John Lydon’s memoir, uncensored
He was the king of Britain’s punk scene, a loudmouth thorn in the side of the establishment who confounded even his own fans when he became a reality TV star butter pitchman. Now John Lydon, known as Johnny Rotten when he fronted the Sex Pistols, is feeling self-reflective. On “What the World Needs Now …,” the new album by his band Public Image Ltd, he sings about domestic and political upheaval. Meanwhile, in his 500-page memoir, “Anger Is an Energy: My Life Uncensored,” he looks back on his troubled upbringing, marked by a near-fatal bout of meningitis. Lydon, 59, spoke to us from his home in Los Angeles.
Q: Do you feel like you have reached a point where you no longer need to prove yourself ?
A: That would never change. I’m a great self-doubter. I constantly need to prove myself to myself. I’ve never run to heroin or alcohol to hide that. I always have to deal with it. Stage fright is always going to be there. I have nightmares about bad gigs.
Q: What’s a bad gig, by your standards?
A: When I haven’t achieved the attention and drama I’m seeking.
Q: When you look around, do you feel like you’re the last of a breed?
A: It’s quite amazing how many of them have passed away, and a little bit frightening. I’ve overdone it in every way possible. It seems like the more I punish myself, the better it’s been. What it is, I’m relentless and I never give up. I never take the
easy way out. I’ve never done this to collect large amounts of money or stroke my ego. It just goes to show that a healthy mind can live in an unhealthy body.
Q: Do you care what people think about your legacy?
A: I do, deep down. I want people to understand and respect it. Even hating it is an admirable thing for me. When it’s just personal animosities, that makes me sad. That’s not how the world needs to be — this alleged information highway and how personal and bitter and twisted it’s become. It’s no great achievement. We all pretend to resent the paparazzi, but we’re worse. At least with them there’s some editing involved. Q: Why did you decide to write a second autobiography? A: I had to deal with my childhood. I was always aware it would come off as me pushing a self-sympathy button. I’ve done enough to show that is not the case. The greatest achievement of my life is enduring a disease that nearly killed me. I came out of it a better person. It’s my one great accomplishment — more so than anything else I’ve done.
The greatest achievement of my life is enduring a disease that nearly killed me.
John Lydon