Sex Pistol Glen will return for town gig

Former member of the Sex Pistols Glen Matlock was originally due to visit The Old Courts as part of Wigan Arts Festival but was unable to attend the recent event.

However, music fans need not fret as the bassist has now arranged an August date at the Crawford Street arts hub.

Bosses at the borough’s former Victorian courthouse turned culture centre are delighted that they will get to welcome Glen, who was in the famous punk rockers’ original line-up and helped create their seminal 1977 album Never Mind The ********, Here’s The Sex Pistols.

The Old Courts director Jonny Davenport said: “We are really excited to be welcoming Glen to The Old Courts. He’s hugely important to UK music and culture and has been there, seen it and done it.

“Aside from being a great musician and from what we’ve been told, a really nice guy, he was at the epicentre of seismic change brought about by punk music and attitude.

“Those who were alive at the time will never forget it and those born after will never see anything like it. It should be a great event for a host of different reasons so we’re expecting a great turnout.”

The solo show will include acoustic performances of songs from throughout Glen’s long and successful career interspersed with tales of his years on the music scene.

The intimate setting allows fans to get a close-up experience with a musician whose band inspired a whole sub-genre and encouraged thousands of others to take up instruments and play loud, politically-conscious punk.

Glen started out with The Sex Pistols and co-authored 10 of the 12 songs on the band’s best-known album, although he had already left the group by the time it hit the shelves.

The Sex Pistols caused a sensation in the mid-1970s with their outrageous antics including repeatedly swearing in TV interviews, their punk look and caustic songs such as Anarchy in the UK and God Save The Queen.

Despite considerable rumours swirling about his departure from the group, with many observers believing there was friction between himself and frontman John Lydon, Glen returned to the stage with the Sex Pistols for various reunion tours in the 1990s and 2000s.

His career also included new wave power pop band Rich Kids, which he formed with a line-up including Ultravox singer Midge Ure, The Spectres, Hot Club and appearances in a variety of punk and post-punk projects alongside other important figures in the scene.

Glen’s appearance is one of a number of high-profile gigs arranged for Wigan Arts Festival, with The Old Courts recreating its first-ever gig with Ian Skelly and Dave McCabe playing as a duo.

Glen Matlock will play The Old Courts on August 4. Ticket arrangements are yet to be released. To find out more, visit www.theoldcourts.com