Sex Pistols Vs John Lydon .. back in court again over Danny Boyle TV show

Good to see them all bickering still into their sixties !

The drama surrounding Danny Boyle‘s upcoming Sex Pistols TV series has just gone from bad to worse, as the band are now suing frontman John Lydon for refusing to let the show use their music.

News broke today that the members of Sex Pistols are formally taking legal action against Lydon — a.k.a. Johnny Rotten — for not granting Boyle’s Pistol series permission to use any of the band’s music.

As previously reported, Lydon has been a vocal critic of the upcoming show, due to premiere on FX next year, going as far as calling the series “disrespectful.” He’s also apparently refused to let the show use any of the group’s hits, such as “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy in the UK.”

Today Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook took the case to the High Court in London, the Associated Press reports, in efforts to force Lydon to let them use the band’s music.

According to Edmund Cullen — the lawyer representing Jones and Cook — the band made an agreement in 1998 that allows decisions regarding licensing to be determined on a “majority rules basis.” Lydon, on the other hand, argues that licences to use the music can’t be granted without his consent.

Cullen told the judge that the band’s bassist Glen Matlock, as well as the estate of the late Sid Vicious, all support the position of Cook and Jones.

Lydon’s lawyer, Mark Cunningham, entered a written argument in court stating Jones’ 2018 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol — on which Boyle’s TV show is based — paints the singer as “the annoying little brat with the great bone structure who’s always asking for more.”

The legal case is scheduled to run into next week.

As previously reported, Pistol will star Thomas-Brodie Sangster as Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, Tallulah Riley as Vivienne Westwood, Christian Lees as Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, Iris Law as Soo Catwoman, Toby Wallace as Steve Jones, Anson Boon as Johnny Rotten, Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious and Jacob Slater as Paul Cook.

https://exclaim.ca/music/article/john_lydon_is_being_sued_by_the_sex_pistols_for_refusing_to_let_danny_boyles_tv_show_use_their_music