Glen Matlock

October 2009
My Weekend: Glen Matlock

Weekends don't really make much difference to a bloke in my line of work. When you're gigging or in the studio it's not really a Monday to Friday thing.
I do follow QPR for my sins and try and get down Loftus Road when I can. I also enjoy taking my youngest son to play football for the team he signed up for this season.
I take him to Lords as well. It's walking distance from my house and if you get to a game at teatime they let you in for nothing. You only have to sit through the last hour or two when the game is coming to a conclusion, so it's the best bit – and about the maximum amount of cricket I can take. A good result in my book!
I try not to go out of a weekend as that's when all the out-of-towners hit the West End. It's the same in Los Angeles – oh oh, here come the Valley girls!
I don't really go to the cinema. I tend to watch movies on planes. Black Book was good, although it might be a couple of years old now. The Boat That Rocked with Bill Nighy was fun and got me through the mid-Atlantic bumpy bits.
I'm not much of a TV watcher. I think it rots your brains. If I do watch anything, it's either news, historical stuff or a particular football match I'm interested in.
As for DVDs, I recently got hold of the Reilly Ace of Spies series from the 80s. That was right up my street. And I'm missing The Thick Of It.
I like historical books. Stuff by Simon Schama, for instance. My favourite is Kim by Rudyard Kipling which, although on one level is a ripping yarn, has a whole backdrop of the Great Game and events leading up to what's going on in India and Pakistan these days.
I've just started reading No Sleep until Canvey Island by my mate Will Birch about the movers and shakers on the London scene in the period leading up to punk. I'm getting an " I didn't know that about him" with the turn of each page. Surprisingly I am a Radio 4 man, although I draw a big line at the Archers. Just a Minute is the best show in the world. I also listen in to Robert Elms.
I do go to gigs. I saw Madness, Deaf School and my eldest son's band recently, but that was more a case of supporting the lads.
The last two plays I caught were Entertaining Mr. Sloane, which is a great period piece but was a bit amateurishly done to be honest. Imelda Staunton was great though. The Ian Dury play was good as well. The lead actor was spot on.
I eat out a fair amount. I love cooking but hate washing up, so it is a necessity. Iggy Pop once complained bitterly about the contents of my sink and that's saying something.
I am blessed with a 30-second walk to fantastic local Italian called the Red Pepper in Little Venice. I dig the Wolsley in Piccadilly for special occasions and if you are ever in New York, Balthazar in Soho hits the spot.
Sadly my keeping fit amounts to walking to the corner shop for Silk Cut, but I am reasonably trim for 53.

Glen Matlock brings his solo acoustic tour to The Old Angel, in Stoney Street, next Friday October 16, 7.30pm. £10, www.ticketweb.co.uk