John Lydon’s latest and currently ongoing tour, I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right, promises an “untamed, unscripted, and uncensored” one-man show from the punk icon, which is how you’d expect one of the faces of Britain’s most raucous music genres to be at any given time. The Sex Pistols and PiL (Public Image Ltd) frontman was once and still is mostly, to a certain extent, notorious for his contributions to the aforementioned genre in its 70s heyday – not to mention its follow-up in post-punk.
Nowadays, as his tour tagline makes clear, he’s more synonymous with espousing divisive political and social commentary on hot button issues, from gay marriage to Brexit to the American Presidential race, which as a dual US citizen, he actually has a modicum of influence on. Depending on where you yourself sit on those kinds of issues, Lydon is somewhere between ‘national treasure’ and ‘professional contrary opinion haver’ on morning talk shows.
He also remains an ardent supporter of representing and lobbying for the thoughts and feelings of the working class, of which is he a proud member, and is one of the last surviving ‘true’ bastions of the now revered punk movement, the mainstream acceptance of which he finds to be the least punk thing possible. “All of these people talking about the 40th birthday of punk are fucking arseholes to me,” he told Lower Class Mag in 2016. “They were not there, they do not belong.” Johnny Rotten is certainly as unpredictable and polarising as ever, with a ‘still angry’ energy that he will doubtless be channelling into his performances around the UK at the moment.
Created to coincide with the release of his autobiography of the same name, I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right will offer audiences Lydon’s views on life, insights into his long and varied career in music and other facets of pop culture, as well as a Q&A session. There are also meet‘n’greet packages available in select venues if you want to get a little more up and close personal with him – at your own peril, perhaps.
The Lyric, Camarthen, Sat 6 Nov. Tickets: £30/£45 VIP. Info: here
Grand Pavillion, Porthcawl, Mon 8 Nov. Tickets: £30/£40 meet‘n’greet. Info: here
words HANNAH COLLINS