Sex Pistols bass guitarist Glen Matlock is knocking punk musicians who are rocking with President Donald Trump.
“It is kind of weird these days. I’m constantly surprised how many punks I see on my Facebook thing that are kinda pro-Trump. It’s a bit weird,” said Matlock in an interview with BBC Radio 4′s “Today” program on Monday.
In November, ex-Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon, formerly known as Johnny Rotten, described Trump as the “Sex Pistols of politics.” Lydon has a history of praising Trump, but pumped the brakes last year, calling him “one of the most horrible little runts.”
Anne-Marie Forker/Redferns via Getty Images
In his BBC Radio 4 interview, Matlock reflected on his iconic punk band’s rise to prominence in the 1970s, noting that they were “fed up with what was going on musically at the time.”
“There was a lot going on, as is today… with the rise of the far-right,” said Matlock, whose band is responsible for punk classics such as “Anarchy in the U.K.” and “God Save the Queen.” “We were trying to somehow navigate our way through that, somehow, and have a laugh, stir things up a little bit.”
Matlock said there’s a lot he doesn’t understand about punk today, claiming that the genre has become a “very broad church” that’s departed from the days of Talking Heads, The Slits and Dolly Mixture.
“But also, a lot of punks got the wrong end of the stick, and maybe some progenitors of it did, as well,” he added.
Matlock also said there’s a problem with media outlets and record companies shutting down those who have pushed boundaries, declaring that music played on the radio is “quite vacuous.” However, he named one musical act that had set itself apart from the rest of the pack, one that Lydon heavily criticized in an interview last year: Irish hip-hop group Kneecap.
Kneecap has put its pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli stances on display at major music festivals, generating intense backlash from U.K. politicians and leading to the group being barred from entering Hungary.
“Not all the time, but a few people do come through, even like the Kneecap people, whatever you feel about them, at least they are pushing it,” Matlock said.
In a post on social media, Kneecap showed love to Matlock for his comments.
“Well Glen is way fucking sounder than Johnny Rotten anyway 💚🤍🧡,” the post read.
Be the first to comment