The 1970s punk icon that John Lydon couldn’t argue with: “The impenetrable barrier”
What is John Lydon famous for? Being a punk icon or being an argumentative sod? Well, those two things aren’t really mutually exclusive.
When Lydon was talking about what gave rise to the Sex Pistols, he spoke specifically about what it was like to live in Britain towards the back end of the ‘70s. This meant taking aim at class divides, inequality within society and generally how hard a lot of working-class people had it. The odds were stacked against them, and Lydon felt like it was time for a change, which became incredibly apparent within the song ‘Anarchy In The UK’.
Lydon spoke about the hypocrisy of something like anarchy, saying that while it can be seen as a solution by many, it’s also a luxury which is only available to middle-class people. He tried to give some kind of commentary on what was quite a difficult situation, alongside delivering an aggressive and energetic song that acted as a representation of other people’s frustration.
“I have always thought that anarchy is mind games for the middle class,” said Lydon, “It’s a luxury. It can only be afforded in a democratic society, therefore kind of slightly fucking redundant. It also offers no answers, and I hope in my songwriting I’m offering some kind of answer to a thing, rather than spitefully wanting to wreck everything for no reason at all, other than it doesn’t suit you.”
This opinionated punk rocker would wind up becoming one of the most talked-about musicians on the planet, both for good and bad reasons. He still has a reputation as being one of the most argumentative artists in the world, with other punk artists, avant-garde musicians, and pop icons all coming under fire at some point in Lydon’s career, and regardless of whether you agree, his opinions have led to a real plethora of debates within the world of music. That being said, there was one artist whom Lydon seemed incapable of arguing against, as the mindset of one of his fellow band members was too rigid to be changed.
John Lydon has always strived for authenticity within music, and that is often his major problem with a lot of the industry. He blames inauthenticity for the downfall of Keith Levene, with whom he played in the band Public Image Ltd. The two had similar musical minds, but problems began to arise both personally and professionally when Levene was allegedly too easily swayed by some external forces.
“Y’know, there was a period there where we were very, very good. And that was under control,” said Lydon, “But then outside influences came into his life, and he believed what they were saying. And that was his downfall. So many people in this industry are misled by their alleged friends who are really leading them into this world of drugfazed confusion.”
The friction that arose between the two musicians was one that Lydon was never able to truly argue against. He looks back on the whole thing now and sees Levene as someone who was too set in his ways to really talk openly about anything. It takes a lot to silence the most famous punk rocker in the world, but unfortunately, it was a troubling factor that eventually stopped Lydon.
“I never had a vendetta there,” he said, “He’d be doing all this negative talk. A lot of it being drug confusion. The poor sod couldn’t get away from that. I remember an interview he did years ago where he said, ‘Heroin’s not a problem. I take it to stay normal’. How can you argue with that? You don’t. That’s the impenetrable barrier that you cannot get past.”
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