Following a cultural phenomenon like the Sex Pistols was always going to be a big ask. The Sex Pistols weren’t simply a band – they’d been adopted by both media and mainstream (friends and foes alike) as the focal point of an entire movement, an attitude, a mode of dress, a way of life. As the most obvious and articulate of the Pistols, their vocalist and lyricist, Johnny Rotten, pretty much exemplified punk. So when he left the band in January ’78, with the words: “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” punk’s foot soldiers (largely unimpressed by Malcolm McLaren’s choice of successor: tiresome nihilistic smack catastrophe Sid Vicious) looked to their faltering scene’s departing prime mover for musical direction.
Readopting the surname Lydon, the erstwhile Rotten – having cleansed his musical palate with a trip to Jamaica, talent-spotting for Virgin’s reggae imprint Front Line – assembled his new troops for his next assault on prevailing sonic conservatism: Public Image Ltd.
