Sex Pistols and Frank Carter to headline punk show in Cardiff

The Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter will headline a show celebrating 50 years of punk rock next summer.

Three original members of the landmark 1970s band – Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock – will be joined by frontman Frank Carter at Cardiff Castle on 1 August.

The show will mark half a century since the band played to about 40 people at a legendary gig in Manchester’s The Lesser Free Trade Hall – a low-key gig credited with inspiring future members of Joy Division, The Smiths, and The Fall.

Nick Saunders, the founder of Depot Live and organiser of the annual concert series, said it will be “an incredible night of punk legends”, adding “it’s going to be spectacular”.

Formed in 1975, The Sex Pistols spearheaded the punk movement in the UK and later became notorious for their outrageous behaviour, which briefly dominated tabloid headlines in the 1970s.

Matlock left and was replaced by the late Sid Vicious in 1977, and the band eventually split up in 1978.

Jones, Cook and Matlock later reunited for a successful tour in 1996, and further one-off performances and short tours have followed.

Three out of four of the original members will play with Carter at the concert next summer, but not former lead vocalist Johnny Rotten.

Carter has been performing as their frontman since 2024.

Pre-sale tickets for the Sex Pistols will be available from 10:00 GMT on Thursday, with Cardiff punk band Panic Shack, The Stranglers, and The Undertones, also on the show’s billing.

The Streets, Katy Perry, Garbage and Skunk Anansie, Bastille and McFly are among other headliners announced for the Depot Live series next year, which runs from 11 June through to 2 August.