Sex Pistols Feat. Frank Carter
Very Special Guests: The Damned
05.07.2026 | Köln Südbrücke
Anarchy in the United Kingdom – a prophecy, a legacy, and above all, a classic celebrating its 50th anniversary! With “Anarchy in the UK,” Paul Cook, Steve Jones, and Glen Matlock of the legendary punk band Sex Pistols secured their place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Joining Frank Carter, frontman of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, they stormed the stages once again and played two shows in Germany in the summer of 2025. Since this proved so infectiously successful for both the band and the audience, they are returning to Germany for three exclusive shows in 2026 to celebrate their anniversary. The Sex Pistols hardly need an introduction: 50 years after their formation, they are still considered one of the most influential punk bands of all time. School friends Steve Jones and Paul Cook founded the band and, with the help of their infamous manager Malcolm McLaren, recruited bassist Glen Matlock and singer John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten. After some initial small concerts, they signed a record deal with EMI Records, which was terminated shortly after the release of their debut single, “Anarchy in the UK,” and a scandalous appearance on the Today Show. An attempt with A&M Records also failed, until finally, with Virgin Records, things worked out: in 1977, “God Save the Queen” was released – and the Sex Pistols became instant global stars. Their only album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols,” became a punk milestone. But just a year later, the band broke up after a disastrous American tour and internal conflicts. Their influence, however, lived on: even though they weren’t the first punk band, the Sex Pistols shaped the genre like no other and made it world-famous. Almost every punk band after them cites them as a major source of inspiration; they set musical and fashion standards that continue to resonate today. Frank Carter’s fresh energy made the iconic songs sound more powerful than ever – anyone who was in the mosh pit can attest to that! Fans in Germany have something to look forward to: In the summer of 2026, Frank Carter and Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Glen Metlock of the Sex Pistols will come to Germany for three exclusive shows and celebrate Anarchy in Germany!
The Damned are not like everyone else and that’s why they have her for the 23rd. January 2026 in the starting blocks also named: “Not Like Everybody Else” is a cover album as a tribute to the artists who influenced The Damned and who celebrate the band to this day. Founded as a punk band in London, The Damned looks back on a half-century career that they want to celebrate in a big way in 2026. As long as The Damned has been around, there is punk and without The Damned it would not be what it is today. They are rightly to be counted among the League of Legends that the United Kingdom has produced. After their founding in 1976, The Damned were the first British punk band to officially release a single (“New Rose”) and an album (“Damned Damned Damned”). With 12 studio albs and several singles in the British charts, the band members are pioneers of the London punk scene, where the members met back then. Fortunately, it happened that way, because originally Sid Vicious was invited to the rehearsals as a singer – but he never showed up. But The Damned played their first concerts in 1976 with the Sex Pistols and the story took its course. After a dissolution in 1978, they came together again the following year, this time more dark. Their melancholic-dark lyrics and Dave Vanion’s full baritone voice catapulted The Damned to the top of the goth rock genre.
Today’s Damneds can’t be assigned to a category, and the ease with which songs from all phases of their careers fit together in this groundbreaking spectacle is absolute proof of this. David Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies and Paul Gray have been performing together again in this cast for 35 years. With Rat Scabie, the band brought one of their founding members back on their stage to play with him for the audience in a series of special concerts “Not Like Everybody Else”, which includes songs by The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd or The Animals. Her newcomer is both a tribute to her recently deceased founding member Brian James and an allusion to the Kinks song “I’m Not Like Everybody Else”. The Damned will play only in selected cities in Europe on the occasion of the double anniversary of punk and their servitude. Their exclusive Germany concert in Cologne promises to be an evening full of venerable memories – new and old, definitely loud, captivating and not an evening like the others.
