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Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones says the monarchy ‘meant nothing to him and still doesn’t’ as Queen marks Platinum Jubilee-Dominique Hines-Entertainment – Metro
He’s still Rock N’ Roll!
Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones admits he still doesn’t care for the queen (Picture: Getty)
Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones has admitted that he never cared for the monarchy and continues not to.
The guitarist’s former band has marked this weekend’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign by reissuing their iconic punk track God Save the Queen, which was released during her silver jubilee in 1977.
It reached number two in the charts before it was banned by the BBC.
Now it’s in a chart battle with tenor Alfie Boe and soprano Sarah Brightman’s version of God Save The Queen, which features the NHS Voices of Care Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
However, when asked about the controversy surrounding his band’s iconic punk track, Jones admitted he didn’t get the uproar, adding: ‘I’ve never had any connection to the monarchy, to be honest.
He added to The Independent: ‘It meant nothing to me, still doesn’t.’
(L-R) Steve Jones, Johnny Rotten, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock from Sex Pistols kicked off the punk movement in the 1970s (Picture: Getty)
Queen Elizabeth is marking 70 years on the throne this weekend, with the country celebrating her milestone en masse – apart from Steve Jones (Picture: Max Mumby/Getty)
‘To me it [the song] was just a laugh, it was a giggle. I didn’t realise it would offend a lot of English people. They took it personally.
‘It was a stab against the Queen…
‘We were kids, really. There was a naivety, but also we were very ready to get up and go. That’s what you do when you’re young, 19, 20 years old.’
Last week the 66-year-old also revealed that he is sick of the band’s music.
‘I’m f***ing tired of it, to be honest with you, he told The Telegraph.
The band perform on the Queen Elizabeth II at Riverboat party on the Thamesin 1977(Picture: REX/Shutterstock)
‘I’d rather listen to Steely Dan.’
He also recently told The Associated Press that he simply not a fan to punk rock anymore.
‘My musical tastes have changed a lot over the years, you know, and I’m 66 years old. I’m not a kid anymore,’ he said.
‘I think it would be a bit silly if I was still flying that flag.’
Steve and former bandmate Paul Cook last month at the global premiere in London of Disney+ series Pistol (Picture: Getty Images for Disney+)
On Wednesday former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon – who is being sued by his former Sex Pistols’ bandmates Jones and drummer Paul Cook in a dispute over the use of the band’s songs in a television series called Pistol – also revealed that his ‘anarchist’ days are behind him.
But unlike Jones he ‘totally respects’ the Queen and is looking forward to jubilee celebrations as he’s ‘attracted to pageantry’.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on Talk TV, he said: ‘I’m just as solid about the monarchy and my dislike of it as I ever have been.
Sex Pistols star John Lydon told Piers Morgan this week that he’s looking forward to the jubilee celebrations as he ‘respects the queen’ (Picture: GB News)
‘I’ve always viewed the royal family as a bunch of German tourists with a Greek thrown in… I don’t want to pay no more tax to keep that institution alive. But I totally respect (the Queen) as a real person.
More: Steve Jones
‘She’s enjoyed that and maintained… a sense of dignity. I’m always attracted to pageantry.’
Despite being sick of his band, Jones showed his support by turning up at the London premiere of Pistol, which charts the rise of the band.
Pistol is available to stream on Disney+ now.
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