Sex Pistol Glen Matlock Announces Solo LP ‘Good to Go’

Former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock recruited old friends Earl Slick – David Bowie’s guitarist – and Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats for his solo album Good to Go, which will be released on Aug. 24.

“It’s a very simple kind of album,” Matlock told Rolling Stone in a new interview. “You could call it ‘loud skiffle.’ I was inspired to make it after seeing Bob Dylan at the Royal Albert Hall a few years back. I’m no big fan of his, [but] the band was fantastic. I said to myself, ‘I want to do something like that.'”

In a press release, Matlock explained how Slick had brought a feel to the track “Speak Too Soon” that he believed Bowie would have been proud of. “It’s quite a departure for me. The basic chord structure is like ‘Spanish Harlem’ or ‘Stand by Me,’ juxtaposed with Earl’s Ebow guitar which is like something from Bowie’s ‘Heroes.’ The sustained sound in the background behind the guitar riff was Earl; it’s pretty off the wall. I said let’s go with it and he built it up.”

Matlock added that “it’s well known I like the Faces and a bit of Bob Dylan, and it’s all incorporated in there somewhere. What changes is the lyric. In the words of [John] Lennon, I’m writing for the kids that have grown up with me. ... When it comes to music, I like some actual music in the music. … It’s quite personal, but there are some tongue-in-cheek funny bits in it. I didn’t set out to write a Sex Pistols album and fail miserably.”