Johnny Rotten

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Johnny Rotten's real name is John Lydon, and he was born on 31 January 1956 in London, in the poor district of Holloway. His parents were Irish working-class migrants. As the eldest of four brothers he often had to look after the others, because his mother was ill. At seven he survived a severe case of meningitis, in which he lost part of his memory.

Music and breakthrough

In 1975 the manager Malcolm McLaren brought him into the Sex Pistols. Lydon stood out for his outspoken character, rebellious look and clothes. At his audition he sang along to I'm Eighteen by Alice Cooper. The guitarist Steve Jones gave him the nickname Johnny Rotten, because of his bad teeth. With the Sex Pistols he co-wrote Anarchy in the U.K., God Save the Queen and Holidays in the Sun. The group shocked the British media, and Rotten became the face of emerging punk. His sneering way of singing became the band's trademark. In early 1978 he quit during an American tour, and the group fell apart.

Influence

Afterwards he called himself John Lydon again and founded Public Image Ltd. That band was far more experimental and is sometimes called the first post-rock group. PiL made eight studio albums, with singles such as Public Image, Death Disco and Rise. Later Lydon presented television programmes and wrote two autobiographies. Despite their short existence, the Sex Pistols are regarded as one of the most influential groups in pop history.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1997Psycho’s Path

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 2: Youth Cultures 1950-1980^NL Reader
• Mixtape 4: When Rock Was Still Pop^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• Anarchy in the U.K. SongManager Malcolm McLaren had brought singer Johnny Rotten into the band.