fat Lydon rants and raves at punk panel

[Sin Agog]

I miss Ari Up.  Saw her play with The Slits a couple of days before she died, and she was such an effervescent, pogoing, crowd-hugging ball of energy.  Didn't know hers and Lydon's families were connected (or maybe I did and forgot about it).

[Noodle Lizard]

Nora Forster? Are you sure she is 'an heiress billionaire'? Was she ever?  That's not accurate, is it?

Sorry, don't know where I remembered "billionaire" from.  But certainly wealthy enough:

It was during the Sex Pistols' short and ill fated era that Lydon met his future wife, Nora Forster, a publishing heiress from Germany, some 14 years his senior. The couple have been together for 27 years. Although some intimated that Lydon married his wife for her share in her family's £50 million publishing fortune (Lydon has made his own not inconsiderable fortune on the property market), it's an accusation that he brushes aside. 'It doesn't hurt me at all because I figure there is always bitterness from people, and I know I didn't marry Nora for her money. I'm committed to Nora and, in my eyes, when you make a commitment you stick to it. I'm lucky, I don't need a sham Hollywood marriage. Other people can treat it lightly, but I don't.'

[Ignatius_S]

I miss Ari Up.  Saw her play with The Slits a couple of days before she died, and she was such an effervescent, pogoing, crowd-hugging ball of energy.  Didn't know hers and Lydon's families were connected (or maybe I did and forgot about it).

Ah, I'm very jealous of you!

Back to family matters, some years before Ari passed away, her sons went to live with John and Nora – about 20 years ago, I think.

In The Public Image Is Rotten documentary, there's quite a touching scene where John talks about them and he mentions that his music work was on hold for several year to focus on raising the grandkids with Nora. This is also discussed in Anger is an Energy.

Previously, I had known that the children had been living with John and Nora, but hadn't twigged that this affected his work – but with hindsight, it made a lot of sense.

[imitationleather]

Yeah I was reading about that yesterday. Apparently, according to Lydon, she'd been letting them roam free and as a consequence they couldn't read, write or talk in proper sentences? Disastrous modern parenting.

I also saw The Slits in 2009 (in glamorous Colchester!) and thought they were great. I didn't even know she was ill at the time. :(

[Technique]

I know I am probably the last to know about this - but Marky Ramones audition tape to be a judge on American Idol is quite a thing. Can't think why he didn't get the job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E62iA6KCIQ

[Twed]

The surprising thing is that the guy isn't even a nobody, he's pretty well-known: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqg0zAmWi4

Weird that he'd freak out publicly like that.

Here he is making light of it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjRmgf_htY

Actually a really good performance.

[alan nagsworth]

Here he is making light of it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjRmgf_htY

Mate, second guy on the left is Ariel Pink, hahaha.

This is great stuff. The comments on the video of him doing that museum opening talk are fucking hilarious.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

The surprising thing is that the guy isn't even a nobody, he's pretty well-known: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqg0zAmWi4

Weird that he'd freak out publicly like that.

Here he is making light of it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjRmgf_htY

Actually a really good performance.

Most of the people in that museum opening video are clearly doing their best not to laugh at the little feller. All a bit of a shame, really.

[alan nagsworth]

Most of the people in that museum opening video are clearly doing their best not to laugh at the little feller. All a bit of a shame, really.

Yeah that's kind of what happens when you make a massive tit of yourself in public, unfortunately.

[a duncandisorderly]

What I find really sad is how few people actually do believe him.

The book is really disappointing actually, some great bits about his childhood, but way too much about his boats and his houses.
I recall he was canvassing other peoples recollections of his life, he must have rinsed his brain so badly with brandy.

townsend, is this? agreed. I read daltrey's immediately afterwards & found it far more entertaining.

[Glebe]

I know I am probably the last to know about this - but Marky Ramones audition tape to be a judge on American Idol is quite a thing. Can't think why he didn't get the job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E62iA6KCIQ

Never saw this before... my life is now complete!

[a duncandisorderly]

I miss Ari Up.  Saw her play with The Slits a couple of days before she died, and she was such an effervescent, pogoing, crowd-hugging ball of energy.  Didn't know hers and Lydon's families were connected (or maybe I did and forgot about it).

massive slits fan here. saw her later version of the band at the underworld a year or two before she died. a bloke at work (also now deceased) was friends with john, nora & the slits, & showed me a video he'd made of a gig they did in 1980. no idea what happened to that tape, sadly, but it was never seen publicly. but yes, this latter-day lydon is deeply & troublingly self-parodic. he's always been very short-sighted, I gather, & the starey-eyes thing was really just because of that, but he seemed to develop a shouty authoritative style of addressing people to go with it; it's good to hear that he at least sometimes drops this in private, but I wish he'd be a bit more grown-up at events like this, where at least some of the other participants are equally paid-up, card-carrying hellraisers & not (ahem) johnny-come-lately cartoon punks.

[Bennett Brauer]

He's having a go at aggressive homeless people outside his multi-million dollar* LA home now. https://tinyurl.com/y2emdpmf

Hard to believe this is the same man who once wrote the lyrics Sleep outside rich people's houses / I don't give a fuck / I'll still feel the same 40 years from now / Maaaaan.

_{^{* I've no idea}}

[Twed]

And if you complain, what are you? Oh, one of the establishment elite? No, I'm a bloke that's worked hard for his money and I expect to be able to use my own front door.

He has gone as Centrist Dad as it's possible to go.

[sponk]

He's having a go at aggressive homeless people outside his multi-million dollar* LA home now. https://tinyurl.com/y2emdpmf

Well what else should he do?

[non capisco]

I don't really think it's worth pillorying John Lydon for anything he does and says at this stage in his life that deviates from his entrenched public image (hurr hurr).  His wife's got alzheimers, he's watching the personality of someone he's loved for years dematerialising before his eyes bit by bit every day with the certain knowledge that at some point she won't recognise him at all and shortly after that she'll die. I'll forgive him for lashing out in the wrong directions in that headspace. The cunt wrote and recorded 'Rise' which is more than I'll ever do.

[Bennett Brauer]

Well what else should he do?

I know for a fact he owns at least four cafetières. You do the math.

[Shaky]

He's having a go at aggressive homeless people outside his multi-million dollar* LA home now. https://tinyurl.com/y2emdpmf

He's mainly talking about people camping in his garden and right outside his front door, to be fair. I'm inclined to sympathize with him due to the stress that would cause when caring for an ailing spouse.

Not too keen on beach-poo either.

[Bennett Brauer]

I was taking the piss out of the story, the "multi-million dollar home" angle. I thought the lyrics made that obvious.

[Twed]

It is absolutely fine for you to criticise him, fuck off with this nonsense about leaving him alone because his wife is unwell. It's hardly targeted hatred.

[Bronzy]

It is absolutely fine for you to criticise him, fuck off with this nonsense about leaving him alone because his wife is unwell. It's hardly targeted hatred.

Ah yes, so because he has a nice house that means he's not allowed to be upset that folk are vandalising it and stressing out his wife who suffers from Alzheimer's.

Get a fucking grip.

[Twed]

It's also fine to criticise his tone and point out hypocrisy you big silly bowl of stifle trifle, also cunt.

[Bronzy]

It's also fine to criticise his tone and point out hypocrisy you big silly bowl of stifle trifle, also cunt.

How do you know what his tone was, were you the one interviewing him?

You're right though, it's totally correct to point out a hypocritical opinion he held 40 years ago as if it somehow excuses the home he shares with his wife who suffers from Alzheimer's being vandalised.

Dirty hypocrite.

[Twed]

Yes that is what tone means in this context. I actually think it's fair to criticise Lydon because I think he did the interviews with a cod Jamaican accent.

[Pauline Walnuts]

Yes that is what tone means in this context. I actually think it's fair to criticise Lydon because I think he did the interviews with a cod Jamaican accent.

Yeah, mon.

[Pauline Walnuts]

What I find really sad is how few people actually do believe him.

The book is really disappointing actually, some great bits about his childhood, but way too much about his boats and his houses.
I recall he was canvassing other peoples recollections of his life, he must have rinsed his brain so badly with brandy.

Well the thing I remember from his (Pete Townshend) book is the way he describes in quite graphic detail this horrific website about Romanian orphans being sexually abused, and then years later get's caught trying to find it again. For research.

Maybe I should go back and read it again?

[alan nagsworth]

Uh yeah this is actually sad as hell to be honest. Not trying to be just noting other things as references (but I did just wake up after drinking two bottles of merlot so my brain's fairly fried) but it's a bit like in Princess Mononoke where the huntsmen are all clad in animal skins and crawling over the boar god Okkoto, somehow draining the life from him in a horrifically parasitic fashion. You can't quite determine exactly what's happening but it's bleak and nasty even if the boar god is clearly fucking batshit at this stage, you're still on his side. Ah John.

[Hey, Punk!]

I think it just shows what kind of person you are if you sympathise with the rich cunt or the homeless cunts, they've probably suffered things fat cunt never will.

[alan nagsworth]

yeah alzheimers is rife in the homeless community

[imitationleather]

I sympathise with both. Aaaaaaaaaaaah!