Glen Matlock

Glen Matlock
Background information
Born	27 August 1956 (1956-08-27) (age 53)
Origin	London, England
Genres	Rock, punk rock, Power Pop
Instruments	Bass guitar, guitar
Labels	Virgin Records, Phantom Sound & Vision, Warner Bros., EMI, Peppermint Records, Majestic
Associated acts	Sex Pistols (1975 - 1977, 1996, 2002 - 2003, 2007 - present) The Rich Kids (1977 - 1979) Vicious White Kids (1978) The Philistines (2004 - 2005) The Flying Padovanis (2005) Slinky Vagabond (2007 - present)

Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956 in West London, England) is a bass guitarist most famous for being in the original lineup of the punk rock band 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. He also continues to make his own records and tour with various bands, including the Pistols.

Biography

Matlock left the Sex Pistols in late February 1977, the legend being that he was 'thrown out' because he "liked The Beatles." Although Matlock has said that one of his biggest influences is The Faces, the Beatles anecdote is fictional. A claim made by the Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, regarding how he thought it was bizarre that Matlock was "always washing his feet", has also been misquoted and misinterpreted as the cause of Matlock's firing from the group. 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 2000 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, and went on to form The Rich Kids, a New Wave power pop band, with Matlock (bass guitarist & singer), Midge Ure (guitarist, singer & keyboard player), Steve New (guitarist & singer) and Rusty Egan (drummer). After The Rich Kids he formed The Spectres with Tom Robinson guitarist Danny Kustow and then Hot Club with guitarist James Stevenson and singer Steve Allen.

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 (Jones played bass on all of the songs recorded after Matlock's departure, with Vicious also contributing to the song Bodies). 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 original Sex Pistols members for reunion tours in 1996, 2002 and 2003, and again in 2007 and 2008. He played bass guitar and sang for a time in the bands The Philistines and The Flying Padovanis. He toured with a loose collective of punk and post-punk stars, Dead Men Walking, which included Mike Peters of The Alarm, Kirk Brandon of Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny, and Pete Wylie of Wah! He now is a member of Slinky Vagabond with Earl Slick, Clem Burke, and Keanan Duffty. Slinky Vagabond played their debut concert at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash in May 2007. ^[1] 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..."^[2]

References

External links

• Glen Matlock's website