PIL Our interviewwith John Lydon was quite accidental as our seven-months baby woke up in the middle and we had to take care of him.At least, this made John said some words that really changed our way of seeing him and that, I think, are a perfect introduction for this interview: -“It’s absolutely fine because that little baby is our future, right? And babies come first. I understand that.You know, people don’t expect Mr. Rotten to be talking family values, but I cherish the young.I’mone of the veryfewpeople in life that don’t mind children screaming on an aeroplane because when I was young,I remember howthe air pressure used to hurt my ears.And so, I feel for them. I have that immediate connection”. How did you go from something more “basic”,“more rock n roll” to the experimentation of PIL? It´s something that people are still discussing how the first punk generation moved to different styles. I’d never, ever thought the Sex Pistols as rock and roll.Oh, no, no, no. In fact, what I stated when we first started in that band, it’s that we were the death of rock and roll.We absorbed the ideology of Do It Yourself. Rock and roll had become, and probably always was, a very, very, business structure and one that people like us would naturally feel alien to. Being working class,my natural instinct is to not work for a corporation. The voice of true rebellion. The music may sound like rock and roll at times, that’s a good thing, but it’s not rock and roll in its approach. This is not to hoodwink you into believing the world is a better place. This is music to tell you exactly howwe feel about things, and it’s very nice if you agree with that,and it’s even better if you don’t. I come from a universe where some of my best friends completely disagree with everything I have to say, and I love them for that because life should be a learning experience.And what we must never do as human beings is allowourselves to be divided. It’s not us versus them, it’s us. And we have to work this out and stop being manipulated. Be no one’s cannon fodder. You have said repeatedly that you wanted to showyour emotions with PIL. Let´s talk about some of them: Pain. I guess that was the main one in your song “Death Disco”, that was composed thinking on your mother. In this moving track you sing “Words Cannot express”. Do you think that you managed to express your pain with the song? I guess the situation has repeated with “Hawaii”. I tried to and yes, it’s a similar approach.There was a band called Tears for Fears and they put out a record called www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be - 24 - Shout. I was really pleased for them and very glad to have met thembecause that’s a philosophy I adhere to,that you cannot hide emotions.You need to express them.Not in a violent or volatile way, but in an open and honest one, because many a time you might find out that what you’re feeling is wrong, but it can also be right. Yes. It’s a song about the death ofmymother,which as the years evolved, performing it live also had to include the death of a few of my friends from silly heroin overdoses the music industry is rife with, and also the death of my father. And now, sadly enough, the death of my wife. It’s a song that will permanently evolve.But I’ve got a special place in my heart forever for my lovely Nora. And that’s hence the song “Hawaii”. Fear. You have talked about how tough was school and later all the problems and fights that you have during your Sex Pistols period. Do you think there is a sense of fear or uneasiness in your music? Yes, I would hope so, because these are valid experiences I’ve had to endure and I expect the same from other songwriters, to tell the truth of what it is they’re going through. That’s why I love books. I love authors that share their truthwith you.Youmight not agree with them,but it’s
25 Publizr Home