Early years Matlock was born 1956 in
Kensal Green,
Paddington, London, to factory workers. He attended St. Clement Danes School (then based in
Hammersmith), followed by
Saint Martin's School of Art until 1974.
Sex Pistols Matlock was the original bass player of the Sex Pistols, having been introduced to guitarist
Steve Jones and drummer
Paul Cook while working in
Sex,
Malcolm McLaren's clothing boutique in London. He is credited as co-writer on 10 of the 12 songs appearing on the album ''
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'', and as bassist and backing vocalist on the song "
Anarchy in the U.K.". However, his overall contribution to the album has been disputed: Jones said in a 2011 interview he was "tired of Matlock's claims that he had co-written some of the punk icon's biggest tunes", stating that he himself had written as many songs as Matlock, whilst Matlock himself notes in his autobiography,
I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol, that the band only wrote two songs after his departure. According to a 2014 interview, he played a big role in writing the songs that appeared on the album. Cook has stated that Matlock actually wrote most of the songs on the album. Additionally, whilst Jones has insisted that Matlock disliked many of
Johnny Rotten's lyrics, Matlock has said that he had no issue with them. with contemporary reports (given to news outlets by manager Malcolm McLaren) stating that he was 'thrown out' because he liked
the Beatles. The claim was fictional, with Steve Huey of
AllMusic claiming that Matlock "was even more enamored of
the Faces and the
mod groups prominently featured on London pirate radio in the late '60s, as were Steve Jones and Paul Cook". Another claim, made at the time by Jones, that he thought it bizarre that Matlock was "always washing his feet", has also been misquoted and misinterpreted as the cause of Matlock's firing from the group. In
I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol, Matlock stated that he left the band of his own volition as he was "sick of all the bullshit". In the 2000 documentary
The Filth and the Fury, the band members generally agree that there was tension between Matlock and Rotten, which Matlock suggests was further aggravated by Malcolm McLaren in an attempt to generate chaos within the band as a creative mechanism. In his autobiography,
Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs,
John Lydon stated that Matlock worked on Sex Pistols material (including their album ''
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols''), after he had left the band, as a paid
session musician. However, Matlock denied the "session musician" label, stating that all but two of the songs appearing on the album had already been recorded as singles or b-sides before his departure. Jones played bass on the two songs recorded after Matlock's departure and overdubbed some additional parts on other existing songs, with Vicious also contributing to the song "Bodies". Music historian David Howard states that Matlock did not participate in any of the
Never Mind the Bollocks recording sessions. In the 2002
Classic Albums documentary about ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'', Jones stated that in retrospect, pushing Matlock out of the band was a mistake: "We were what we were. Who cares if he washed his feet? That was him. I'm sure I had things that bugged him". He also conceded that the band could have recorded more albums had Matlock stayed and they had not participated in the television interview with
Bill Grundy.
After the Sex Pistols Matlock went on to form
Rich Kids, a
new wave power pop band, with himself as bass guitarist and singer,
Midge Ure (guitarist, singer and keyboard player),
Steve New (guitarist and singer) and
Rusty Egan (drummer). They released three singles and one album entitled
Ghosts of Princes in Towers (which reached No. 51). Matlock and New later played with Vicious in the short-lived band
Vicious White Kids. After Rich Kids, he formed the Spectres with
Tom Robinson Band guitarist
Danny Kustow, and subsequently Mick Hanson, and then
Hot Club in 1982 with guitarist
James Stevenson and singer Steve Allen. Matlock also played bass on the
Iggy Pop album
Soldier and
the Damned album
Not of This Earth. Under the moniker Rhode-Twinn, Matlock (and Steve New) was brought to play on
Gary Twinn's 1990 single "Bike Boy" on
Bernard Rhodes' own Sacred record label. Twinn and Matlock stayed in touch and began writing and recording with the Damned drummer
Rat Scabies and
Generation X guitarist
Bob "Derwood" Andrews as Dead Horse in 1996. A US tour was arranged, but almost immediately Matlock reunited with the Sex Pistols and the group was disbanded. He also internationally toured as bass player with
Johnny Thunders in 1986 Matlock then re-joined the original Sex Pistols members for reunion tours in 1996, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2008. He played bass guitar and sang for a time in the bands the Philistines and
the Flying Padovanis. He toured with a loose collective of punk and post-punk stars,
Dead Men Walking, which included
Mike Peters of
the Alarm,
Kirk Brandon of
Theatre of Hate and
Spear of Destiny, and
Pete Wylie of Wah! He is now a member of Slinky Vagabond with
Earl Slick,
Clem Burke and Keanan Duffty. Slinky Vagabond played their debut concert at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash in May 2007. One newspaper, comparing the current lifestyles of the Sex Pistols, wrote: "Only original bassist Glen Matlock remains touring with his own band, an irony given that he was sacked for being too conservative". In January 2010, Glen Matlock reformed
Rich Kids for a one-off benefit concert in aid of
Steve New. He was joined on stage by original members
Rusty Egan and
Midge Ure, as well as
Mick Jones of
the Clash and
Gary Kemp from
Spandau Ballet. New died of cancer on 24 May 2010. Matlock joined a reformed
Faces, playing at the
Vintage at Goodwood festival near
Chichester in August 2010. In April 2011, he stood in for
Mani playing bass for
Primal Scream at the Japan Tsunami appeal concert at
Brixton Academy in London. In late 2011,
the International Swingers, a band comprising Matlock, Clem Burke, James Stevenson and Gary Twinn, was formed. The band, based in Los Angeles, toured Australia and the USA and continues to perform occasionally and released a self titled album in 2015. In 2012, Matlock made his acting debut in British drama film
The Paddy Lincoln Gang, performing a
docudrama scene at a live
Faces concert. In 2013 and 2014, he toured with the
New York Dolls'
Sylvain Sylvain on the Sex Dolls Tour. He has spoken publicly against
Brexit. in 2023. Matlock joined
Blondie for their April 2022 UK and US tour, filling in for bassist Leigh Foxx who was unable to tour due to a back injury. This continued into the 2023 festival season with Matlock playing with the band at Glastonbury festival. He also played the April 2024 festival shows in Australia. Matlock is portrayed by Christian Lees in the 2022
Craig Pearce -
Danny Boyle FX biographical drama miniseries,
Pistol. Matlock said he was very disappointed with the series: "My portrayal, and particularly my leaving the band — I left the band; I was not sacked and fired. That whole episode (Track 4 : Pretty Vaaayyycunt) where Steve sacked [me] is just a load of bollocks." He signed a new worldwide record deal with Cooking Vinyl and released his new album,
Consequences Coming, on 27 April 2023. The first single released was "Head On A Stick". "The album was written and recorded in Britain over the last 18 months or so with a posse of seasoned but on-point performers," Matlock said. "All done during the debacle that is Brexit and the rise and fall of the turgid Trump episode in the US. These songs reflect my take on the whole sorry mess that has ensued". ==Personal life==