john lydon

Why Danny Boyle's 'Pistol' proves the Sex Pistols were more than a rock band

Pistol, Hulu’s six-episode retelling of the Sex Pistols’ story through guitarist Steve Jones’ eyes, is hardly the first cinematic rendering of the life and times of England’s most notorious early punk-rock band. But it is the best. Mind you, the competition is hardly fierce. The first, 1980’s The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, was ostensibly a […]

Hulu and Disney+ Sex Pistols miniseries receives release date

The Sex Pistols limited series officially has a release date from FX. Focused on guitarist Steve Jones, we also have detailed info on where to watch Pistol. The new show arrives May 31 via Hulu in the U.S. In addition, the series will be available via Disney+ in most other regions. See below for full details. […]

Punk legend Bob Mould on unleashing his need to scream with 'Blue Hearts'

“Government authorize education/(Don’t mean a thing)/They’ll teach you what they want you to think/(Don’t mean a thing)/Saturation of stars and stripes/(Don’t mean a thing)/The only freedom worth fighting for is for what you think/Why bother spending time/Reading up on things/Everybody’s an authority/In a free land” Those 11 lines comprise the entire lyric of “In A […]

These 10 bands showcase the Ramones’ undying influence on music

Boston, Massachusetts, Sept. 25, 2021: The 1965 Mosrite Ventures II electric guitar played by Johnny Ramone on every Ramones album from 1977 onward and at 1,985 of their live shows sold at auction for $937,500. Not bad, considering the punk guitar architect paid $200 for it, after his original one he bought for $50 in […]

How punk and reggae united and went "outernational" to rule the world

This past March 5, the French punk label Guerilla Asso quietly slipped a genius album into the marketplace: Rocket To Kingston, credited to Bobby Ramone. The melding of the isolated vocal tracks from nine of Bob Marley’s most deathless classics to edited Ramones backing tracks, it sounds like a joke on paper. The cover even […]

These 15 classic albums made 1996 a crucial year in punk history

1996: President Bill Clinton was squaring off against Kansas Sen. Bob Dole in a successful bid for a second term in the White House. On April 3, former math professor Ted Kaczynski was arrested in his remote Montana cabin, suspected (correctly, it turns out) to be American domestic terrorist the Unabomber. Conservative public policy bulwark […]

10 punk vocalists from the ’70s who upended mainstream rock standards

Nashville songwriting great Harlan Howard once defined country music as “three chords and the truth.” Many have said that definition could also be applied to punk rock. Therefore, it stands to reason that the figure writhing behind the mic stand might be the most essential member of any punk band. After all, it isn’t the […]

15 essential post-punk bands who represent the evolution of the genre

Post-punk had to happen. Punk rock opened all this space for people to make exactly the kind of art or culture that the disenfranchised had been imagining in their heads, and maybe had limited means or skills by which to make it. But what if you didn’t want to crank out recharged three-chord rock ’n’ […]

10 Manchester bands who cranked up the punk in the late '70s

In the ’70s, England had two great punk cities. Most across the planet thought London was the world’s only punk capital, completely ignoring the music and culture’s beginnings in New York City, mostly due to the Sex Pistols’ outsized reputation and influence. But if London was English Punk City No. 1, Manchester definitely came in […]

10 times punk rockers stole the show on American TV in the ’70s and ’80s

You would think television (the medium, as opposed to Television, the band) and punk rock were a match made in heaven. After all, the music and culture are sharp, edgy and visually arresting. This should have made punk flawless televisual fodder, right? Truthfully, punk and TV collisions have more often resulted in mutual incomprehension and […]

7 early Sex Pistols moments that deserve screen time in FX's miniseries

On Jan. 11, FX announced it’d ordered a six-episode limited series about British punk spark plug the Sex Pistols. Titled Pistol, the show will be based on guitarist Steve Jones’ 2016 autobiography Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol, relating the catalytic events of the band’s history and the scene they largely ignited from Jones’ […]

There’s one ’70s punk-rock icon that Anti-Flag all agree is a badass

High-powered punks Anti-Flag recently celebrated the release of their documentary, Beyond Barricades: The Story Of Anti-Flag. Over the course of nearly three decades, the Pittsburgh-based punks have opened ears, eyes and hearts across the world with their political consciousness. While their tenure in the punk scene is certainly noteworthy, we asked them to weigh in […]

Former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon to voice character in 'Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'

Well, we never pictured the Johnny Rotten voicing a cartoon character, but here we are. Read more: ‘Bill And Ted 3’ set for February production, still working on financing As reported by Yahoo News, the Public Image Ltd and former Sex Pistols frontman, Johnny Rotten, or John Lydon, has decided to lend his iconic voice to a […]

Former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon calls Trump “a possible friend,” supports Brexit vote

Former Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten, or John Lydon, sat down with ITV's Good Morning Britain to talk more about his new book—and, in turn, detailed his support of Brexit and Donald Trump. “There’s many, many problems with him [Donald Trump] as a human being, but he’s not that. There just might be a chance that […]

Public Image Limited - This is PiL

Public Image Limited This is PiL This is not the Public Image Limited that you want. But really, how could it be? As much as we'd love to see what so many consider to be the “perfect” lineup of this ever-morphing band, John Lydon is too headstrong to bother with mending the bridges he burned […]