trio plus a fresh voice. It’s a gamble, but one the band seems stoked to take.
Carter’s no rookie. He’s screamed his lungs out with Gallows, mellowed out with Pure Love, and reinvented himself with Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes. The guy’s got punk cred and a set of pipes to match, and Steve Jones says he was the first singer they tried—and it clicked. They’ve already road-tested this lineup in the UK, hitting stages in 2024 with a standout show at London’s Bush Hall. Word is, Carter brought the heat, channeling the spirit of Bollocks without trying to ape Rotten’s inimitable growl. And now, they’re bringing it stateside.
The plan? A full-on performance of Never Mind the Bollocks, start to finish, kicking off September 16 in Dallas. From there, it’s a coast-to-coast blitz: Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Montreal, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, Denver, Seattle, and a big finish in San Francisco—full circle from that ’78 implosion. It’s a love letter to the fans who’ve kept the album spinning for nearly 50 years, delivered by three-quarters of the crew who made it happen.
But not everyone’s raising a pint to this news. John Lydon—aka Johnny Rotten—is pissed. In a recent interview, he slammed the tour as a “cash grab,” accusing his old mates of “trivializing the whole show.” It’s classic Rotten, stirring the pot from the sidelines, and it’s hard not to hear echoes of ’78 in his venom. The tension’s palpable, a reminder that the Sex Pistols were never about playing nice. Lydon’s absence looms large—he was the band’s attitude, its snarling soul. Without him, this feels like a different beast.
So, what’s the vibe gonna be? Back in ’78, the Pistols faced jeers and beer bottles, especially in the South, where punk was about as welcome as a tax collector at a squat. This time, the band’s banking on a smoother ride—punk’s gone mainstream, after all, and Bollocks is now a classic, not a Molotov. For fans, it’s a mixed bag: you’re getting Jones’ riffs, Cook’s beats, and Matlock’s bass (a welcome return over Sid’s chaos), but Carter’s got some big boots to fill. Still, his track record suggests he’s not here to phone it in. Early UK gigs hint he’s making the songs his own, not just karaoke-ing Rotten’s legacy.
Love it or hate it, this tour’s a testament to the Sex Pistols’ staying power. They’ve been called sellouts before—hell, they’ve leaned into it—but there’s no denying the pull of hearing Bollocks live, played by the hands that crafted it. Is it the real deal without Rotten? Maybe not. Is it still worth a damn? You bet. As they gear up to storm North America again, the Sex Pistols are proving they can still kick up a fuss, even if the snarl’s got a new accent. Catch ‘em if you can—just don’t expect Johnny to approve.
source PEOPLE
