“Lydon has always been a sort of a trickster fellow that is there to disrupt,”
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John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon, also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. 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 and the only consistent member of post-punk band Public Image Ltd (PiL),…
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entertainment · English musician, author and media personality (born 1956) · singer-songwriter · television presenter · actor · lyricist · singer · record producer · composer · musician · also John Lydon, Johnny Rotten, John Joseph Lydon, Lydon
Born 31 January 1956 · Q106662
77 published statements · 0 followers
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2026· 8 entries
“But I have absolutely one rule, right? Until I see an Arab country, a Muslim country, with a democracy, I won”
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“Nora and I should have been dead. We only missed the flight because Nora hadn”
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“if Elvis-fucking-Costello wants to pull out of a gig in Israel because he”
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“I love that World War Two respect, put Britain first attitude he has”
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“A bit of love goes a long way”
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Far Out Magazine: “I love all his stuff”: the 1967 prog-rock frontman John Lydon hailed as a “true original”
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Lydon appeared as a contestant on the seventh series of the British version of The Masked Singer as "Yak"
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2025· 5 entries
The Guardian: Chrissie Hynde: ‘I pierced Johnny Rotten’s ear in a toilet with an earring and a bar of soap’
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The Guardian: ‘I’ve always had a soft spot for Lady Gaga’: John Lydon’s honest playlist
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American Songwriter: John Lydon Wants To Collaborate With Taylor Swift After Claiming She Was “Incredibly Dull”
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Rolling Stone: John Lydon Again Bashes Sex Pistols Reunion Tour: ‘A Clown’s Circus at Work’
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Lydon criticised the Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap after a video emerged of them reportedly telling fans to "kill their local [Tory] MP"
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2023· 5 entries
The Guardian: ‘I won’t let the bastards grind me down’: John Lydon on grief, feuds and being an unlikely optimist
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The Guardian: John Lydon loses out on Eurovision selection as Wild Youth chosen to represent Ireland
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The Guardian: John Lydon hopes to highlight ‘torture’ of Alzheimer’s with Eurovision bid
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The Guardian: John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd compete to represent Ireland at Eurovision
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Lydon, with PiL, submitted a song to compete to represent Ireland in the annual Eurovision Song Contest
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2022· 6 entries
The Guardian: John Lydon’s handwritten Sex Pistols lyrics sell for over £50,000
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Ultimate Classic Rock: John Lydon Responds to Danny Boyle’s ‘Pistol’ Claim
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The Guardian: ‘I know what it’s like to be frightened’: John Lydon on loneliness, lyrics and life as a Sex Pistol
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The Guardian: Boris Johnson as Johnny Rotten – cartoon
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During the first Conservative Party leadership election of that year, Lydon stated that he would like to see Jacob Rees-Mogg as the next U
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“s Platinum Jubilee that he had softened his views on royalty and did not harbour any resentment against the royal family. He signed it off unironically with”
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2021· 2 entries
brooklynvegan: John Lydon responds to Sex Pistols verdict: "It is so destructive to what the band is"
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Lydon competed in season six of the American version of The Masked Singer as the wild card contestant "Jester" which was the show's second human character after Larry the Cable Guy's wild card character "Baby"
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2020· 3 entries
Yahoo: John Lydon Doubles Down on Supporting Trump: ‘I’d Be Daft as a Brush Not to’
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Yahoo: John Lydon on why his marriage has persevered
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Lydon reiterated his personal support for Farage during another interview on Good Morning Britain
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2018· 3 entries
Lydon revealed that Forster was in the mid-stages of Alzheimer's disease
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Lydon was photographed wearing a shirt that read Trump's campaign slogan Make America Great Again
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In 2018, Lydon revealed that Forster was in the mid-stages of Alzheimer's disease.
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2017· 4 entries
“The song is about abortion, and yes, it is a woman’s right [to choose] absolutely because she has to bear the child and all the issues thereinafter. Is it wise to bring an unwanted child into the world? No, I don’t think it is, but again that is just my opinion, because I always would leave it to the woman. Always.”
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Though, he said "I'm up for anyone shaking up the jaded world of politicians"
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“Well, here it goes, the working-class have spoke and I”
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“many, many problems with (Trump) as a human being”
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2016· 1 entry
Lydon said, in response to questions about his prospects: "No, I can't see it happening, it's a minority that support him at best, and it's so hateful and ignorant
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2013· 3 entries
Because he "believed in Barack Obama" and his health care reform, on which he states, "his healthcare thing didn't quite work out what we all want, but there is a great potential there
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In addition to his British and Irish citizenships
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“[b]y killed I meant locking him up and stopping him assaulting young children ... I”
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2012· 2 entries
“You have every right to the freedom of religious opinion but not to the detriment of others’ freedoms… If religion creeps in and takes hold like that, in this opposition to something as stupid as gay marriage, there will be real problems ahead. We must not be slaves to dogma. What century is this?… Me, as a human, I never want to take away another human being’s choices or lifestyles or anything.”
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“Anarchy is mind games for the middle class”
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2010· 3 entries
Up died of breast cancer at the age of 48 and they became guardians of her third child
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Called for legal action against the Pope
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When Elvis Costello and Roger Waters announced their intention to cancel performances in Israel and boycott the country, Lydon elected to continue with a Public Image Ltd concert in Tel Aviv
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2008· 1 entry
Lydon had extensive dental work performed in Los Angeles, at a reported cost of US$22,000
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2006· 1 entry
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the Sex Pistols, but the band refused to attend the ceremony or acknowledge the induction, complaining that they had been asked for large sums of money to attend
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2005· 2 entries
Released album “The Best of British £1 ♫'s”.
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Released a compilation album, The Best of British £1 Notes
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2003· 1 entry
Their 'Piss Off Tour' took them around North America for three weeks
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2002· 1 entry
The year of Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee, the Sex Pistols reformed again to play the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London
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2000· 1 entry
Lydon and Nora became legal guardians of Up's twin teenage boys; as Lydon explained "[Up] let them run free
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1997· 2 entries
Released album “Psycho’s Path”.
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Lydon released a solo studio album on Virgin Records called Psycho's Path
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1996· 9 entries
“[On the lyrics of his songs] They meant a lot to my generation. And it's nice to know you've written songs that mean something to someone rather than some trivial pop dirge. I'm not thriving off a career slagging off the Queen. I think I have something valid to say. My words are my bullets. I like to brag that somehow I got it right.”
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“No se escribe una canción como 'God Save the Queen' porque odies a los ingleses. Se escribe una canción así porque los amas y estás cansado de que los maltraten.”
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“No lo entiendo. Lo único que intentamos hacer es destruirlo todo.”
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“Original: «Volatile. Fully prepared to defend myself.”
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And embarked on a successful tour that year
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“Original: «Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?”
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“Original: «I hate Pink Floyd.”
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“Original: «He plays four-and-a-half-hour sets, that's torture - does he hate his audience?”
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“England's a violent place. Too violent for me. That's why I prefer it here (the USA). For a gun-toting nation, Americans are surprisingly passive. This place suits me and the wife.”
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1993· 3 entries
Lydon's first autobiography, Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, was published
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Lydon put PiL on indefinite hiatus
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“Londoners had no choice but to accept the Irish because there were so many of us, and we do blend in better than the Jamaicans. When I was very young and going to school, I remember bricks thrown at me by English parents... We were the Irish scum. But it”
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1992· 1 entry
Lydon, Dias and McGeoch were joined by Curt Bisquera on drums and Gregg Arreguin on rhythm guitar for the album That What Is Not, which featured the Tower of Power horns on two songs and Jimmie Wood on harmonica
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1987· 1 entry
A new line-up was formed consisting of Lydon, former Siouxsie and the Banshees guitarist John McGeoch, Allan Dias on bass guitar in addition to drummer Bruce Smith and Lu Edmunds
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1986· 1 entry
Public Image Ltd released Album (also known as Compact Disc and Cassette depending on the format)
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1984· 1 entry
Lydon worked with Time Zone on their single "World Destruction"
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1983· 1 entry
Lydon co-starred with Harvey Keitel in the Italian crime thriller film Copkiller, also released as Corrupt, Corrupt Lieutenant and The Order of Death
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1978· 2 entries
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"
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Lydon formed the post-punk band Public Image Ltd (PiL)
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1977· 1 entry
The Sex Pistols released their only and highly influential studio album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
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1975· 2 entries
Lydon was among a group of youths who regularly hung around Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's fetish clothing shop Sex
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And they were married from 1979 until her death in April 2023 (around 44 years)
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1956· 1 entry
Born 1956-01-31.
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