Global InformationJohn Lydon information
John Lydon | |
|---|---|
 Lydon performing in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Joseph Lydon |
| Also known as | Johnny Rotten |
| Born | 31 January 1956 Finsbury Park, London, England |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1975–present |
| Member of | Public Image Ltd |
| Formerly of | Sex Pistols |
| Spouse(s) |
Nora Forster
(m. 1979; died 2023) |
| Website | johnlydon |
John Joseph Lydon (/ˈlaɪdən/; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was active from 1975 to 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s. He is also the lead vocalist of post-punk band Public Image Ltd (PiL), which he founded and fronted from 1978 until 1993, and again since 2009.
Lydon's outspoken personality, rebellious image and fashion style convinced Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren to invite Lydon to join the group as its lead vocalist. With the Sex Pistols, he penned singles including "Anarchy in the U.K.", "God Save the Queen", and "Holidays in the Sun", the content of which precipitated what one commentator described as the "last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium" in Britain.[1] The band scandalised much of the media, and Lydon was seen as a figurehead of the burgeoning punk movement.[2][3] Due to their controversial lyrics and disrepute at the time, they are regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music.[4][5]
After the Sex Pistols disbanded in 1978, Lydon founded his own band, Public Image Ltd, which was far more experimental in nature and described in a 2005 review by NME as "arguably the first post-rock group".[6] The band produced eight studio albums and a string of singles, including "Public Image", "Death Disco", and "Rise", before they went on hiatus in 1993, reforming in 2009. In subsequent years, Lydon has hosted television series in the UK, US, and Belgium, in 2004 appeared on I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! in the UK, appeared in advertisements on UK television promoting Country Life, a brand of British butter, written two autobiographies, and produced solo musical work, such as the studio album Psycho's Path (1997). In 2005, he released a compilation album, The Best of British £1 Notes.[7]
In 2015, there was a revival of a 1980s movement to have Lydon knighted for his achievements with the Sex Pistols, although he declined an MBE for services to music.[8] Q magazine remarked that "somehow he's assumed the status of national treasure".[9]
- ^ O'Hagan, Sean (2 May 2004). "Fifty Years of Pop". The Observer. London. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Sexwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Sex Pistol singer John Lydon to reform Public Image". Reuters. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ "Sex Pistols". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ Sheldon, Camilla; Skinner, Tony (2006). Popular Music Theory: Grade 4. Registry Publications Ltd. pp. 29–30. ISBN 9781898466444. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
- ^ "Plastic Box album review". NME. UK. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
- ^ "The Best of British £1 Notes". johnlydon.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2016.
- ^ Britton, Luke Morgan (13 August 2015). "John Lydon: 'They're trying to give me a MBE or whatever it is. Nope, not interested.'". NME. No. 3 May 2015. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ Odell, Michael (December 2005). "The Q Interview: 'I want to take the Sex Pistols to Iraq!'". Q. Archived from the original on 17 March 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2022 – via johnlydon.com.