This Rotten court case ruined me: Sex Pistol lashes former bandmates
Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon has said the band has ceased to exist, after losing a High Court battle with his former bandmates.
Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten – last month lost a lawsuit brought by guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook, backed by bassist Glen Matlock and the estate of Sid Vicious, allowing them to license their music for Pistol, a forthcoming television drama about their early days.
Lydon said: “For me, that band has ceased to exist. It is not viable or valid. It offers nothing but money-grubbing greedy ******* with no regard for the truth whatsoever.”
Judge Anthony Mann ruled Lydon was bound by a 1998 majority rule band agreement that allows its other members to license the use of the music.
The drama, directed by Danny Boyle, is financed by FX, a subsidiary of Disney.
Lydon told the Daily Telegraph: “This became Walt Disney money versus me. Who do you think’s gonna win?
“It’s a strange, strange world we live in. The Sex Pistols have become the property of Mickey ******* Mouse.”
Lydon, who lives in Malibu but is in Britain for a new tour, also claimed he was struggling financially. He said: “I’m seriously in a state of financial ruin. I’ve got no more savings, no more loans, no pensions. I’ve got nothing. All right? I’m practically this close to zero. And I’ve got a lovely wife I have to take care of who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, which is a hideously expensive illness.
“All I’ve got at age 65 is the chance to start again.”