He was once called a punk icon (47 photos + 9) (video)

For John Lydon/Johnny Rotten's 70th Birthday





British rock musician, vocalist, and lyricist John Joseph Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten, was born on January 31, 1956, in Finsbury Park, North London, England, to a large Catholic family of Irish descent (Johnny was the eldest of four brothers). His father was a truck driver, and his mother worked in a bar.



Lydon attended St. William's Catholic School in Islington, Greater London, where his friends included David Crowe (later a member of PiL).

At age seven, Lydon contracted spinal meningitis and spent six months in and out of a coma, which he claims caused him to lose most of his childhood memories. The illness also left him with a lifelong curvature of his spine and impaired vision, which, he says, is what gave him his famous "piercing stare." As a result, Johnny was very withdrawn and shy at school, earning the nickname "Dummy" from his classmates.

However, soon realizing that defending himself against unfair attacks was futile, Lydon went on the offensive – he began making sarcastic jokes at his classmates and asking teachers awkward questions, displaying wit and originality, which was not at all welcome in the British education system. Shortly before his exams, John was expelled from school – "for disrespecting teachers and not wanting to fit in."





He completed his education first at Hackney & Stoke Newington College, and then at Kingsway College. During his studies, he met John Ritchie, later known worldwide as Sid Vicious (read more here: "Live fast, die young"), with whom he became close friends (incidentally, it was he who gave Vicious the famous nickname "Mad Sid").



Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten

Lydon also gained freedom of expression and began cultivating an "anti-fashion" image that later became a symbol of punk culture. Johnny had previously enjoyed listening to bands like Hawkwind, Alice Cooper, and The Stooges. And in college, he became interested in avant-garde music and dub culture: Captain Beefheart, Nico, Can, Magma, and Van der Graaf Generator.

By 1975, John had become a regular at the fetish shop SEX, which opened on the street. King's Road (Chelsea, London) by Vivienne Westwood (read more here: The Queen of Punk Has Passed Away) and Malcolm McLaren, who had recently become the manager of the American glam band New York Dolls and, obsessed with creating the most outrageous and revolutionary rock band in the world, took charge of the Sex Pistols, a group formed in 1972 by London high school students—vocalist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and guitarist Wally Nightingale—based on The Strand.



Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood

But Malcolm McLaren wasn't happy with the singer until one day in August 1975, when he spotted 19-year-old Lydon on King's Road, a haunted hangout for London's weirdest youth. His appearance was arresting: his messy, dyed-black hair, a torn, pinned-together Pink Floyd T-shirt with "I hate" scrawled in marker pen across it, and that manic gaze. McLaren thought he was the perfect candidate. He, Jones, and Cook arranged an audition for John at their store, where he sang Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" to the accompaniment of a jukebox. Lydon's vocals were terrible, and he couldn't hit the notes, which only elicited laughter from the musicians. However, McLaren declared that this was exactly what they needed and convinced John to join the group. At Jones's instigation, Lydon, due to the condition of his teeth, was given his middle name—Johnny Rotten.



Six months after Johnny joined the Sex Pistols, on November 6, 1975, the band gave their debut concert at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (Holborn, London). Soon, their emotional performances and provocative lyrics transformed the fledgling band into leaders of the British punk movement. Rotten's deliberately shrill and deliberately unkempt vocals became part of the outrageousness inherent in punk culture. Thus, the singer's voice, along with his stage presence, became a signature and the primary visual draw for audiences at Sex Pistols concerts.

Rotten also became the primary contributor to the band's slang-filled lyrics, which eloquently expressed a highly caustic and ironic stance on the social system.



In December 1976, after the singer complied with host Bill Grundy's request to say "something nasty" on the "Today" show, the name "Johnny Rotten" became "the most dreaded curse word in the mouths of housewives."



And his lyrics had a stunning effect: many phrases from the songs "Anarchy in the U.K." and, especially, "God Save the Queen" not only shocked the general public but also infuriated monarchists, as the witty Johnny sniped at the nation's favorite queen, Queen Elizabeth II.

The reaction was quick to come: record plant workers went on strike, refusing to help spread the "dirty song," radio stations refused to play the band, and in June 1977, Rotten himself was attacked with a knife by an unknown assailant, stabbing him in the arm.



Meanwhile, the press and fans were stunned by Spears' emotional songs, and their photos were splashed around the world—Johnny and S

o

became one of the most striking phenomena of the underground.





While SP didn't invent punk rock itself, they did invent punk culture, with its colored hair, locks, rebellious spirit, and wild antics. And Rotten was the driving force behind it all. It's no wonder that when the last button came off his coat on the way to a gig, he pinned it shut—the next day, pins were on the clothes of nearly half of London, and then punks all over the world.



But tensions soon arose in the band between Rotten and their then-bassist and composer of virtually all the music, Glen Matlock, who, in the singer's opinion, was a "white collar" and "glorified the Beatles too much." Matlock eventually left SP, and Johnny proposed his old friend Vicious to replace him.



Sid's live debut with the band took place on April 3, 1977, at London's Screen on the Green. The performance was filmed by filmmaker Don Letts. The footage was later included in his film "Punk Rock Movie" (1978).



Having joined SP almost by accident, Vicious found himself immersed in their scandalous fame and immediately became its most prominent figure, eclipsing even frontman Rotten. The press was particularly drawn to Sid's image and mannerisms, who loved posing for cameras and giving interviews, leading the general public to perceive him as the embodiment of punk, more than any other member of the band, even though he contributed very little to SP's work—one song and a few covers.



At the end of 1977, another source of friction arose between Rotten, the rest of the band, and McLaren: the relationship between his "invited" Vicious and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, who had introduced Syd to drugs and alcohol, which negatively impacted his touring and performances. In January 1978, Johnny played his final concert with SP at the Winterland (San Francisco, USA). The band then went to Brazil to record a track with Ronnie Biggs, a member of the gang that robbed a mail train on August 8, 1963, at Bridegow Bridge in Buckinghamshire, England—the so-called Great Train Robbery! Rotten, however, refused to follow his comrades, expressing skepticism about their idea, and left the band immediately after a concert in San Francisco. He left the States practically penniless.



Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten on stage at The Great South East Music Hall during the final tour, January 5, 1978

The disintegration and breakup of SP was documented in the satirical, tongue-in-cheek film "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" by director Julian Temple. Johnny refused to participate, believing the project was under McLaren's too-strict control. He was therefore replaced by lookalike musician Edward Tudor-Paul, who successfully imitated the singer's mannerisms and sang on several of his songs.

During his time with the band, Rotten participated in the recording of their only full-length studio album, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here Is the Sex Pistols" (1977), which reached #1 in the UK charts.



"We had no problem with the punks. When we were recording 'News of the World,' I spoke with Johnny Rotten often. He was a completely sane guy, completely devoted to his music. I sincerely consider 'Never Mind the Bollocks' one of the best rock albums of all time. It's a classic mainstream record. "Punk rock wasn't a revolution, it was an evolution" (from an interview with Brian May, guitarist of Queen).

After parting ways with SP, Rotten spent some time in Jamaica. He repeatedly expressed his love for Jamaican reggae music, which even sparked rumors that he was planning to release something in that style.



But, upon returning to London, Johnny almost immediately began forming his own band, consisting of Keith Levene on guitar, Jah Wobble (real name John Wardle, his classmate at Hackney College) on bass, and Jim Walker on drums. He named the band Public Image, after Muriel Spark's satirical novel about the lives of film stars, Public Image (1968). Later, a prefix was added to the name, and the group became Public Image Limited, and John began performing under his own name (McLaren forbade him from using the name "Rotten" after he left Public Image).

In 1978, PiL released their debut album, Public Image: First Issue.



Creatively, in his new band, John combined several musical styles and ideas in an unexpected way. This change alienated many of PiL's fans, but on the other hand, it attracted an audience with more diverse and even more radical musical preferences. According to John, the band had to be completely different from PiL, both musically and morally.



Music critics particularly praised PiL's second album, "Metal Box" (ranked 461st on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"), considering it a significant influence on the development of the industrial style.

Meanwhile, on February 2, 1979, Sid Vicious died of an overdose, putting an end to the biography of SP…



"Vicious knew perfectly well that he was going downhill. Poor guy! And I was indirectly involved in it. I brought him into the band when we were already a cohesive unit, and he had to find his place.

Drugs give you a sense of self-confidence, especially if you don't have that quality in life. But it's a false feeling. Sid died, and a part of me died with him.

When Cobain shot himself, Courtney Love tried to portray herself as a second Nancy Spungen. What nonsense! I talked to Nancy, and she was hardly a pleasant person. She was full of anger and negative energy, and people like that infuriate me. Too many of my friends have died from drugs, so I'm against any kind of dope. Although I've tried everything under the sun. Yeah, I'm no puritan. I plead guilty to breaking all seven commandments!" (from an interview with D. Lydon).



PiL lasted 14 years before breaking up, releasing eight studio albums. The band's lineup changed repeatedly, with Lydon remaining its only constant member.

The band toured extensively, and in 1988 even performed in the USSR, in Tallinn (Estonian SSR).



PiL's next album, "That What Is Not" (1992), was met with less critical acclaim. Furthermore, their record label, Virgin Records, refused to finance a concert tour to support the album, forcing John to pay out of his own pocket. The band's lineup for this tour consisted of Lydon, John McGeouch (ex-Visage, guitar), Ted Chau (guitar, keyboards), Mike Joyce (ex-The Smiths, drums), and Russell Webb (bass). After returning, Lydon decided to "take a break" and disbanded the band.

Along with PiL, John also participated in a number of collaborative projects, the most notable of which were his collaborations with American DJ Lance Taylor (better known as Afrika Bambaataa) and American bassist Bill Laswell on the Time Zone single "World Destruction" (1984), which went down in history as one of the earliest experiments in fusing rap and rock. He also recorded the single "Open Up" (1993) with the dance duo Leftfield.



Also during his forced "inactivity," in 1993, having previously won the right to use his stage name from McLaren in court, Johnny published a memoir, "Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs." Colleagues from SP, Cook and Jones, as well as friends such as producer John "Rambo" Stevens, director Temple, American singer Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), British and American rock musician Billy Idol (ex-Chelsea, Generation X), and others, contributed to the book.



But then, in 1997, John finally released his debut solo album, "Psycho's Path," in which he added elements of dance electronics to the core of PiL's sound, and played all the instruments himself. After that, he returned to the studio only sporadically.

And in April 2007, Q magazine ranked Lydon 16th on its list of "The 100 Greatest Vocalists":

"Lydon remains the perfect example of an anti-vocalist: after 30 years, his voice has lost none of the power that once commanded attention. And his influence remains undiminished; Today, it's noticeable in the work of not only Liam Gallagher, who owes much to the Sex Pistols, but also of virtually every other vocalist of any kind, from Mark E. Smith to Mike Skinner."



In 2008, Lydon performed the "Combine Harvester Tour" as part of the reunited SP.

Following this, in September 2009, it was announced that PiL would also reform for five concerts in England. John personally financed the reunion, using money earned from a TV commercial for the British butter "Country Life."

The new lineup, in addition to Lydon, included members of the old lineups: Bruce Smith - drums, backing vocals; Lou Edmonds - guitar, saz, banjo, keyboards, backing vocals; and newcomer Scott Firth - bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals.



These performances were followed by the release of the live album "ALiFE 2009." In April 2010, PiL embarked on a North American tour, including a performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (California, USA).

Back in November 2009, Lydon stated that if they earned enough money from concerts or received funding from a record company, PiL would release a new album. And in the summer of 2011, their first new studio album in 20 years was recorded at Wincraft Studios (Coastwood, England).





In November 2011, the musicians registered their own label, "PiL Official Limited," which initially released their new single, "One Drop." On May 28, 2012, PiL finally released their previously recorded album, "This is PiL."





The band's next album, however, had to wait until 2023. The record, titled "End of World," featured 13 songs, including the single "Hawaii," which Lydon dedicated to his wife, Nora Forster, who died on April 6, 2023.



Johnny Rotten and Nora Forster

His wife was 14 years older than the musician. They married in 1979 and were together for over 40 years. John became stepfather to Nora's daughter, Ariane Daniela Foster, better known as Ari Up, the lead singer of the punk band The Slits. The couple had no children together, but in 2000, they secured guardianship of their twin grandsons because their mother was unable to care for them. When Ari died of cancer in 2010, John and Nora took her third son in with them. However, in 2018, Nora was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Although the disease progressed rapidly, John refused to place her in a nursing home and cared for her himself. Nora Foster died at the age of 80 in their home in Los Angeles, California, where they had lived in their final years.



Ari Up

"For me, she's still here. The person I love is still there every minute of every day, and that's my life." (D. Lydon).



And it was with the song "Hawaii" that Lydon and PiL even planned to compete at Eurovision 2023, not representing the UK, but representing Ireland. However, Wild Youth ultimately entered the competition with the song "We Are One," which failed to even make it to the finals.

This was Lydon's second attempt to represent Ireland at this competition: in 2018, he had already claimed victory with the country-punk song "Pleased To Meet You," but the national broadcasting committee chose young singer Ryan O'Shaughnessy, who was able to lead Ireland to the finals for the first time since 2014-2022.

Meanwhile, Mojo magazine described the album "End of World" as "an undeniably captivating collection released at the end of a career." And Pitchfork gave PiL a fairly high rating, describing the album as "a winning combination of instrumental weirdness and vocal drama."



Besides his music career, Lydon has also made a name for himself on television. In 2000, the musician launched his own project, "Rotten TV," on the VH1 channel (USA), and in 2004-2005, he took part in the British reality show "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!", which took place on a tropical desert island.



In 2005-2006, John hosted the insect documentary series "John Lydon's Megabugs" (directed by Andrea Florence) on the British Discovery Channel, as well as natural history programs on Channel 5: "John Lydon's Shark Attack" (about diving with great white sharks off the coast of South Africa, 2004) and "John Lydon Goes Ape" (about the Ngambe Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Uganda, 2004). He has also participated in educational television projects in other countries in Europe and the USA.

Also, in 2007, Lydon was a judge on the Bodog TV competition show "Battle of the Bands," which pitted unsigned bands against each other. He also filmed the television series "Johnny Rotten Loves America," the content of which was deemed "unacceptable for American television."



Lydon also had film experience. In 1983, he starred in one of the lead roles in "Copkiller," aka "Order of Death." Although the film itself was critically panned, his performance was praised. In 2000, he made a cameo appearance in the comedy "The Independent" (directed by Stephen Kessler) and hosted a skateboarding film featuring the Flip Skate Team. In the television film "Bad News Mr. Swanson" (2001), Johnny portrayed Death, and also played himself in director Jens Lien's anarchist drama "Sons of Norway" (2011).



And at the end of May 2022, the streaming platform Hulu premiered the miniseries "Pistol" (directed by Danny Boyle), dedicated to the creative journey of the band SP, based on the autobiography of Steve Jones. Johnny, played by actor Anson Boon, was not involved in the project, after which he threatened to sue the production team, calling the series "the most disrespectful piece of crap I've ever had to endure." He is generally quite critical of all these "biographies."

"By the way, about movies: there's this idiotic movie called 'Sid and Nancy.' In the scene where the 'Pistols' play 'God Save the Queen' on the boat, we see some thugs with mohawks hanging around. Well, there weren't any mohawks back then; mohawks were invented by the Edinburgh guys from The Exploited."

Things like this really piss me off. Imagine living your life, perfectly happy, doing what you want to do. And then suddenly it turns out your biography has been rewritten by some idiots whose writings have nothing to do with reality. So, for the next 20 years, everyone pesters you: "Is it true you swallowed live toads at concerts? I saw it in the movies!" It's disgusting that these jerks made the drug world glamorous, and turned Sid and Nancy Spungen into these tragic lovers. I think if Sid saw this film, he'd be furious." (from an interview with D. Lydon).



John Lydon and PiL are still touring, selling out crowds. True, Jonny doesn't look much like his former "lively" self anymore, although...





"All I do is stay true to myself. I will be a vibrant individual at any cost" (D. Lydon).



Discography of D. Lydon:

With the Sex Pistols: "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" (1977);

With Public Image Ltd.: "Public Image: First Issue" (1978), "Metal Box" (1979), "The Flowers of Romance" (1981), "Commercial Zone" (1983), "This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get" (1984), "Album" (1986), "Happy?" (1987), “9” (1989), “That What Is Not” (1992), “This is PiL” (2012), “What the World Needs Now...” (2015), “End of World” (2023);

Singles: "World Destruction" (with Afrika Bambaataa, 1984), "Open Up" (with Leftfield, 1993), "Sun" (1997);

Solo: “Psycho's Path” (1997), “The Best of British £1 Notes” (2005).



Books: Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs (1993), Mr. Rotten’s Scrapbook” (photo book, 2010), “Anger Is an Energy: My Life Uncensored” (2014), “I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right” (2020/2025).



Filmography: Copkiller aka Order of Death (Italy, dir. Roberto Faenza, 1983), The Independent (USA, dir. S. Kessler, 2000), Bad News Mr. Swanson (USA, dir. Michael P. Jann, 2001), Sonner av Norge (Norway, dir. J. Lien, 2011).