John Lydon

John Joseph Lydon (born January 31, 1956), also known as Johnny Rotten (a nickname derived from the state of his teeth) was the iconoclastic lead singer of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd (PiL) and an Irish individualist anarchist. With his leering, swaggering and sarcastic manner he laid down a new template for rebellious youth and band frontmen that continues to be imitated today. Johnny Rotten File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Johnny Rotten File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Literally, iconoclasm is the destruction of religious icons and other sacred images or monuments, usually for religious or political motives. ... The Sex Pistols in 1977. ... Public Image Ltd (PiL) is a band formed in 1978 by John Lydon, formerly and later Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. ... Individualist anarchism is a philosophical tradition, appearing primarily in the United States, that emphasises the autonomy of the individual, most noteably in regard to its advocacy of private property rather than collective property. ... Rock band (or rock group) is a generic name to describe a group of musicians specializing in a particular form of electronically amplified music. ...

Brief biography

John Lydon was reportedly born on January 31, 1956 in Finsbury Park in London—although according to his autobiography this cannot be confirmed as his birth certificate has been lost. His parents where both Irish immigrants. He grew up in the working-class environment of Finsbury Park with 3 younger brothers. January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Finsbury Park is a place in London, England, at the junction of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney. ... The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben Tower Bridge at night A red double-decker bus crosses Piccadilly Circus. ... Autobiography (from the Greek auton, self, bios, life and graphein, write) is biography, the writing of a life story, from the viewpoint of the subject. ... Finsbury Park is a place in London, England, at the junction of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney. ...

Sex Pistols

Lydon was hanging around Malcolm McLaren's clothes shop, Sex (co-owned with designer Vivienne Westwood), in 1975, after McLaren had returned from a brief stint of travelling with the American proto-punk band, The New York Dolls, and was working on promoting a new band formed by Steve Jones and Paul Cook. Lydon was apparently wearing a Pink Floyd T-Shirt with the words 'I Hate' scrawled in felt-tip pen above their name when offered the job. He audition in the shop singing to Alice Cooper's "Eighteen". Malcolm McLaren (born January 22, 1946) is an impresario and self-publicist who was the manager of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, having discovered them (ca. ... Vivienne Westwood (b. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The New York Dolls were a glam rock band in the 1970s that prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era. ... Steve Jones Steve Phillip Jones (born September 3, 1955) is a British rock and roll guitarist and singer, best known as a guitarist for the seminal punk rock band the Sex Pistols. ... Paul Cook was born July 20, 1956, London, England. ... Pink Floyd c. ... Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948), is a heavy metal singer and musician. ...

His interest in dub music and his post-Sex Pistols work with PiL and artists such as Afrika Bambaataa and Leftfield showed him to be far more musically sophisticated than his Pistols persona suggested. Indeed, Malcolm McLaren was said to have been quite upset when Lydon revealed during a radio interview that his influences included Can, Captain Beefheart and Van Der Graaf Generator. Such acts were not in keeping with the 'punk' image McLaren wished to see projected. Dub is a form of Jamaican music, which developed in the early 1970s. ... Afrika Bambaataa (born April 10, 1960) is a DJ and community leader from the South Bronx, who in the late 1970s, was instrumental in the early development of hip hop. ... Leftfield are a duo of electronica artists and record producers, Paul Daley (formerly of A Man Called Adam and the Brand New Heavies) and Neil Barnes formed in 1991 in London, England. ... interview An interview is a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked to obtain information about the interviewee. ... Can (originally The Can a few years, sometimes spelled C A N, or CAN by fans) was one of the major Krautrock bands, an avant-garde, improvisational anarchist community who have had a great influence on modern rock and electronic music. ... Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (born January 15, 1941 in Glendale, California), is a musician and painter, best known under the pseudonym Captain Beefheart. ... Van der Graaf Generator was a seminal 1970s English progressive rock band. ...

Lydon recommended his school friend John Simon Ritchie to McLaren as a replacement for bassist Glen Matlock. Even though Ritchie was a below average bass player, Lydon and McLaren decided he had "the look": lanky, spike-haired, with ripped clothes and a perpetual sneer. Because that image was the exact opposite of the quiet, shy Ritchie's personality, Lydon dubbed him "Sid Vicious" as a joke. Glen Matlock (born August 27, 1956) was the original bass player of punk rock band the Sex Pistols. ... Sid Vicious in a 1978 Mugshot, when he was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. ...

Ritchie would prove the Sex Pistols' undoing, however; his chaotic relationship with disturbed groupie Nancy Spungen and worsening heroin addiction angered Lydon in particular, and was the source of much friction. Nancy Laura Spungen (February 27, 1958 - October 12, 1978) was the controversial girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. ... Heroin or diamorphine (INN) (colloquially referred to as junk, babania, horse, golden brown, smack, black tar, big H, lady H, dope, skag, juice, diesel, etc. ...

Lydon split up the band onstage at a concert in San Francisco in January 1978 with the now legendary quip to the audience: "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" This article is about the city in California. ... January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

The Sex Pistols' disintegration is documented is the documentaries D.O.A. and The Filth and the Fury, and to a lesser degree Russ Meyer's comedy The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle, in which the Pistols played themselves. Documentary film is a broad category of cinematic expression united by the intent to remain factual or non-fictional. ... Russell Albion Russ Meyer (March 21, 1922 (Oakland, California) – September 18, 2004) was an American motion picture director. ...

That same year he formed PiL and denounced the Sex Pistols. He remained with PiL for ten years and released many critically acclaimed albums, but he is to this day known first and foremost as "Johnny Rotten."

Counter-culture journalist

Today Lydon is a freelance counter-culture journalist (and major real estate investor in residential property) in Los Angeles and has reported from events such as the 1999 protest in Seattle. In another broadcast venture Lydon teamed up with Dallas radio personality George Gimarc to produce Rotten Day, a syndicated radio program heard in 50 markets. A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues and people. ... Griffith Observatory and the Downtown Los Angeles skyline. ... On November 30, 1999, the World Trade Organization convened in Seattle, Washington, USA, for what was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations. ... Dallas redirects here. ... George Gimarc is a Texas disc jockey and a record and radio program producer and author who is known for his extensive and authoritative knowledge about the classic rock radio format; recorded music in general, and specifically the era of punk rock. ...

TV reality show

In January 2004, Lydon appeared on the British reality television programme, I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, which took place in Australia. He proved he still had the capability to shock by calling the show's viewers "fucking cunts" during a live broadcast. The television regulator and ITV, the channel broadcasting the show, between them received 91 complaints about Lydon's use of bad language. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Reality television is a genre of television programming which generally is unscripted, documenting actual events over fiction, and featuring ordinary people over professional actors. ... Im a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! is a reality television show in which minor celebrities live in jungle conditions with few creature comforts. ... Independent Television (ITV) is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up to provide competition to the BBC. In England and Wales the channel was recently rebranded ITV1 by ITVplc who own the regional broadcasting lisences for the regions. ...

In an interview previous to the show's first episode, he had described it as "moronic", and throughout the show's run he had displayed an indifferent attitude to staying and threatened to walk out on numerous occasions. 30 hours following ex football star Neil Ruddock's departure, Lydon left the show for unclear reasons. Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... Neil Razor Ruddock (born May 9, 1968 in Wandsworth, London) was an English footballer, playing as a central defender. ...

British newspapers claimed that Lydon had won a £100 bet with Ruddock over who would stay in the longest. Lydon, however, stated on air that he felt he would win outright and that it would be unfair to the other celebrities for him to win. He also loudly proclaimed dislike for a fellow competitor, British glamour model Jordan, though it is unclear whether this was any more than pure theatre or contributed to his leaving the show. Johnny Rotten This work is copyrighted. ...

In a February 2004 interview with the Scottish Sunday Mirror, Lydon said that he and his wife "should be dead", since on December 21, 1988, thanks to delays caused by his wife's packing, they missed the doomed Pan Am Flight 103. During this interview, Lydon said that the real reason for him leaving the Get Me Out of Here! show was the "appalling" refusal of the programme makers to let him know whether his wife had arrived safely in Australia. Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a popular British tabloid daily newspaper. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The nose, containing the flight crew and first-class section, landed in a farmers field near a tiny church in Tundergarth, Scotland Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up as it flew over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988, when 12–16 oz of plastic explosive was detonated in...

In 2004 he publicly refused to allow the Rhino record label to include any Sex Pistols songs on its box set No Thanks! The 70's Punk Rebellion, a compilation of songs by influential punk rock bands.

Further reading

• Lydon's autobiography - Rotten - No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs

External links

• Official John Lydon website