John Lydon Declares He Will Never Return to the “Woke Up” Sex Pistols After “Dirty Deeds”

John Lidon and the Sex Pistols Reunion

John Lidon has reiterated his stance against reuniting with the Sex Pistols, firmly stating that he will never join the group again.

Earlier this year, the former Pistols frontman criticized the reunion involving Frank Carter, labeling it “Karaoke” in an NME interview.

Comments on Current Members

In a recent interview with A (via Independent), when asked about the possibility of reuniting with the group, Lidon remarked: “Never. After I consider their dirty acts, let them migrate to Walt Disney. They did not meet expectations. They killed the content or did everything possible and turned it all into garbage, nursery rhymes, and unpleasantness.”

He further expressed, “Sorry, I’m no longer going to provide assistance in this matter. As far as I know, I am the Pistols, but they are not.”

The singer-songwriter previously engaged in a contentious legal battle against guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook to prevent their songs from being used in the Disney+ series Gun, directed by Danny Boyle. Lidon ultimately lost the case.

Regarding the current lineup of the Sex Pistols, he commented: “They had to bring in Billy Idol last year, and now Mr. Carter, to perform and listen to their music. This is the circus clown at work.”

Lidon had previously made similar statements to NME, when asked if he had any interest in seeing the band perform live. “No, but Mr. Carter should follow in the footsteps of Billy Idol, shouldn’t he?” he remarked. “Poor Billy! I saw several clips on YouTube, and he is gasping for breath—he cannot sing my songs! (Laughs) ‘No feelings’—what a great separator.”

Reflecting on his past with the band, he admitted, “I really wanted to experiment with the Pistols. I wrote ‘Religion,’ which is a famous song for Pil, while I was with the Pistols, but unfortunately, they wouldn’t come close to it.”

“It was disappointing, but I don’t want to dig them out; it’s not their fault they are stagnant and cannot move on, right?”

The Pistols last performed with Lidon in 2008, but they conducted a reunion tour last fall, featuring Carter as the frontman. This was followed by two intimate concerts at the Bush Hall in London, where they played “Don’t Give Me No Bollocks” in its entirety.

Since then, they have announced further performances in 2025, including the Download Festival and the Teenage Cancer Trust series at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Additionally, guitarist Jones stated in an NME interview that the Sex Pistols will tour the United States.

When asked about Lidon’s potential reunion with the band, Jones recently told NME: “John is not interested in this. You think it would generate negativity to do this without him, but I’m surprised. There has been no backlash. There were a few comments on Instagram, but they didn’t even see us. They simply couldn’t comprehend this without John, but even those who left a comment were gone after a couple of songs.”

In response to inquiries about a possible return of Lidon, he said: “Who knows? You never know…”

Pistols bassist Glen Matlock also recently commented on Lidon’s past remarks regarding their current reunion in an interview with NME.

When asked about Lidon expressing discontent with the show involving Carter, referring to them as “bolts,” Matlock responded: “Well, he was wrong—not them, because they were good. John made his bed—he can lie in it. He is happy to maintain his public image. Good luck to him. This is not my business, and I’m sure that I am not his concern.”