How the heck did The Sex Pistols end up on the Olympics? You hear the blaring of ‘God Save The Queen’, as the camera zipped down the Thames but really what were the notorious punk band doing being a part of such a bourgeois event? Ahh, Johnny Lydon!
This guy is a genius he creates just enough stir to stay relevant and not too much to make you hate him. Taking one of the most anti establishment tunes and having it played in a sports forum is insane brilliance but did you know that Lydon nearly wouldn’t allow it?
"For the opening scenes with the camera going along the Thames they wanted only the guitar refrain from 'God Save The Queen'. We said, 'FUCK. Off.' You hear the words or it doesn't happen."
And so you heard the words. Snazzy dontcha think? I mean really you cannot go through British music over the decades without the Pistols and its hilarious that this song was chosen.
So why at all? Well thank National Health! He said: "I need a lot of convincing to do anything. But the man [Danny] Boyle only had to say, 'NHS' and I said, 'Yes sir, at your service.' I am wary of people using the Pistols and the battles we fought for their own ends but Boyle had it right about the history of this country.
But will there ever be a true Sex Pistol reunion? I wouldn’t rule it out but Lydon would need some woo’ing
He told Q magazine: "Here's why I can't work with the Sex Pistols. They are represented by management which I consider to be aiming to cash in on Kiss-style key rings and crap T-shirts. That is not appropriate.
"When we were negotiating the Olympic shindig the manager wanted the band pushed aside and replaced by an image of Sid [Vicious] so they could sell T-shirts. I pushed for Paul Cook to be up there and I did it! I got Paul Cook into the Olympics."
Johnny Lydon is timeless. With a imp like sense of mischief even as a full on adult. You can’t help but have incredible respect for someone who has remained so incredibly true to character for so very long. One cool cat. Luckily Iman scored Public Image Ltd tickets so rocknyc will have a nice live review in October. Stoked.
Carry on.