Sex Pistols And Frank Carter Ignite 50 Years Of Punk This Winter
A half-century after they detonated British culture, Sex Pistols are marking 50 years of punk with the Anarchy In The U.K. Tour, joined once again by firebrand frontman Frank Carter.
This December run sees Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock relight the fuse, delivering what’s being hailed as the closest thing to the original punk experience still standing.
Described by The Guardian as a “rip-roaring punk rock redux” and by Louder as proof that “with Frank Carter up front, the Sex Pistols sound like the world’s greatest punk band once more,” the current incarnation is less nostalgia trip, more full-throttle resurrection.
50 Years Since Year Zero
1976 was punk’s year zero. The Pistols tore through London institutions like The Marquee Club, 100 Club and Lesser Free Trade Hall, igniting a movement that would inspire future members of Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, The Fall and Buzzcocks to start bands of their own.
By October that year, the underground had gone nuclear. Signing to EMI, the band released “Anarchy in the UK” before entering the studio to record what would become their sole studio album, Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols — a record that still sounds like a brick through a window.
Paul Cook recalls those first months as “a commando raid… we were learning on the job.” The message, he says, was simple: have a go, get out there, create your own world.
Carter At The Controls
Originally of Gallows and Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Carter stepped into the breach in 2024 and has since turned each show into a sweat-soaked celebration of defiance. From festival stages across Europe to a raucous Teenage Cancer Trust night at Royal Albert Hall, the chemistry has proven undeniable.
Steve Jones sums it up bluntly: if it isn’t fun, it isn’t happening.
Anarchy In The U.K. Tour 2026 Dates
- Mon 7 Dec – 3Arena, Dublin
- Wed 9 Dec – Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
- Thu 10 Dec – O2 Academy, Glasgow
- Fri 18 Dec – O2 Academy Brixton, London
- Sun 20 Dec – Eventim Apollo, London
Tickets on General Sale: Friday, February 27th, 9am HERE
UK Summer 2026 Shows
Ahead of the winter tour, the band also play:
- Saturday 11 July – The Piece Hall, Halifax (with The Undertones and Panic Shack)
- Sunday 12 July – Castlefield Bowl, Manchester (with Dr John Cooper Clarke)
- Saturday 1 August – Cardiff Castle (with The Stranglers, The Undertones and Panic Shack)
- Sunday 2 August – Scarborough Open Air Theatre (with The Stranglers and The Undertones)
Five decades on, the songs still snarl, the riffs still slash, and the spirit remains gloriously ungovernable.
