About the Author

John Lydon still performs and tours with the Sex Pistols. He also records and performs both as a solo artist and with PiL (Public Image Limited). He lives in California.

Reviews

"Alive at the core . . . Lydon's quite the humorist. . . . [Full of] cut marks of wit and ego." --The New Yorker "A wrathful Irish poet . . . Lydon proves to have a keen wit and rare insight." --The Washington Post Book World "A pavement philosopher whose Dickensian roots blossom with Joycean color." --Rolling Stone "Invaluable . . . sheds welcome light on that short period of great music and spasmodic cultural change." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Alive at the core . . . Lydon's quite the humorist. . . . [Full of] cut marks of wit and ego." --The New Yorker "A wrathful Irish poet . . . Lydon proves to have a keen wit and rare insight." --The Washington Post Book World "A pavement philosopher whose Dickensian roots blossom with Joycean color." --Rolling Stone "Invaluable . . . sheds welcome light on that short period of great music and spasmodic cultural change." --San Francisco Chronicle

Lydon is bettern known as Johnny Rotten, leader of one of the most influential British bands in the history of rock music, the Sex Pistols. Although he continues as a force in rock, this autobiography focuses almost exclusively on the brief (1974-78) pyrotechnic career of the Pistols. Well crafted and engaging, Rotten unfurls a tapestry of success, failure, conflict, and survival within the sometimes savage music industry. Admirably, Lydon balances his own recollections with the comments of such participants as Chrissie Hynde, Billy Idol, and, most importantly, fellow Pistols Paul Cook and Steve Jones. Especially valuable is Cook and Lydon's unique track-by-track analysis of the Pistols' studio oeuvre. Given the Pistols' significance in 20th-century popular music and their yet-undiminished popularity, Rotten should be seriously considered for both academic and public music collections.-- Bill Piekarski, Southwestern Coll . Lib ., Chula Vista, Cal.