John Lydon , better known as Johnny Rotten Sex Pistols bandmates . The vocalist lost the case after refusing to license the group's music for the biographical series Pistols , which will be directed by the renowned Danny Boyle.
The program is based on guitarist Steve Jones' 2016 , Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol Paul Cook . Both legally challenged Lydon's veto, with their lawyer Edmund Cullen appearing before the Supreme Court in July.
Lydon's lawyer argued in court documents that the series portrays the artist "in a very unflattering way," depicting him as "the annoying brat." Lydon had previously objected to the Jones biography that served as inspiration for the series. According to him, Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol speaks of him "in a hostile and unpleasant manner."
In a statement, Jones and Cook wrote: “[The court’s decision] brings clarity to our decision-making and upholds the band members’ agreement on collective decision-making. It hasn’t been a pleasant experience, but we believe it was necessary to allow us to move forward and hopefully work together in the future with better relations.”
Now, in a new statement on his website, Lydon responded by claiming he was unaware of the proposed use of Sex Pistols music in the new series until "just a few hours" before it was announced.
“Understandably, John, as the creative force behind the Sex Pistols, wanted to know how he would be portrayed and how his musical works would be used to lend credibility to the series. Despite requesting details of the script or screenplay, John still doesn't know those details. He was asked to allow the Sex Pistols' works to be used without any prior consultation or involvement in the project. He took a principled stance on what he sees as the integrity of the Sex Pistols' legacy and fought for what he believed and continues to believe was right.”
The statement continues: “For over 23 years, the Sex Pistols operated on the basis of unanimous decision-making. The Disney production is the first time that unanimous approach has been ignored. It is disappointing that a Superior Court judge has ruled that John Lydon is bound by an undated agreement signed in 1998, which imposes on the Sex Pistols a majority rule agreement in place of the unanimous decision-making process that has been followed for 23 years. Looking to the future, there is great uncertainty about what the majority rule approach may do to diminish and distort the true history and legacy of the Sex Pistols. Time will tell.”
Finally, a direct statement from Lydon himself says: “I am the vocalist and songwriter, vocalist, image, the whole lot, whatever you want to call it. I’ve been there. How is that not relevant? It’s astonishing to me. It’s so destructive to what the band is, so I fear the whole project could be extremely negative. How can anyone think this can proceed without consulting me and dealing with my personal life in this, and my issues in this, without any meaningful contact with me before the project is announced to the world? I don’t think there are words I can use to explain how false this is.”
READ ALSO : Sex Pistols: Glen Matlock thinks the band could have made more albums