The Sex Pistols play the Longhorn Ballroom tonight, opening a U.S. tour in the same Dallas hall they last hit in January 1978.
Doors are set for 8 p.m. Friday at 216 Corinth St., with Welsh openers Panic Shack, The Dallas Morning News reported. The current group is guitarist Steve Jones, 71, drummer Paul Cook, 70, and original bassist Glen Matlock, 70, with Frank Carter, 42, on vocals. John Lydon, known as Johnny Rotten and also 70, is not on the tour. He has compared the Carter-fronted shows to karaoke, the newspaper said.
The Jan. 10, 1978, Longhorn date became local legend. Texas Standard and The Dallas Morning News have described a short, chaotic U.S. tour stop: the band was pelted with debris, Sid Vicious played with blood on his face, and the barn-shaped marquee billed the Pistols just days before Merle Haggard. Vicious died of a heroin overdose in 1979 at 21. The original band lasted about 26 months. A live recording of that Dallas set was later issued as part of a 1978 U.S. tour series.
On this day in 1978, Sex Pistols played at the Longhorn Ballroom show in Dallas, USA. pic.twitter.com/RXyUgvHnqR
— Sex Pistols Official (@sexpistols) January 10, 2023
Jones, Cook and Matlock will play 1977’s only studio album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols,” in full, Pollstar reported. The North American run was first slated for fall 2025, then canceled after Jones broke his wrist. “I think it’s good enough to do the upcoming tour,” he said when dates were reset. Austin is Saturday at Emo’s; Houston is Sunday at House of Blues.
The Longhorn reopened in 2023 and keeps framed photos from the ’78 night on the walls, The Dallas Morning News said. Visit Dallas lists the show as part of a “50 Years of Punk” tour.
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