Weeks after a judge in London, England struck down his attempt to block a forthcoming Sex Pistols biopic miniseries, frontman John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) has claimed he went broke defending the legacy of his band.
“I'm seriously in a state of financial ruin,” Lydon, 65, told The Telegraph. “I've got no more savings, no more loans, no pensions. I've got nothing ... I'm f**ked, and I'm scuppered in so many different ways.”
The six-part FX miniseries Pistol is based on guitarist Steve Jones' 2018 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol and directed by Danny Boyle. Jones and drummer Paul Cook secured approval from surviving Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock and the estate of Sid Vicious.
But Lydon made a show of fighting his bandmates in court even though a ‘90s agreement among the surviving Sex Pistols members stipulates that matters pertaining to the Pistols' legacy would be determined on a “majority rules basis.”
Lydon argued that he had no recollection of signing the agreement and that band matters had always been decided on an unanimous basis. Jones and Cook said the "majority rules" clause was purposely included in the agreement in case one member was “unfairly blocking the decision making process — which is what happened in this case.”
On his website, Lydon has said he is “powerless” to stop the miniseries, which he believes will “water down and distort the true history and legacy of the Sex Pistols.”
Lydon said exacerbating his financial woes is the need to provide care for wife Nora, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease.
The Sex Pistols released only one studio album – Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols – but are credited with sparking the punk movement in the UK.
- Based upon an original article by Andrew Magnotta at iHeartRadio