{"id":37314,"date":"2018-06-21T19:44:19","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T18:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=37314"},"modified":"2018-06-26T07:46:58","modified_gmt":"2018-06-26T06:46:58","slug":"trigger-happy-sex-pistol-glen-matlock-on-enjoying-life-as-a-solo-performer-as-he-releases-new-album-good-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/06\/trigger-happy-sex-pistol-glen-matlock-on-enjoying-life-as-a-solo-performer-as-he-releases-new-album-good-to-go\/","title":{"rendered":"TRIGGER HAPPY – Sex Pistol Glen Matlock On Enjoying Life As A Solo Performer, As He Releases New Album ‘Good To Go’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sex Pistols<\/strong> – you go years without encountering one – and then three come along at once.<\/h4>\n

No sooner had EP’s\u00a0Matt Catchpole\u00a0finished recounting the exploits of\u00a0<\/strong>John Lydon<\/strong> and Paul Cook<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a0Camden Rocks<\/strong><\/a>, than he got the chance to have a chat with Glen Matlock <\/strong>ahead of the release of his new solo album\u00a0Good To Go<\/em><\/strong>.<\/h4>\n

Replaced by\u00a0Sid Vicious<\/strong> –\u00a0so the legend goes – for the heinous crime of “liking\u00a0The Beatles<\/strong>“, Matlock has been arguably the busiest of the ex-Pistols ever since.<\/p>\n

Shortly after quitting, he formed power pop quartet\u00a0Rich Kids\u00a0<\/strong>in 1977, sharing lead vocals with a pre-Ultravox Midge Ure<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The short-lived group made one Mick Ronson<\/strong>-produced album,\u00a0Ghosts of Princes in Towers<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0after which Matlock toured with\u00a0Iggy Pop<\/strong> and played bass on his\u00a0Soldier<\/strong><\/em> album.<\/p>\n

A tireless live performer, he’s gone on to have stints in numerous bands including his beloved Faces<\/strong>, along with three Pistols reunion tours.<\/p>\n

He’s twice revived\u00a0Rich Kids<\/strong> for one-off shows and released an autobiography\u00a0I Was A Teenage Sex Pistol<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, along with several solo albums with his backing group\u00a0The Philistines<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now he’s back with a new band, featuring\u00a0David Bowie\u00a0<\/strong>sideman\u00a0Earl Slick\u00a0<\/strong>on guitar and a catchy collection of songs, ranging from swampy blues-rock to skiffle and rockabilly.<\/p>\n

To celebrate the release of Good To Go<\/em> he’ll be playing a five-night residency in London, starting on July 30.<\/p>\n

But before all that, armed only with an acoustic guitar, he’ll be doing his bit to make the world a safer place by performing at a peace festival in the demilitarised zone on the border between North and South Korea.<\/p>\n

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A Teenage Sex Pistol – Matlock (2nd left) with Lydon, Jones and Cook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So Glen, tell us about the new album Good To Go<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s some stuff that I recorded a year and a half, two years ago, in upstate New York with some mates of mine – Slim Jim Phantom<\/strong> from the Stray Cats<\/strong> on drums, Earl Slick on guitar – and it\u2019s a bit of a departure for me. It\u2019s an album I\u2019m kinda pleased with, songs I\u2019ve been writing for the past few years. What I\u2019ve been trying to do with this album is put a band together and instead of just doing the punk thing \u2013 just do something different. If I want to play punk music I\u2019ll do it with The Sex Pistols.<\/p>\n

How did Earl Slick come to be involved?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done a couple of little things with Earl, I had a little project with him and Clem Burke <\/strong>(Blondie<\/strong>) that nothing really happened on, but we kept in touch. I was with Slim Jim and I told him I\u2019d like to record in America, so it sounds a bit different.\u00a0 I said: ‘Any ideas for a guitarist?’ and he said: ‘Well how about Slick?’\u00a0 I said I knew him and he said ‘Well he\u2019s a big buddy of mine!’ So that worked out okay. We\u2019ve got some gigs coming up. I\u2019m playing a residency at a place called Boisdale<\/strong>\u00a0in Canary Wharf 30, 31 July and 1,2,3 of August and Earl\u2019s going to come over and play, so that\u2019ll be pretty cool. Chris Musto<\/strong>\u00a0{The Philistines, Johnny Thunders<\/strong>}\u00a0is gonna play drums \u2013 he\u2019s an old friend of mine and my mate\u00a0Jim Lowe<\/strong>, who produces the Stereophonics,\u00a0<\/strong>is going to play bass \u2013 he played bass on the album. It\u2019s a bit like trying to organise a cricket team, because not everybody\u2019s always available. I\u2019ve got quite a busy couple of months coming up before that. I\u2019m going to Korea \u2013 I\u2019m playing at the Peace Train Festival<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>in the demilitarised zone right on the border, which\u2019ll be interesting and then I\u2019ve got some wacky show on the banks of the Ganges in India. So I\u2019m getting around a bit.<\/p>\n

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Give ’em enough rope – Glen with Earl Slick and Slim Jim Phantom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do you enjoy playing in these unusual places?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who wouldn\u2019t? You get paid to go and show off at thoroughly interesting places. I\u2019ve done about 35-40 gigs this year already. I did a big tour opening for a band called The Dropkick Murphys<\/strong> all round Europe and I couldn\u2019t believe how big they were and I don\u2019t think they could believe it either. I mean we were playing something like 15,000-seaters. There was just me and my acoustic, but it went down really well.<\/p>\n

Do you enjoy being a frontman, as opposed to playing bass in a band?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been doing it a long time, I\u2019ve done hundreds and hundreds of gigs with just an acoustic guitar all round the world and it always goes down really well. I don\u2019t pretend to be The Great Caruso, but I think I\u2019ve got a way of presenting myself that people seem to dig. I\u2019ve made quite a few albums off my own back. I always think nobody\u2019s going to sing a song you\u2019ve written and mean it as much as the bloke who actually wrote the words, so that\u2019s why I do it.<\/p>\n

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You cover Scott Walker’s\u00a0Montague Terrace<\/em>\u00a0on the new album. Are you a fan of his work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think he\u2019s fantastic \u2013 he\u2019s got a real particular slant and take on life. I think some of his later stuff is a bit too left field for me. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it doesn\u2019t make me want to rush out and buy it.<\/p>\n

I saw you recently playing with Heaven 17 as part of their British Electric Foundation<\/a> set \u2013 how did you come to hook up with them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah I\u2019ve another one coming up with them at a festival in Skipton at the end of the month. I just like doing different things \u2013 it makes life interesting. They\u2019re a good bunch of lads. I\u2019m quite fortunate that through doing what I did many years ago, I\u2019ve kind of got to know and to play with people who influenced us and who we influenced. It\u2019s a nice little position to be in \u2013 to straddle both worlds.<\/p>\n

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