Sex Pistols have announced a new reissue of their 1996 live album ‘Filthy Lucre Live’ to mark 30 years since the band’s shock reunion.
The album captured their performance at London’s Finsbury Park on June 23, 1996, with Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock back on stage together in one of the decade’s most unexpected returns.
Now, ‘Filthy Lucre Live’ is set to be reissued on November 20 via UMR as a 2LP red vinyl set and single CD, featuring bonus tracks ‘No Fun’ and ‘Buddies’ for the first time on the release. Pre-order your copy here.
‘No Fun’ was the band’s cover of The Stooges’ song, while ‘Buddies’ is a crowd sing-along version of ‘Bodies’. Both tracks previously appeared as Japanese bonus tracks.
The Finsbury Park show drew heavily on the band’s only studio album, 1977’s ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’, with the setlist featuring ‘Anarchy In The U.K.’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Holidays In The Sun’ and ‘Pretty Vacant’.
Speaking about the reissue, Jones said: “It was 20 years on from when we initially broke up in ’78 and it was always a debate that the Pistols couldn’t play. I think ‘Filthy Lucre’ shows not only that we can play but we are a powerhouse. Long live rock’n’roll.”
Cook added: “It wasn’t all about the ‘filthy lucre’ – that title was always ironic – it was about getting the original lineup behind ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’ back together and showing what we could really do. I loved it.”
The ‘Filthy Lucre’ tour was named after a 1976 Daily Express headline – “Punk? Call It Filthy Lucre” – and saw the band reunite after their original implosion at the end of a 1978 US tour, which concluded at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom. It also brought Matlock back into the fold, having left the group in 1977 before being replaced by the late Sid Vicious.
The Finsbury Park show came at the height of Britpop and Euro ’96 fever. England had beaten Spain on penalties the previous day, and Stuart Pearce and future England manager Gareth Southgate were at the show to introduce the band on stage.
The full ‘Filthy Lucre Live’ vinyl tracklist is:
A1. ‘Bodies’
A2. ‘Seventeen’
A3. ‘New York’
A4. ‘No Feelings’
A5. ‘Did You No Wrong’
B1. ‘God Save The Queen’
B2. ‘Liar!’
B3. ‘Satellite’
B4. ‘(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone’
C1. ‘Holidays In The Sun’
C2. ‘Submission’
C3. ‘Pretty Vacant’
C4. ‘EMI’
D1. ‘Anarchy In The U.K.’
D2. ‘Problems’
D3. ‘No Fun’
D4. ‘Buddies’
The reissue comes amid another active period for Sex Pistols, with Cook, Jones and Matlock currently performing alongside Frank Carter.
The current iteration of the band first came together in 2024 for benefit shows in support of London’s Bush Hall, and has continued to tour since, playing ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ in full without John Lydon.
They are due to continue marking 50 years of punk with a run of major live dates this year, including summer headline shows at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl, Cardiff Castle and Isle Of Wight Festival.
The band’s North American tour is set to begin in September, after a previously planned run was postponed when Jones broke his wrist. They will then bring their ‘Anarchy In The UK’ arena tour to the UK and Ireland in December, and you can see the dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
Lydon has repeatedly criticised the line-up, previously calling it “karaoke” and “almost malicious in its intent”. He has also said he would “never” return to the group, adding: “As far as I am concerned, I am the Pistols, and they’re not.”
Matlock recently responded to Lydon describing the current line-up as a “tribute act”, saying: “People say we’re a tribute band without John, but there’s three of us, and he’s the only Public Imager. I think he’s painted himself into a corner of a very big hallway.”
