Members of Sex Pistols and Frank Carter have announced more UK tour dates – you can find all the details below.
Carter first joined forces with Glen Matlock, Paul Cook and Steve Jones to play ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ in its entirety to raise funds for Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush, west London. The venue was chosen after it 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.
The first sold-out show took place on August 13, with further gigs then announced on 14 and 15 following immense demand.
An “overwhelming response” to the gigs saw Sex Pistols and Carter later announce another live gig in the capital at the O2 Forum Kentish Town on Thursday September 26, which sold out in five minutes.
Now, they’ve revealed they’ll be playing an extra four UK shows in September. They’ll kick off the tour in Nottingham on September 20, before heading to Birmingham (21), Glasgow (22) and Manchester (24). They’ll then wrap up the tour with the London gig on September 26.
“There was an overwhelming response on social media from fans asking to play different parts of the country,” Jones said on the new dates. “So guess what? It will be done. We will be tighter than a rat’s arse by the time we get to Kentish Town.”
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Tickets go on sale Friday 23 August at 9am BST, and you can find them here.
Sex Pistols and Frank Carter 2024 tour dates:
September:
20 – Nottingham – Rock City
21 – Birmingham – O2 Academy
22 – Glasgow – O2 Academy
24 – Manchester – Academy
26 – London – O2 Forum Kentish Town
Speaking to NME earlier this year, Carter shared how the idea to collaborate came about. “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,” he said. “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!’”
Carter also spoke to NME about the importance of supporting grassroots venues. 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.
You can check out the setlist and watch footage from the first Bush Hall show here.