That’s Rotten luck, Johnny!
Sex Pistols singer loses court fight to stop punk band’s songs being used in Danny Boyle series
JOhNNY rotten has lost a court battle to stop sex Pistols songs such as God save The Queen and Pretty Vacant being used in a big budget TV series about the band.
The singer – real name John Lydon – wanted to veto their use in a drama directed by Danny Boyle but was sued by the punk band’s former guitarist steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook.
The pair argued that under an 1998 agreement, licensing requests could be taken on a ‘majority rule basis’.
Lydon claimed that licences cannot be granted without his consent and said the agreement ‘smacks of some kind of slave labour’. he also claimed he did not know what the agreement’s effect was.
But a high Court judge yesterday said ‘that… was a convenient contrivance’ because, even if he did not read it himself, it would have been explained to him by his lawyer or manager’.
sir Anthony Mann also said in his ruling that Lydon, 65, ‘must have made an informed decision to sign it. he found Jones and Cook were entitled to invoke ‘majority voting rules’.
The six-part drama Pistol will be shown next year. it is based on a 2016 memoir by Jones called Lonely Boy: Tales From A sex Pistol.
it has been estimated that each sex Pistol could earn up to £5million as a result of increased record sales and money offered
for licensing the songs. In court, Lydon argued that the band had always made decisions ‘unanimously’ and said his fear was that Jones and Cook were ‘demanding that I agree to sign over the rights to a drama documentary that I am not allowed any access to’.
Jones and Cook, both 65, and their managers are executive producers of the TV show.
In his ruling, Sir Anthony said Lydon had been offered the chance to speak to Boyle and the actor playing him, Anson Boon, but declined. His request to see the scripts was refused – but no-one outside the project was allowed to see them.
Relations have long been strained between Lydon and the other Pistols. They formed in 1975, disbanded in 1978 and reformed for concerts in 1996 and 2008 – since when, Jones has not spoken to Lydon.
Jones, who gave evidence to the High Court from California, said his view of Lydon was that he was a ‘total d**k’. In his witness statement, Cook said Lydon ‘always likes to feel that he has control’.
Original bassist Glen Matlock, who was replaced by Sid Vicious, and representatives of the estate of Vicious, who died aged 21 in 1979, supported the position of Jones and Cook.