Released 20th Nov – Preorder HERE
London, Friday 10th July: Marking 30 years since the Sex Pistols burst back onto the scene, fans will this year be able to buy Filthy Lucre Live as a 2LP red vinyl set featuring bonus tracks.
It was the biggest shock reunion of the 1990s and on 23rd June 1996, Johnny Rotten (John Lydon), Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock took to the stage at Finsbury Park for a landmark concert that cemented their place among the greats of popular music.
The incendiary show drew heavily on the classic album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols, featuring defining tracks including ‘Anarchy in the U.K.’, ‘Bodies’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Holidays In The Sun’ and ‘Pretty Vacant’.
The definitive double red LP and single CD sets, released on November 20th 2026, will include the Japanese bonus tracks – ‘No Fun’ and ‘Buddies’ (a crowd sing-along version of Bodies) – for the first time.
The release delivers a raw and uncompromising snapshot of the Sex Pistols at full volume, reaffirming their enduring influence and confrontational spirit.
Guitarist Steve 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.”
Drummer Paul Cook said: “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 show came at a time of Britpop optimism and amidst the excitement of Euro 1996. The previous day, England had beaten Spain on penalties and Pistols fan Stuart Pearce and future England manager Gareth Southgate were at Finsbury Park to introduce the Pistols on stage.
Named after a 1976 Daily Express headline (“Punk? Call It Filthy Lucre”) the Filthy Lucre tour saw the band reunite following its original implosion during a 1978 tour of the US, and their final show at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Filthy Lucre brought back into the fold original Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, who had been replaced in 1977 by the late Sid Vicious.
John Robb, writing later for Louder Than War, said of the Finsbury Park show: “I still clearly remember the surge of hair raising excitement as the band’s sound tsunami and cacophonous outrage of high decibel noise exploded from the speakers.”
Music writer Robert Thomas Christgau described the live album as “that rare thing, a live album with a life of its own”, compelling us to rehear a band that “defined both a new rock voice and a new rock attitude”.
