FilmFour Internet Chat
June 30, 2001

Chat Ed : John is now in the house

John Lydon : Ello everyone! I'm in LA, or as we know it, LAX: short for lackadaisical.

Richard The Bunghole : You have mentioned in various interviews that you intended to release new product via the internet. Are you able to enlighten us with any news of any projects that you are currently working on? (I mean in the musical sense, not acting etc..)

John Lydon : I did have a live broadcast show there for a while, but that kinda fell apart, it was mostly interviews. I've currently been watching the napster situation v closely because copyright infringement infects everything and it looks like record companies have won the day yet again. So my big bad belligerent self will most DEFINITELY be releasing music through the internet. Thank you Richard Bunghole.
John Lydon giggles

stephanie pugh : where are you based these days and what are you doing?

John Lydon : Planet Earth! And I practice annoyance, which comes au natural.

lorna : what do you think of Tony Blair

John Lydon : Tony Blair is an arsehole. He is the worst kind of Tory and for him to win by a landslide means Britain is sliding off the cliff permanently. You lose your British pound and the White Cliffs of Dover will become a politically incorrect statement. Remember, Tony Blair is public school for some, not all and I refer to his children.

Mihajlo Lalic : What is the story behind the 'Pirates of Destiny' track 'Schools Are Prisons'? It's one of my personal faves, and I don't really know anything about that song?

John Lydon : Neither do I, Mihajlo!! I don't know anything about that.

mt nyiragongo : John, what are your future plans for making music?

John Lydon : Well I've just discussed that really... I can add this: I don't like the music industry, I never have, and it seems these days that people have less guts than ever. I will not work in a world of mediocrity.
John Lydon sings songs
John Lydon : Therefore my new album is available on K-Tel!!
John Lydon cackles
John Lydon : Sponsored by Warner Brothers! With A&M doing the promotion!

Tom Grigg : One of your band once said that they were not at all interested in the music but only creating chaos, looking back on that now would you say that that is entirely true?

John Lydon : I think the manager said that and I said it too. The band ... never.

oddbod : John,who is more important to you now, looking back,The Sex Pistols or PIL?

John Lydon : Myself, as always. And this is not a selfish statement. You have to look to yourself first and foremost. It's called being true. I don't know how to elaborate on that. Cos I'm selfish. John Lydon grins

zakalwe : what do you currently like listening to these days?

John Lydon : I still listen to reggae, folk music, electronic folk music. Rave needs a good kick up the arse.

Kerrie : Sid n' Nancy is now on Film Four,What are your views about this film?

John Lydon : Oh well I made it didn't I?
John Lydon laughs
John Lydon : It's as honest as a human being can ever be. We all had equal opportunity to tell it like it is. It's a documentary - warts an all - that's about integrity. A word that's not often connected with the Sex Pistols, due in part to the media manipulations of the middle class.

George : Was the bit about nicking Bowie's gear true?

John Lydon : You'll have to ask Steve. I don't doubt it. And I don't doubt Bowie's inefficiency!

jar punk head grunge : Do you think the old punk sound can make a come back?

John Lydon : Jar, why would we want that? Repetition is not a must! Each generation should have its own sound. And we cannot live, and hide, in others' personalities. Be your own, and you will be true to yourself. That is the original punk sound.

Nico : What did you mean when you asked the audience 'Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?' at the end of the Winterland concert in 1978?

John Lydon : Because I felt I had been personally cheated and the band too and the audience! By - from my point of view - the jealous shenanigans of bad management. We were allowed to resent each other, and left up to our own devices, which unfortunately turned to spite. But we were young, and too young for the adults all around us who while we were not looking, put themselves in the driving seats.

Paul : Why do you think the music industry is always able to absorb rebel movements?

John Lydon : Because it's so easy to become a rebel without a cause! If indeed your first cause is poverty, which of course all causes come from, we must have the bigger picture! We must not be divided by class, religion, race, or politics. Only as an individual will you win in this world. Rely on no one but yourself, and never let anyone else down. That IS success! Not money. And that's my credo.

johnnyscratch : whats with all these american bands calling themselves punk?? do you like it johnny

John Lydon : Again this is a... it's repetitious behaviour. Once a thing has been done, it's so easy to imitate. The skill is in creation not duplication. The root core of that is honesty.

stephanie pugh : John, how do you like your position these days as some sort of demi god for middle aged people?

John Lydon : I think that's wonderful! What's wrong with middle age? It's what I am and lord knows the youth of today are too stupid to rely on because more than ever they've been sucked up into the shitstem. Just a load of noise! Which is alright. I'm not complaining if they're happy. But don't resent the wisdom of my age - which is far from mellowed.

jo : do you really hate joe strummer

John Lydon : Of course not. Joe's a very nice bloke. He's just ashamed of his own class roots. Which is of course the antithesis to me. You are what you are, and you should work accordingly with the tools you've been given. But to pretend to be working-class drives me crazy, because that's what I come from and am! When someone tries to pretend to be that, they rubbish my achievements. My repression is not a new coat to be worn so casually as indeed neither is his. We all suffer, but on different levels. And as long as we play in our own fields, we'll all be happ-yyy. I might add that living in a council flat is not a jolly romp! That is the bane of my existence; it is not something to glamorise.

ASM : The UK is steeped in mediocrity at the moment. Can there be room for a punk-type movement amongst the manufactured girl/boy bands - or has apathy won?

John Lydon : Well, I thought the rave scene did that. The rave scene broke down a lot of barriers. There were no egotists in it, no egotist POP stars, and it united youth, in the UK both North and South - surely a good thing. How come this has been unnoticed? Could it be because it wasn't blasted all over the media? The media is the enemy. Remember.

SCOUSER : what do you think about renaming heathrow airport -johnny rotten international-after all liverpool has just renamed its after john lennon

John Lydon : ha ha ha
John Lydon : well I say, GOOD IDEA! Because let's face it I've been stripsearched there more than anyone I know! My willy and bum has been paraded around Heathrow for decades. So yes, I have rightly earned it.

Guns of Bristol : Not sure if you have my questions - sorry if I have been repeating myself but I want to make sure John gets the chance to answer my questions- Who was to blame for the split - You, Maclaren or Sid? Are you releasing anymore music?

John Lydon : No one person. Life goes on. So the answer is yes. I'm not one to wallow in past calamities. In a weird way it was righteous, it just happened in the wrong way. An error that has since been corrected.

Tom Grigg : What would you consider to be the best gig you ever played?

John Lydon : The best gig I ever played? Chile. On the Sex Pistols reunion tour. Followed by Glasgow and Phoenix. But the fondest in my memory was Finsbury Park; that was playing in my own back yard. And a good day was had by all! But especially Finsbury Park because it was my dad's birthday and I made my father proud.

modus : Will you ever stand for election?

John Lydon : No. I don't believe in competition. ACTUALLY I like to add to that, I just might stand for election, because I don't have any competition!!

Flange : JL, are you still of the 'old school'? - are you interested in re-bucking a tired old system and f****** over the establishment (a serious question)?

John Lydon : Flange - I hardly ever went to school. Old or new I believe in educating myself, because these are the best tools to manipulate mediocrity. A country is only as weak as the leaders it elects.

RickH : You spoke candidly about Sid in the film, do you ever feel any regrets over what is now history but also the loss of a friend ?

John Lydon : Of course. And I've said so. And indeed I feel the same about the loss of any human being. Death is part and parcel of our sorry lot. But none of us should rush forwards to it! And none of us should be helped along the way towards it. Eliminate loneliness. Don't laugh at that poor old woman with the shopping . Help her. It's what Johnny Rotten would do. And that's bang straight.

joss : I lived in LA for three years, how can you stand the place - it's very vacant ?

John Lydon : I don't live IN L.A, I live around it. A place is only as boring as the people in it. So goodbye joss.

modus : Did you do the Nero thing and sing while your house burned down - Burn Hollywood Burn?

John Lydon : An unfortunate coincidence! I actually wrote the song before the fire. But, as you can well imagine, America banned it, thinking that I was gloating in other people's - and my own - misery which of course I would never do.

P46 : How much do you reckon your music career has earned you?

John Lydon : Not as much as the parasites that surround me! And by that I mean journalists and bookwriters and fraudulent merchandisers. In fact, probably f*** all. A chap like me has to live by my wits, not by what I earn in this industry! It's like, well - do not ever forget that I come from working class stock, and we ain't no fools. John Lydon: P.S. Got a pick a pocket or two. John Lydon cackles

Cheg : was it worth it?

John Lydon : Is that it? Hmmmm. Yes. To stand up and shout, and know your rights, and to *know* your rights, and to IMPROVE your rights is always worth it. What could I do, fail? Well at least I made an effort. What have you done, you sad sack?

Chat Ed : That's it! Thanks for coming John, that was fantastic. And thanks for all your questions, folks! Hope you all enjoyed it!

John Lydon : Judge not others unless you're prepared to be judged! No... no... peace OFF. Over and out (for now). Tara!

John Lydon leaves the room