Glen Matlock
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Glen Matlock (born August 27, 1956 in West London, England) was the original bass player of punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Drummer Paul Cook has said that Matlock came up with much of the music for the band's songs, while lead singer Johnny Rotten came up with the lyrics. Matlock is credited as a co-author on 10 of the 12 songs on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, the group's only LP.
[edit] Biography
Matlock left the Sex Pistols in late February 1977, the legend being that he was 'thrown out' because he "liked The Beatles" (although in a television interview in 2002, Pistols guitarist Steve Jones claimed the real reason was that Matlock was "always washing his feet"). However, in his autobiography, I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol, Matlock stated that he left the band of his own volition as he was "sick of all the bullshit." In the 1999 documentary The Filth and the Fury, the band members generally agree that there was tension between Matlock and Rotten, which Matlock suggests was exacerbated by Malcolm McLaren's attempts to divide the two men. Matlock was replaced by Sid Vicious (who did not play bass very well but was offered lessons by Matlock), and went on to form The Rich Kids, a New Wave/power pop band, with Midge Ure, Steve New and Rusty Egan.
In John Lydon's autobiography Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, Lydon claimed incorrectly that Matlock worked on later Sex Pistols material (including their album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols) as a paid session musician. Glen only played on "Anarchy in the UK" which was recorded and released as a single while he was still in the group. (The remainder of the bass lines were played by Jones. Vicious recorded a bass part for "Bodies" and "God Save The Queen," however, Jones later rerecorded or overdubbed the parts). Matlock later played bass with Vicious in the short lived band Vicious White Kids. Matlock also played bass on the Iggy Pop album Soldier and The Damned album Not of This Earth.
Matlock rejoined the surviving Sex Pistols members for reunion tours in 1996, 2002 and 2003. He currently plays bass in the bands the Philistines and The Flying Padovani's. One newspaper wrote, comparing the current lifestyles of the Sex Pistols: "Only original bassist Glen Matlock remains touring with his own band, an irony given that he was sacked for being too conservative..."[1]
[edit] External links
| Sex Pistols |
|---|
| Johnny Rotten | Steve Jones | Glen Matlock | Paul Cook | Sid Vicious |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: Never Mind the Bollocks, 1977 |
| Singles: Anarchy in the UK, 1976 | God Save the Queen, 1977 | Pretty Vacant, 1977 | Holidays in the Sun, 1977 | No One Is Innocent, 1978 |
| Live and compilation releases: Some Product: Carri on Sex Pistols, 1979 | The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, 1980 | Flogging a Dead Horse, 1980 |
| Related articles |
| Public Image Ltd. | Malcolm McLaren | Jamie Reid | Ronnie Biggs | Edward Tudor-Pole | The Professionals | The Filth and the Fury | Punk rock |
Categories: 1956 births | Living people | English actor-singers | English multi-instrumentalists | English rock singers | English rock bass guitarists | English singer-songwriters | English songwriters | English male singers | English musicians | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees | Punk rock singers | People from London | Sex Pistols
