Re: Public Image Limited
Posted: 26 Aug 2019, 11:41am
Pete Jones' autobiography just showed up in the mail. Great blurb on the back: "He wasn't that good, but it helped …" - J. Lydon
Sounds like John's sarcasm.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 11:41amPete Jones' autobiography just showed up in the mail. Great blurb on the back: "He wasn't that good, but it helped …" - J. Lydon
Yeah, I don't take it as anything more than him being amusingly cantankerous.Marky Dread wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 1:37pmSounds like John's sarcasm.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 11:41amPete Jones' autobiography just showed up in the mail. Great blurb on the back: "He wasn't that good, but it helped …" - J. Lydon
Yeah that's it. I know John has had some fantastic falling outs with ex PiL members through the years but I think he's always appreciated the musicianship.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 1:43pmYeah, I don't take it as anything more than him being amusingly cantankerous.Marky Dread wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 1:37pmSounds like John's sarcasm.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 11:41amPete Jones' autobiography just showed up in the mail. Great blurb on the back: "He wasn't that good, but it helped …" - J. Lydon
What a wonderful turn of phrase. Pithy and graceful.Silent Majority wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 2:49pmIn that vein, I'm a huge fan of MacGowan's blurb on James Fearnley's memoir. "It's exactly how I imagine I'd remember it."
Love every part of this anecdote.A fan picked up on this suggestion and offered to buy John a drink.
‘Thanks, mate. I’ll ’ave two beers, and my brother will ’ave two ’n’ all.’
Another poor unfortunate sycophant appeared soon after.
‘John! John! I don’t mean to bug you but I’m your greatest fan!’
‘’Ello, greatest fan,’ Lydon replied, ‘goodbye, greatest fan, fuck off!’
With that, the poor fellow slumped off into the throng. The beers arrived, and we all clinked bottles with gusto, spilling the foaming brew all over the place.
I tugged at Lydon’s sodden lapel. ‘John,’ I began. ‘I’m not your greatest fan but’—again with that pop-eyed screw—‘I have to tell you, and I know you must get this all the time, but it’s fuckin’ true: you changed my life when I saw the Pistols at the 100 Club back in ’76. Without that, I wouldn’t be in a band right now. So, cheers!’
The former Johnny Rotten crooked his index finger, beckoning me to come close. With a degree of apprehension, I complied. He then planted a big wet smacker on my cheek. I grinned and repaid in kind. Mmmmmmmwah! Lydon shook up his bottle, spraying a torrent of beer over me, himself, and the crowd.
Hah.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 7:52amFrom David J's memoir, meeting Lydon at a club in the mid-90s.Love every part of this anecdote.A fan picked up on this suggestion and offered to buy John a drink.
‘Thanks, mate. I’ll ’ave two beers, and my brother will ’ave two ’n’ all.’
Another poor unfortunate sycophant appeared soon after.
‘John! John! I don’t mean to bug you but I’m your greatest fan!’
‘’Ello, greatest fan,’ Lydon replied, ‘goodbye, greatest fan, fuck off!’
With that, the poor fellow slumped off into the throng. The beers arrived, and we all clinked bottles with gusto, spilling the foaming brew all over the place.
I tugged at Lydon’s sodden lapel. ‘John,’ I began. ‘I’m not your greatest fan but’—again with that pop-eyed screw—‘I have to tell you, and I know you must get this all the time, but it’s fuckin’ true: you changed my life when I saw the Pistols at the 100 Club back in ’76. Without that, I wouldn’t be in a band right now. So, cheers!’
The former Johnny Rotten crooked his index finger, beckoning me to come close. With a degree of apprehension, I complied. He then planted a big wet smacker on my cheek. I grinned and repaid in kind. Mmmmmmmwah! Lydon shook up his bottle, spraying a torrent of beer over me, himself, and the crowd.
It's hard not to at least like Lydon - despite his oftentimes boorish behavior. He truly is one of a kind and yes - despite not getting into the Pistols until well after they had split (they played the Winterland gig on my 1st birthday) - they did help chart my course when I was an angry, directionless young teenager.Silent Majority wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 8:52amHah.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 7:52amFrom David J's memoir, meeting Lydon at a club in the mid-90s.Love every part of this anecdote.A fan picked up on this suggestion and offered to buy John a drink.
‘Thanks, mate. I’ll ’ave two beers, and my brother will ’ave two ’n’ all.’
Another poor unfortunate sycophant appeared soon after.
‘John! John! I don’t mean to bug you but I’m your greatest fan!’
‘’Ello, greatest fan,’ Lydon replied, ‘goodbye, greatest fan, fuck off!’
With that, the poor fellow slumped off into the throng. The beers arrived, and we all clinked bottles with gusto, spilling the foaming brew all over the place.
I tugged at Lydon’s sodden lapel. ‘John,’ I began. ‘I’m not your greatest fan but’—again with that pop-eyed screw—‘I have to tell you, and I know you must get this all the time, but it’s fuckin’ true: you changed my life when I saw the Pistols at the 100 Club back in ’76. Without that, I wouldn’t be in a band right now. So, cheers!’
The former Johnny Rotten crooked his index finger, beckoning me to come close. With a degree of apprehension, I complied. He then planted a big wet smacker on my cheek. I grinned and repaid in kind. Mmmmmmmwah! Lydon shook up his bottle, spraying a torrent of beer over me, himself, and the crowd.
No matter how much his views have changed (or at least how he's enunciating them) and I've changed, mostly going in opposite directions, the guy changed my life when I, too, was an angry, directionless young teenager. Gave me a healthier way of dealing with the anger and encouraged me to me more critical and curious. I'll still shit on him for his wretched views and behaviour, but it's mainly because of how instrumental he was to freeing my mind decades ago.WestwayKid wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 11:43amIt's hard not to at least like Lydon - despite his oftentimes boorish behavior. He truly is one of a kind and yes - despite not getting into the Pistols until well after they had split (they played the Winterland gig on my 1st birthday) - they did help chart my course when I was an angry, directionless young teenager.
Goddammit, Hoy … wait, Flex? Fucking hell.
The last two PiL albums have some fine tunes on them.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑03 Sep 2019, 12:58pmGoddammit, Hoy … wait, Flex? Fucking hell.
Last genuinely solid thing he's done is "Open Up" with Leftfield. Over twenty years ago. So be it. He's got a couple eternal records to his name and a few really good ones, too.
Yeah, actually I thought the recent PiL stuff was probably a lot better than it had any right to be (which isn't to say "great" necessarily, but no embarrassments that I can think of).