The Sex Pistols frontman and music icon John Lydon, whose Hollywood career with the band is soon to be the topic of a Disney biopic series called Pistol, is 66 years old today.
Born on January 31 1956, the singer rose to fame as part of the punk rock band, before forming Public Image Ltd in the eighties and reuniting with his band mates in the mid-noughties.
He has also appeared in hit TV programmes including I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, as well as surprising everyone with his performance as Jester in The Masked Singer.
To celebrate John Lydon’s birthday, Daily Star has taken a look at where he and his former Sex Pistols band mates are now.
John Lydon
(Image: Getty Images)
John Lydon is the Sex Pistols singer, also known as Johnny Rotten, whose voice could be heard on records including Pretty Vacant and God Save The Queen.
After the group disbanded in 1978, John Lydon went on to form Public Image Ltd, but The Sex Pistols reformed for a series of tours between 2003-2008, as well as being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
John has since spoken about his life and career in his book I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right, as well as touring a series of spoken word gigs across the UK in 2021.
In his new book, he also spoke about his wife of 41 years Nora, who he married in 1976 and their life living in Los Angeles.
(Image: PA)
John has also spoken openly in his book and on TV about Nora’s Alzheimers diagnosis and explained that she requires around the clock care in an interview with the Guardian, saying: “She has to trust the person she’s with. Babbie has to come first and she has to be comfortable.”
He also recalled the moment that he walked off I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here in 2004, after the show producers would not tell him if his wife had arrived safely in Australia.
John said: “The audacity of those people who wouldn’t tell me that she’d arrived safe. It gnawed on me.
“For a TV show, you don’t put somebody through that.”
(Image: PA)
In September 2021, John Lydon also opened up in an interview with The Telegraph about losing a legal battle against his former bandmates, after he refused to license the band’s music for use in an upcoming biopic series about The Sex Pistols, which he said had “financially ruined him.”
He said: “This entire juggernaut of confusion has cost me millions,” adding: “Such a hideous, nasty onslaught; I never expected Steve, Paul, and Glen [Matlock, original Sex Pistols bassist] to be that evil.
“And we never even sat down and had a conversation about it.”
Away from The Sex Pistols, John also surprised viewers when he appeared as the wild card act on The Masked Singer in 2021, as the character Jester, but later eliminated alongside Natasha Bedingfield as Pepper.
Sid Vicious
(Image: Getty Images)
Sid Vicious joined The Sex Pistols after Glen Matlock’s departure from the group in 1977, after the bassist was seen attending every gig that the band played.
In the years to follow, he became as known for his wild temper and drug addiction, as he was for being part of the band.
His relationship with girlfriend Nancy Sprungen has also been well documented in TV programmes and films, including Sid and Nancy starring Hollywood icon Gary Oldman.
The couple were reported to have a dangerously co-dependent relationship with one another, with Sid penning a tribute to her in 1978 listing everything he loved about her.
(Image: Getty Images)
Photographer Bob Gruen, who joined the Pistols on what would be their final tour with Vicious, also recalled in an interview with New York magazine: “I remember talking to Sid on the bus, and he really seemed to care for her.
“He didn’t have any anger or hatred toward her. Sid very much loved Nancy. They seemed to communicate and connect.”
However, while the couple were in New York following the disbandment of The Sex Pistols, Nancy was found stabbed to death in the bathroom of a hotel on October 12 1978, and her murder has never been solved.
Sid Vicious was later arrested in connection with her death, but the bassist pleaded not guilty to the charges, and he was later released on bail from prison by his mother Anne.
(Image: PA)
Soon afterwards though, the bassist was sent to a maximum security prison in New York for two months, following a fight with a man at a local bar.
He was released on February 1 1979, but after celebrating his release with his mum and new girlfriend, he was found dead from a drug overdose at the age of 21 less than 23 hours later.
His close friend Jordan Mooney, who is consulting with Danny Boyle on the new Pistols biopic, reflected on Sid Vicious during an interview with Metro, saying: “Unfortunately, New York was the worst place he could have gone, and Nancy Spungen probably the worst person he could have met with.”
She added that despite his reputation “he was a very kind person, Sid, and his temper got the better of him a lot, that temper, that’s just temper, flashing temper.
“But I was a really good friend of his. He was a very kind man.”
Glen Matlock
(Image: Getty Images)
Glen Matlock was the original bassist for The Sex Pistols, who joined the band after being introduced to Steve Jones and Paul Cook at manager Malcolm McLaren’s clothing boutique.
The bassist played with the group for two years, before leaving in 1977, revealing in an interview with NME that he decided to leave as he felt he wasn’t being offered “an equal say.”
He said: “It was coming to a head,” adding, “I didn’t like the way it was going.
However, Glenn did reunite with his Sex Pistols band mates for various tours in the mid-noughties.
Glenn later went on to form bands including The Rich Kids with Midge Ure and Rusty Egan, and later went on to play alongside artists including Iggy Pop and The Damned, as well as releasing six solo albums including 2018’s Good To Go.
The star also recently announced that he has signed a new solo record deal, saying in a statement: “I am over the moon to have now signed to Universal Music Group, who will be releasing my brand spanking new album, and I can’t wait to get cracking with the team. Watch this space.”
Steve Jones
(Image: WireImage)
Steve Jones joined The Sex Pistols in 1975 as their guitarist.
After The Sex Pistols disbanded, he and drummer Paul Cook then formed a new band called The Professionals.
Steve has also worked with musicians including Iggy Pop and Bob Dylan, as well as members of bands including Thin Lizzy and Duran Duran.
He also moved into a new career path as a radio host, broadcasting his own programme called Jonesy’s Jukebox on Indie 103.1 from 2004-2009.
During this time he also reunited with the Sex Pistols on a number of tour dates, but Steve Jones and Paul Cook have since sued former band member John Lydon, to allow their songs to be used in Danny Boyle’s upcoming biopic of the band.
(Image: WireImage)
The six-part series, which is being made by Disney, is based on a 2016 memoir by Steve Jones called Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol.
Steve Jones and Paul Cook argued that, under the terms of a band agreement made in 1998, decisions regarding licensing requests could be determined on a ‘majority rules basis’.
A High Court judge later ruled they could invoke majority voting rights.
The musician has also revealed that he suffered a heart attack in 2019, telling Ultimate Classic Rock: “We called a paramedic and went to St John’s hospital and did all the checks, kept me there overnight.”
He added: “So, I had a heart attack,” adding, “and I kept hearing 90% blockage.”
However, Steve has since recovered and has returned to host his radio show on a new station called 95.5 KLOS in Los Angeles.
Paul Cook
(Image: Getty Images)
Paul Cook was The Sex Pistols drummer from 1975 until the band split up in 1978.
Following the band’s split, he and Steve Jones formed The Professionals, as well as working on the soundtrack for films including The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle.
He also helped to discover hit eighties girl group Bananarama and produced their 1982 album Deep Sea Skiving.
The drummer has continued to perform and collaborate with a variety of musicians throughout the decades, including Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen and reunited with his former band mates for The Sex Pistols tours in the mid-noughties.
Following the legal battle over the use of The Sex Pistol’s music in the new Danny Boyle biopic of the band, Paul Cook also revealed that he hopes to mend his friendship with John Lydon, following the bitter lawsuit.
(Image: PA)
He told The Mirror: “The court case was going to happen eventually. It was disappointing. I didn’t want to be sitting there in court grilled by some toff in a wig.
“I don’t want to get in a slanging match. We had an agreement, majority rules kind of thing, John didn’t agree with it.”
He added: “Hopefully, it’s not broke forever, our relationship.
“I hope we talk again. We’re not bosom buddies and we hadn’t spoken for a long time before the case. Hey, we’ve got to do business together and hopefully that will continue in a reasonable manner.”
In his personal life, the drummer is married to Jeni Cook and the couple have one daughter together called Hollie.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
