The Sex Pistols announce first North American tour in 2 decades
[March 29, 2025]
By MARIA SHERMAN
NEW YORK (AP) — It wasn't the night punk broke, but it was close. Nearly
50 years ago, the Sex Pistols — then made up of vocalist Johnny Rotten,
guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock —
performed at the 100 Club Punk Special in London, a 140-capacity club,
alongside Subway Sect, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Clash.
The event marked a shift for the subcultural movement; the bands here
would soon bring their underground culture to reach mainstream heights.
Now, the 2025 iteration of the Pistols — Jones, Cook and Matlock joined
by frontman Frank Carter (of Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter and the
Rattlesnakes) — sit in the same venue to discuss their forthcoming North
American tour. “This is where it all kicked off, really, all the punk,”
says Cook.
This fall, the legendary punk band will embark on their first tour of
North America since 2003, when they were joined by John Lydon (formerly
Rotten.) The 2025 run with Carter begins Sept. 16 at the Longhorn
Ballroom in Dallas, Texas — the site of a particularly hostile show for
the band when it first toured the U.S. in 1978.
Jones recalls having “pigs' hooves and bottles and what not slung at us
by cowboys.”
It is one of a few dates featured in three “Live in the U.S.A.” albums,
documenting the band's '78 run: Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco. The
latter will release April 25 and captures the show where the band
originally called it quits.
"We were thinking of breaking up in San Francisco again," Jones jokes.
The 2025 tour is currently scheduled to conclude Oct. 16 at the
Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The band will hit Washington;
Philadelphia; Brooklyn, New York; Montreal; Toronto; Cleveland; Detroit;
Minneapolis; Denver; Seattle and San Francisco. Additional tour dates
will be announced later.
Pre-sale opens April 2 and 3. Tickets go on sale April 4 at 10 a.m.
local time.
They will perform the band's sole album, 1977’s “Never Mind the
Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols Album” live in its entirety as well as
other material.
So, why tour the U.S. and Canada now?
“Why not?” says Jones.
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Frank Carter, from left, Glen Matlock, Paul Cook and Steve Jones of
the Sex Pistols poses for portrait photographs, Friday, March 21,
2025. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP)
 “I think everybody needs this band
right now. I think the world needs this band right now,” says
Carter. “And I think definitely America is screaming out for a band
like the Sex Pistols.”
“At the end of the day, we’re living in a really, really difficult
time. So not only do people want to come and just be entertained,
they want to enjoy themselves,” he continued. “Punk is an energetic
music. It’s one where you can go and vent and let your hair down,
hopefully in a safe manner. Fingers crossed, no bottles or pigs'
hooves.”
Carter fronted the Sex Pistols last year for a few U.K. dates. The
band says they did not reach out to Lydon to see if he wanted to
participate in this reunion tour.
“The last thing he wants to do is have anything to do with us right
now,” says Jones, referring to a previous lawsuit between the singer
and the band over music use in their TV series “Pistol.” The judge
ruled against Lydon's opposition.
“We wish him the best," Jones said.
“Good luck to him,” adds Matlock. “I wish he thinks, maybe, ‘good
luck’ to us. Probably doesn't. But over the years, John (has had)
all our phone numbers, and I can't see many missed calls from him.”
As for the 2025 tour: Fans shouldn't expect the violence of their
1978 run, but they should anticipate a tighter performance.
“We're a bit older but we play just as well, if not better,” says
Matlock. “And I think that’s something that’s got a great deal of
aplomb that we’re going to bring to the public over there.”
Does this mean there could be new Sex Pistols music in the future?
“It's early days,” says Jones. “Let's see what happens.”
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