The Sex Pistols have told the directors of the US's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that they won't be attending next month's induction ceremony, where the seminal punk band are due to inducted into the institution alongside Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blondie.
As previously reported, it was announced at the end of last year that the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame planned to honour the Sex Pistols at their annual induction ceremony, but last week John Lydon remained true to form in his rejection of music industry institutions by posting a not entirely grammatical hand written message on his website that read: "Next to the SEX PISTOLS, rock and roll and that hall of fame is a piss stain. Your museum. Urine in wine. Were not your monkey and so what? Fame at $25,000 if we paid for a table or $15,000 to squeak up in the gallery, goes to a non-profit organization selling us a load of old famous. Congradulations. If you voted for us, I hope you noted your reasons. Your anonymous as judges. But your still music industry people. Were not coming. Your not paying attention. Outside the shit-stem is a real SEX PISTOL".
The monies Lydon refers to relate to the cost of tickets for the induction event. Each inductee receives two free tickets for the ceremony, but each additional ticket is $2500.
Former bandmate Glen Matlock this weekend confirmed the whole band backed Lydon's stand against the ceremony. He told the Independent On Sunday: "It's nothing to do with the bands - it's all to do with business. When I first heard about it I was quite excited... but then I found I was going to have to pay thousands of pounds to take my kids. It's just a big corporate event, a bunch of Herberts in suits... just a money-making opportunity for multi-million shysters."
Susan Evans, Executive Director of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation, played down the Sex Pistols' dismissal of her organisation, saying: "They are being the outrageous punksters they are, and that's rock and roll."