John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, has lost a lawsuit against former Sex Pistols bandmates Steve Jones and Paul Cook, Variety and The Guardian report. Lydon had refused to license the band’s music for Danny Boyle’s upcoming FX series Pistol, but a London court ruled that under a 1988 agreement, not a single member has a veto of licensing rights that can be granted by majority vote.
Lydon’s attorney argued in court documents that the show portrayed the singer in “a hostile and unflattering light” as “the annoying little brat with great bone structure who always asks for more”. He argued that the 1988 contract was never honored and therefore void, what Jones and Cook called a “simple lie,” reports The Guardian.
In a statement, Jones and Cook said: “We applaud the court’s decision on this case. It brings clarity to our decision-making and maintains the band members’ agreement on collective decision-making. It was not a pleasant experience, but we believe it was necessary to move forward and hopefully work with better relationships in the future. “
FX ordered the limited edition of six episodes in January based on guitarist Steve Jones’ 2018 memoir, Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol. The show, which will air next year, stars Anson Boon (1917) as Lydon and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Queen’s Gambit) as Malcolm McLaren.
