John Lydon

[[File:John_Lydon_at_Guilfest_2011.jpg|165px|thumb|right|John in 2011]]
{{music|1}}
{{cquote|I'm not here for your amusement. You're here for mine.}}

'''John Lydon''' (formerly '''Johnny Rotten''') {{lived|1956}} is a British musician, song writer  and butter salesman who is rarely short of words on just about any subject imaginable, from the British [[class system]] to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mSE-Iy_tFY the superiority of one butter brand over all others].

Lydon was born into serious 1950s [[poverty]] in north [[London]]. A troubled childhood included contracting meningitis at the age of 7 and subsequently losing his memory when he neither knew who he was nor recognised anyone or anything around him. Years of regulation teen angst followed until he found his way into the clutches of 
Sith Lord responsible for the music portfolio
 [[Satan|Malcolm McLaren]].<ref>Lydon, John (2015). Anger is an Energy.</ref>

Thence {{wpl|Sex Pistols}}, Lydon became Rotten, and John was the face of the first wave British [[punk]] movement. For two glorious years in the mid 1970s, the Pistols, and Rotten in particular, became public enemy number one in the [[tabloid|British press]].  Thus, a group of largely dysfunctional young blokes playing music, the like of which few could comprehend should even exist, was deemed a serious threat to all that [[tradition|Britain held dear]]. John was memorably described by one tabloid as "the biggest threat to our youth since Hitler". Oh, and saying fuck on live children’s television just did not happen in 1976.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0IAYFh0CaI Rude words on Television]</ref>

Somehow the madness lasted until January 1978 when John effectively broke up the band after a disastrous tour of the [[US]] which included the [[suicide]] of band member and school hood friend {{wpl|Sid Vicious}}. Rotten was well and truly gone, but Lydon promptly reappeared as front man of post-punk pioneers {{wpl|Public Image Ltd}} and thus it has remained, on and off, ever since. Lydon has become something of a talking head celebrity, and depending on your view is either an anti-[[authoritarian]] [[working class|working class hero]] or an insufferable clot. The former usually seems to win out though, and Lydon cannot contain his [[Irony|ironic glee]] when periodically voted in various meaningless polls as one of the greatest Britons.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030401083737/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/greatbritons/list.shtml The Top 100 Great Britons]</ref>

==Things he did and said==
===The British class system===
[[File:Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Heres the Sex Pistols (1977).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Oh [[Bullshit|bollocks]], up yours!]]
He has remained consistent in his criticism of the British [[class system]]. More interesting perhaps is his view of the [[working class]], claiming that "We're lazy, good-for-nothing bastards, absolute cop-outs [who] never accept responsibility for our own lives and that's why we'll always be downtrodden." 

In 1976 Lydon wrote and sang the snarling, seminal punk tune ''God Save the Queen''. Banned by the [[BBC|Beeb]], it was naturally a huge hit.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqrAPOZxgzU Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen]</ref> "And our figurehead… is not what she seems" (was [[David Icke]] listening?).

On the never-ending rumours that he will be offered honours by the [[Elizabeth II|Queen]]: "I've heard the rumors. Oh, they're trying to give me an O.B.E. or an M.B.E. or whatever that is. Nope, not interested… You wouldn't say that [I'm a national treasure] if you saw the state of my underpants. I tell you. Let's be honest.<ref>[http://www.nme.com/news/john-lydon/85113#Qr6tUqQA8LjoQspT.99 The former Sex Pistols musician says that a national treasure 'sounds like a race horse']</ref>

===Politicians===
"I liked being on a panel with alleged [[politician]]s. Feeling them squirm next to me was delicious. Shows like that are important because it knocks them all down a tad, you know, where they have to answer to a public. I have to explain every single thing I do and that is only right for politicians who have the audacity to misrepresent us."<ref>[http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/11527697.John_Lydon_on_the_state_of_England_and_the_privileged_classes/ John Lydon on the state of England and the privileged classes]</ref>

"I've had great pleasure meeting the likes of [[Newt Gingrich]] and having a chat with the fellow on a staircase. I found him completely dishonest and totally likeable [sic], because he doesn't care! He knows what a politician is, and he's a perfect embodiment of one."<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-john-lydon-on-pils-past-and-present-newt-gingrichs-likeability-20120614 John Lydon on PiL's Past and Present, Newt Gingrich's Likeability]</ref>

===Social justice===
In his first autobiography ''Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs'', which came out in 1994, he states on page 309 that "All political groups and movements suppress individuality...The [[feminism|feminist]] movement became oppressive very quickly. Gay liberation is not about equal rights at all. It has to be accepted as this one great lump. If one (person) in that movement dares to stray away from the norm, they will victimize that person." This book also quotes his wife Nora as saying on page 221 that "[[Hippies]] wanted to be friends with everyone. Punk made you frank with everyone...The gays didn't come out of the closet in the '60s. They came out when punk came out. So did the women. Now it's an organized thing like joining the army," and on page 122 that "(Hippies) preach love and peace, then leave garbage behind and not mean a single word of it."

===Universal health care===
Lydon has (in)famously had very rotten teeth (hence the Rotten moniker) for much of his life. He also had very bad experiences with dentists, and shows [[willful ignorance]] about the [[National Health Service]] not fully covering dental work in England.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8nyXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT303&lpg=PT303&dq=john+lydon+anger+is+an+energy+polish+dentist&source=bl&ots=a50yssPzLi&sig=XdR_UDUX075BcCL7ZXa9ByFBlmQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDUQ6AEwA2oVChMIzufv5d7xxwIVgVseCh0fJwfF#v=onepage&q&f=false Lydon, John (2015). Anger is an Energy.]</ref>

===History and education===
Lydon has let his experiences in school, famously dealing with teachers who wouldn't allow questioning, to color his view of all education. He has let an encounter with the descendant of one of the incredibly few black [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] soldiers thus influence his perception of the [[American Civil War]] and what it was fought over.<ref>[https://books.google.co.id/books?id=8nyXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT368&dq=john+lydon+anger+is+an+energy+nelson+wimbush&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=john%20lydon%20anger%20is%20an%20energy%20nelson%20wimbush&f=false Lydon, John (2015). Anger is an Energy.]</ref> In addition, he dismisses the idea of {{wpl|Montessori_education|Montessori schools}} simply because his step-grandchildren were placed in one when they clearly weren't the type who should be in one, and that the fact they did absolutely nothing there thus makes him believe that the whole idea is a crock.

===Live Aid and celebrity charity===
Lydon made statements against Bob Geldof and the organizing of Live Aid, stating that the money and food did not go to anyone who actually needed it, but to weapons for warlords, and that the reason the Ethiopian people were starving was due to not knowing how to farm, rather than years of drought.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8nyXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT247&lpg=PT247&dq=john+lydon+anger+is+an+energy+live+aid&source=bl&ots=a50yssPFUh&sig=LPJSA7ju3MWdgeJiUdfe3FYxkHg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMIpt7TruHxxwIVxO0eCh0H0gp1#v=onepage&q=john%20lydon%20anger%20is%20an%20energy%20live%20aid&f=false  Lydon, John (2015). Anger is an Energy.]</ref> He claims vindication for this because an obnoxious reporter made this statement without any evidence 25 years after the concert, despite the fact that it was later acknowledged that these claims were likely baseless.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8035539/BBC-apologises-to-Bob-Geldof-for-Band-Aid-slur.html  BBC apologises to Bob Geldof for Band Aid slur.]</ref> 

In addition, Lydon states that all celebrity charity events are a sham, and that everyone involved simply does so to further their careers and visibility. To be fair to Mr Lydon, he is by no means the only one with that cynical view of celebrity charity work. <ref>[http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/30/oprah-jolie-pitt-letterman-philanthropy-personal-finance-celebrity-charities.html Celebrity Charities: Good For Image, But What About Good Works?]</ref>

===Anarchy===
Despite the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBojbjoMttI tune], John has usually opposed [[anarchy]]:

"I don't believe in anarchy, because it will ultimately amount to the power of the [[bully]], with weapons."<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/may/31/john-lydon-sex-pistols-pil-interview 76 minutes with … John Lydon]</ref>

His reaction to [[Russell Brand]]'s idiotic advice to not vote in the 2015 British General Election was to describe him as a "[[Asshole|bum hole]]". This probably made him a lot of new fans.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY6S2TzytVY Russell Brand's revolution is idiotic]</ref>

===Pistols or butter===
Lydon famously appeared in a TV ad for a British butter brand. The screams of [[hypocrisy]] were inevitable, especially from people who'd forgotten the Pistols' slogan was "cash from chaos", but he justified this as "Well, the money for the butter ads wasn’t huge but it helped me put something up against my outstanding debts, and I could start crawling my way slowly and surely out of those constraints. I could then basically buy myself out of those restrictive contracts. When I worked with the butter people, they gave me a free hand. I enjoyed working with them very, very much, and there was a lot of mutual respect. But it wasn’t done for any scandalous reasons. It was quite anarchistic of them to want to connect themselves to Mr Rotten."<ref>[http://www.clashmusic.com/features/in-conversation-john-lydon In Conversation: John Lydon]</ref>

===Other musicians===
Did not like The Ramones nor The Clash nor [[The Beatles]] nor Green Day nor, well, just about anybody else really, except The Stooges, Alice Cooper, Can, Hawkwind, Captain Beefheart and Van der Graaf Generator. The real irony of John wearing the famous "I Hate Pink Floyd t-shirt" is that he is actually a fan of them and even admitted that he was asked to perform with the surviving members when they briefly reunited... so much for that!

===Religion===
Raised as a [[Roman Catholic]], he has never had much time for [[religion]] and it is his own Catholicism which has born the brunt of his anger. In 2010 he called the [[Pope]] a Nazi on stage in New York.<ref>[http://www.clashmusic.com/news/john-lydon-pope-rant John Lydon Pope Rant]</ref> His snarling tirades against the Catholic Church, Religion I and Religion II, appeared on the first PIL album in 1979.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAwBKjz91F0 Public Image Ltd.- Religion II]</ref>

===Jimmy Savile===
In a 1978 radio interview Lydon alluded to "knowing things and hearing rumours" about [[paedophile]] {{wpl|Jimmy Savile}} and the [[BBC]] edited out this section of the broadcast interview.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjy8oLVOvi4 John Lydon 'I'd like to kill Jimmy Savile' [1978]]</ref> In 2014, Lydon accused the BBC of silencing him over this matter.<ref>[http://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/528550/John-Lydon-BBC-bosses-silenced-me-over-Jimmy-Savile John Lydon: 'BBC bosses silenced me over Jimmy Savile']</ref>

===Nigel Farage===
Lydon is a fan of [[Nigel Farage]] and stated he wanted to shake his hand after his battle of the flotillas altercation with Bob Geldof.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/john-lydon-trump-brexit-nigel-farage-support-sex-pistols-singer-good-morning-britain-a7652981.html Sex Pistols' John Lydon comes out in support of Trump, Brexit and Nigel Farage] (March 27, 2017) ''The Independent''.</ref><ref>[https://theglobalherald.com/entertainment/let-me-finish-johnny-rotten-makes-his-views-on-donald-trump-heard-good-morning-britain/ 'Let Me Finish!' Johnny Rotten Makes His Views on Donald Trump Heard] (November 4, 2020) ''The Global Herald''.</ref>

===Donald Trump===
Lydon, having lived primarily in America since at least the early 1990s,<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-jan-30-la-ca-john-lydon-20110130-story.html "John Lydon's latest noise"" by Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times, 2011 January 30</ref> became an American citizen during the [[Obama]] administration. At first, Lydon was a critic of [[Donald Trump]], calling the [[GOP]] the "crazy loony monster party".<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/john-lydon-talks-american-citizenship-illustrated-book-on-conan-108601/ "John Lydon Talks American Citizenship, Illustrated Book on ‘Conan’"] by Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 2017 March 10</ref> Soon, however, became a vocal supporter of him on the grounds that he's a political outsider who "terrifies" politicians and defended him by accusing his critics of wanting to "destroy the country".<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2017/03/31/521816347/punk-singer-john-lydon-on-his-songbook John Lydon On Anarchy, Politics And 'Mr. Rotten's Songbook'] (March 31, 2017) ''NPR''.</ref><ref>http://www.stereogum.com/1931996/john-lydon-supports-donald-trump-nigel-farage-brexit/news/</ref> He voted for him in the [[2020 U.S. presidential election|2020 election]] and called [[Hillary Clinton]] a [[champagne socialist]].<ref>[https://theglobalherald.com/entertainment/let-me-finish-johnny-rotten-makes-his-views-on-donald-trump-heard-good-morning-britain/ 'Let Me Finish!' Johnny Rotten Makes His Views on Donald Trump Heard] (November 4, 2020) ''The Global Herald''.</ref> 

Increasingly as he ages, Lydon has shifted to regurgitating babble from the American right-wing outrage machine, such as disparaging [[Black Lives Matter]] on a ''{{wpl|Good Morning Britain (2014 TV programme)|Good Morning Britain}}'' show<ref>[https://consequence.net/2020/11/johnny-rotten-sex-pistols-trump-good-morning-britian/ "Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten Goes Full MAGA, Calls Trump 'the Only Hope'"] by Alex Young, 2020 November 4</ref> and incoherently ranting about the [[woke]], [[Joe Biden]], [[Boris Johnson]], and other similar topics in a 2022 ''[[Guardian]]'' interview.<ref name="guardlydon">[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jun/13/john-lydon-sex-pistols-johnny-rotten-danny-boyle-the-queen "‘I know what it’s like to be frightened’: John Lydon on loneliness, lyrics and life as a Sex Pistol"] by Tim Jonze, Guardian, 2022 June 13</ref> It is up for debate whether or not this recent turn towards [[MAGA]] is 100% genuine, or whether a significant chunk of it is simply provocative "noise" coming from someone who was an [[edgelord]] well before the term was even invented.<ref name="guardlydon"/>

==See also==
*[[Fun:Why Punk had to happen]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lydon, John}}

[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Leftists who turned right with age]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians]]
[[Category:Punk]]

Categories: British people, Leftists who turned right with age, Living people, Musicians, Punk