Frank Carter says Sex Pistols are reaction to government “dismantling the idea of community”
Frank Carter has spoken to NME at Download 2024, and opened up about what fans can expect to see from his upcoming gigs with Sex Pistols.
The frontman caught up with us backstage at this year’s edition of the Donington Park festival, shortly before he took to the main stage for a career-spanning set with The Rattlesnakes. During the interview, he shed insight into his forthcoming gigs fronting the Sex Pistols, where they’ll be joining forces in London to play the classic ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ in its entirety.
The two shows will be held at London’s historic Bush Hall in August – a venue chosen after the space came under threat when its owners revealed that it needed to raise £42,000 through crowdfunding to prevent it from losing its ability to host music.
Now, Carter has opened up to NME about how the idea arose, and why he thinks it is integral for more light to be shed on the smaller venues across the country.
“I first met Steve [Jones, guitarist] back in Los Angeles in 2007 and we had a long chat about punk rock and what it means to be kicking against the pricks,” said Carter, “then I eventually met all of them throughout the years. But when I got the call up for this, it was a very special moment. It’s still one that I’m cherishing and I feel very grateful for.”
He continued: “I think Paul [Cook, drummer] wanted to do something to support Bush Hall for quite a while now. Obviously, the venue has had some troubles, and like all small venues, it’s been suffering. It hasn’t had the support that it needed,” he added. “So Glen [Matlock, bassist] called me and said, ‘Look, we want to do this charity gig for Bush Hall, how would you feel about coming down and singing some songs?’
“I didn’t really think anything of it, so I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s see. We’ll give it a burn, do some Sham 69, maybe some Faces songs…’ and he was like ‘No, we’re doing ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’. I thought: ‘Oh fuck!’”
Explaining that he although sees himself as merely “a custodian of punk rock” for the shows, he didn’t want to detract attention away from the original members of the iconic band. He said he still intends to deliver “maximum energy and ferocity” on the nights to do the album justice.
“You can expect it to be pure unbridled punk rock. Absolute fucking chaos,” he insisted. “I promise you one thing, there will be nothing left of me after that. I’m going to leave every single ounce of me on that stage because that’s what the record deserves. I’m nervous because they’re big, big shoes to fill, but I’m just going to do my best and try and make them all proud.”
Carter told NME that supporting grassroots venues like Bush Hall is a cause has always been a cause close to his heart. This comes after 2023 being the “worst year for venue closures” – with 125 grassroots gig spaces shutting down, causing a loss of 4,000 jobs, with 14,500 events no longer possible and 193,230 opportunities lost to musicians. It also arrives in light of a notion being made by MPs, who are pushing for a nationwide scheme of arenas and stadiums to pay back into the grassroots spaces.
“It’s important for me to support grassroots venues, always,” Carter explained. “Now though, it’s most prevalent because they’ve been so let down by the government. There is no funding for arts. No funding for the places where arts happen. Not only are those spaces important for entertainment, influencing younger musicians and giving a new generation of bands a place to go, but they’re also important for communities. That’s one of the main things that we’ve seen been absolutely obliterated under the Tory government.
He continued: “They’ve dismantled the idea of community, and the only community that matters to them is a community of wealth amongst their peers and their friends. So for me, it’s very important to support grassroots venues with these gigs, because in those spaces are the younger generations of punk rock musicians. It’s a place for anyone who has something to say about how disenfranchised they are with the world.”
Carter added: “It’s no coincidence that [the government] is underfunding them, because those are the places that are early platforms for their discreditors. So I will always do everything I can to support these spaces. The Rattlesnakes and I have been advocates of small venues our entire lives.”
Beyond these shows, Carter was also optimistic that the forthcoming general election will be one of the turning factors in ensuring the survival of local music spaces across the country.
“You have to have hope,” he ended. “I think that the Tories are done now, but the hard part is seeing that they’ve done a dismantle job on our country and on the NHS. It’s a brutal exploitation of the trust of the public and I have to have hope that Labour will come in and change it.
“Honestly, though, I think they’re being left with nothing, and what can you do with a ruin? Sometimes it’s easier to knock it down and start again… It’s really sad for me, and what I hope is that people understand the task at hand and have patience for a new government. That’s what I’m hopeful for, but we’ll see.”
Frank Carter’s gigs with Sex Pistols will take place at London’s Bush Hall on August 13 and 14. Visit here for any remaining tickets.
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
