John Lydon

Before he became Johnny Rotten, John Lydon used to help his father dig out London cesspools. The lad's specialty was dispatching sewer rats that got in the way. One wonders whether this experience set the pattern for Lydon's subsequent career in rock. First with the Sex Pistols, who lit punk rock's fuse with their 1977 album "Never Mind the Bollocks," and in 10 albums with his ongoing band, Public Image Ltd., Lydon's primary method has been to spot a rat and come out hacking.

On a recent weekday morning John Lydon was riding passenger side on Venice Boulevard toward downtown L.A., and the day seemed full of possibility. "I don't get out much, so I'm thinking, 'What can I go buy?'" he wondered. "Usually it's plumbing equipment that's on my mind. There's always something to repair. " Lydon, known to generations of miscreants as Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, lives a few hundred yards from the beach, just south of Venice, and has for close to two decades.

In 1975, London teen-ager John Lydon took the name Johnny Rotten, unleashed himself on an unsuspecting world, and as lead singer of the Sex Pistols became the figurehead of a glorious eruption in pop culture known as punk rock. To the surprise of no one, this crash-and-burn school of music went down in flames in rather short order, and most of the original punks have been picking through the ashes in a daze ever since. Lydon, however, immediately formed a new group--Public Image Ltd.--and he's now a seasoned veteran with a slew of albums under his belt.

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* * * * "HAPPY?" Public Image Ltd. Virgin. If you've followed any part of John Lydon's career from the Sex Pistols on, you know the answer to this album's title question. "Get out of my world," Lydon squalls in the opening song, "Seattle." In "Angry," he later avers, "No excuse, you are no use." At every turn it's as if he's threatening to chuck it all and go into total isolation because the world just isn't good enough for him.

John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) claims a common misconception about him is that he's nasty (Kristine McKenna's May 14 article, "The World According to . . . John Lydon"). Then he goes on to insult Sting, Peter Gabriel and Bruce Springsteen, calling them "compulsively greedy people" who hog the spotlight by participating in benefit concerts. It's easy to see why so many people have that "misconception" about Lydon. LORI SHMULEWITZ Santa Barbara

I read with sadness the letters you printed in reaction to the interview (with) John Lydon ("The World According to . . . John Lydon " by Kristine McKenna, Calendar, May 14). I think Lydon is grossly misunderstood. His message to me is one of hope and productive change. (He calls for) intelligent scrutiny of the pop music establishment, which is overfed, greedy and self-congratulatory. If the folks who dislike Lydon are insecure about their own pop heroes, then they argue Lydon's point for him and validate all that he stands for. Without apology for his caustic manner and the lame records he makes, the man is a gentleman, a scholar and unquestionably one of the most valuable philosophical voices on pop culture and music of our time.

"If there is a difference between me and most of what you call my peers, it's that they don't actually know what they're doing anything for--other than some vague idea of popularity. . . . I use this as much as a cleaning process of my own psyche as anything else, because that's what it's all about." --John Lydon, Public Image Ltd. singer, in the Baltimore Sun.

A reply to Brian Harpster's May 21 letter, in which he implies that rock performer John Lydon's opinions are worthless: In the mid-'70s, Lydon and the Sex Pistols helped change the face of rock music. Since then, he and his band, Public Image Ltd., have consistently proven their relevance. That is why I care what Lydon has to say. Why does Brian Harpster think we care what he says? JENNIFER M. SIMPSON Upland The fans love John--his music anyway--nasty or not. TERESA DUFFY Shadow Hills

I enjoyed Robert Hilburn's article on the Sex Pistols ("He's Still Rotten to the Core of Punk," Sept. 17) but disagree on one point. He said that "it's only as Johnny Rotten that John Lydon matters in pop culture." I went to a lot of PiL shows in the early '80s and I think Lydon had a lot going on there as well. PiL played a pretty significant role in post Punk, and I thought for sure Hilburn would have recognized that. JAMES SWANSON Long Beach The Sex Pistols are back on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot this year, and if the voters don't elect them this time, they might just as well shut the place down.

We can't predict how the Sex Pistols will sound on their reunion tour this summer, but John Lydon was in prime Rotten form at the press conference the band had in London last week to announce the plans. Asked how far he can spit these days, Lydon snapped back at the questioner, "Do you wanna test it?" Some other highlights: Question: Johnny, are you on any prescribed medication that we should know about? Lydon: The only thing I'm on is ego, and I've got more than enough to go around.

"If there is a difference between me and most of what you call my peers, it's that they don't actually know what they're doing anything for--other than some vague idea of popularity. . . . I use this as much as a cleaning process of my own psyche as anything else, because that's what it's all about." --John Lydon, Public Image Ltd. singer, in the Baltimore Sun.

Before he became Johnny Rotten, John Lydon used to help his father dig out London cesspools. The lad's specialty was dispatching sewer rats that got in the way. One wonders whether this experience set the pattern for Lydon's subsequent career in rock. First with the Sex Pistols, who lit punk rock's fuse with their 1977 album "Never Mind the Bollocks," and in 10 albums with his ongoing band, Public Image Ltd., Lydon's primary method has been to spot a rat and come out hacking.

I enjoyed Robert Hilburn's article on the Sex Pistols ("He's Still Rotten to the Core of Punk," Sept. 17) but disagree on one point. He said that "it's only as Johnny Rotten that John Lydon matters in pop culture." I went to a lot of PiL shows in the early '80s and I think Lydon had a lot going on there as well. PiL played a pretty significant role in post Punk, and I thought for sure Hilburn would have recognized that. JAMES SWANSON Long Beach The Sex Pistols are back on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot this year, and if the voters don't elect them this time, they might just as well shut the place down.

In regard to Steve Attenberg's critical letter derailing the inclusion of PopMeter (Calendar Letters, June 21), I would just like to say I find PopMeter a most brilliant and appropriate way of rating popular music. In fact, I have often wondered how I could qualify as a guest rater. My credentials are pretty good. I am a standing member in both Savage Republic and Seventeen Pygmies, two respected and influential Los Angeles bands. I also work for Independent Project Records, perhaps the last true independent label left in Los Angeles.

I read with sadness the letters you printed in reaction to the interview (with) John Lydon ("The World According to . . . John Lydon " by Kristine McKenna, Calendar, May 14). I think Lydon is grossly misunderstood. His message to me is one of hope and productive change. (He calls for) intelligent scrutiny of the pop music establishment, which is overfed, greedy and self-congratulatory. If the folks who dislike Lydon are insecure about their own pop heroes, then they argue Lydon's point for him and validate all that he stands for. Without apology for his caustic manner and the lame records he makes, the man is a gentleman, a scholar and unquestionably one of the most valuable philosophical voices on pop culture and music of our time.

A reply to Brian Harpster's May 21 letter, in which he implies that rock performer John Lydon's opinions are worthless: In the mid-'70s, Lydon and the Sex Pistols helped change the face of rock music. Since then, he and his band, Public Image Ltd., have consistently proven their relevance. That is why I care what Lydon has to say. Why does Brian Harpster think we care what he says? JENNIFER M. SIMPSON Upland The fans love John--his music anyway--nasty or not. TERESA DUFFY Shadow Hills