Sex Pistols Members Suing Johnny Rotten Over Song Rights

Bruce Henne | 07-16-2021

(hennemusic) Two former members of the Sex Pistols are suing singer Johnny Rotten for the right to use the band's songs in an upcoming television series about the iconic UK punk band.

According to The Associated Press (via ABC News), guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook want the songs to appear in "Pistol," an FX limited series based on a 2017 memoir by Jones entitled "Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol", while Rotten (John Lydon) is refusing to grant permission for the songs to be included.

The surviving members of the band squared off in a London High Court this week in a legal battle over the issue, despite the terms of a 1998 agreement stating that decisions regarding licensing requests could be determined on a "majority rules basis."

Meanwhile, a lawyer for Cook and Jones said both the band's original bassist, Glen Matlock, and the estate of Matlock's replacement, Sid Vicious (who died in 1979), supported their position.

Lydon, has slammed the series as "disrespectful"; the court case is due to continue into next week. Directed by Danny Boyle - the Academy Award-winning director of "Trainspotting" and "Slumdog Millionaire" - the FX series "Pistol" is planned for broadcast next year. Read more here.

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