Glen Matlock in Iceland.

 

,,Sid [Vicious] was a good singer, he was a great front man", pre-show Glen Matlock matter-of-factly informs a somewhat sceptical and puzzled yours truly about his clearly musically-challenged, albeit more (in)famous successor, in, arguably, the greatest Punk band of them all, the Sex Pistols.  Understandably though, he isn't quite so kind when it comes to discussing Sid's bass-playing abilities, or lack thereof; Matlock, in spite of having left the Pistols, played bass on their seminal, sole masterpiece, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" - without receiving the credit for doing so at the time.  All the while - briefly - Vicious took the glory and the fame and became the face of Punk before succumbing to the life and, ultimately, death of a sad and pathetic heroin addict-cum-(most likely)murderer.
But that's an entirely different story altogether.

Meanwhile...

Spot, Kópavogur, Iceland, Thursday May 8th, 2014.

In between typically zealous sets from two locally-legendary Icelandic Punk acts Q4U and Fræbbblarnir, Glen Matlock, formerly of the Sex Pistols, and the Rich Kids, takes the stage delivering an impassioned acoustic gig to an overall indifferent and under appreciative audience, most of which clearly doesn't realize it is being treated to a performance by a living bloody legend.  IMHO.
Taking in all the major signposts of his career, from the Pistols to some of his latter-day solo stuff, Matlock's repertoire is a diverse beast, to say the least.
From the underrated Rich Kids, the massively misunderstood Power Pop band he formed after he left the Pistols - featuring, amongst others, former Slik and future Ultravox singer Midge Ure - both "Burning Sounds" and the powerful title track of their only LP "The Ghosts of Princess in Towers" (Quite possibly the coolest album title of all time!) get an airing.   And so does "Ambition", a song that was demoed by Rich Kids, but eventually recorded by Iggy Pop for his "Soldier" album in 1980, which featured Matlock as well.

 

A section of old faves and influences, including the Small Faces' "All or Nothing", The Kinks' "Dead End Street", and the Monkees'/Paul Revere & the Raiders' "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" (The latter was covered by the Sex Pistols) follow suit.
The audience momentarily shows life signs during solo song "Yeah, Right".  Matlock's 1996 Creation Records solo set "Who's He Think He is When He's at Home?" (Quite possibly not the coolest album title of all time!), all simultaneously wall of noise, melody and guitars, is a lost treasure indeed.
A couple of the biggest canons from the Pistols arsenal - "God Save the Queen" and "Pretty Vacant" - get the crowd kinda going as well.

 

As someone who was famously kicked out of the Pistols because he liked The Beatles (or so John Lydon maintains although Matlock himself insists he left the band), Glen Matlock is nonetheless a vital part of the Pistols' history and, therefore, legacy.  Obviously, he had a hand in writing all of their key tracks.  And let's just face it, after he left/was kicked out, they were pretty much over and done with...Never mind Malcolm McLaren.  Plus the fact that Glen Matlock has been asked to join in all subsequent Sex Pistols reunions should lay the leather jacket wearing ghost of Sid Vicious to rest once and for all. 

 

Glen Matlock recommended listening:

 

Sex Pistols/"Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" (LP, Virgin Records, 1977)

Rich Kids/"Ghosts of Princes in Towers" (LP, EMI, 1978)

Glen Matlock/"Who's He Think He is When He's at Home?" (CD, Creation, 1996)

 

Recommended reading:

 

Glen Matlock with Peter Silverton/"I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol" (Rocket 88, 2012)

 

 

See also: The Greatest Rock & Roll Band of All Time...