If I look back to my teenage years there’s one person who has been a constant with me, ever since those trying adolescent times. My Wife? My Mum? My Dad? Friends? Nope. I mean all these people have actually physically been part of my life, and I love them dearly, and wouldn’t be with out them. This is a different thing altogether. What I’m talking about is, wherever I’ve been and whatever I’ve been doing the gospel according to Saint Johnny of Rotten has always followed me. I’ve never met the guy and yet I’ve witnessed three decades of the mans life. Being equally enthralled and annoyed, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I suppose most things John Lydon orientated start with the Sex Pistols. So I shall do just that. Before actually hearing any of the Sex Pistols music I can vividly remember two encounters I had with their existence. At about age 10, every night when I walked home from school I passed a spray painted piece of art. It simply said ‘sex pistols’, and to finish the point off right next to it was the drawing of a naked female torso. Were the two connected? I didn’t know but I had to look each time I passed it. Another time, I was staying at a family friends house. Their older daughter was away at college, so I was given her room to sleep in. It wasn’t the ban fox hunting posters that scared me that night, it wasn’t the darkness of the country room, it was a picture of a fearsome person glaring straight down from the wall at me. In his eyes I could sense pure evil, and his orange hells fire hair crowned his head with a flame devils halo. He was after my soul and I was not going to be looking into those eyes again. Well maybe just a couple more times! The thrill of being scared, just like the Hammer Horror films I told myself I wouldn’t watch again. If I’d known that my room would look just like this a few years later, maybe I wouldn’t have been so scared but that night I slept badly.

It wasn’t until I happened to be watching bbc2 one evening that I came across Mr Lydon again. Of all the introductions I could have got, the ‘That was then this is now’ programme was a very good one to start with. Loose ends were tied up. So that’s who that wild eyed man was, and that’s why that Megadeth song sounded so much better than the rest on their album! Far from being scared this time, I was hooked. He was witty, sarcastic, and the music he’d been involved with was explosive. After that there was no turning back, the Pistols, and PIL were the bands I listened to, and their front man was the one I wanted to read about.

So that’s how I got started, but why have I not stopped? Well he’s just so interesting to read about or watch being interviewed. You never know you’re your going to get next. The current crop of rebellious rock stars don’t seem to have an opinion on anything! I want someone who is going to piss people off, and to piss me off for that matter.

All through my teenage years I would have given anything to see the Sex Pistols reform, but no. Mr Rotten was having none of it. “I’d never do that” was his reply to such questions. The subject dismissed so many times, that you got the impression that he’d rather die than see a reformation happen. Then by the time I had matured enough to realised that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to see four old men trying to be 18 again, that’s exactly what happened. In a strange way it worked too. It wasn’t the Pistols of 77, but you felt excited by the fact that these people were actually on the same stage as each other. We all know that in a few years time we’ll be seeing Lydon, Levene, Wobble, and one of those early PIL drummers jamming along to death disco. It’s inevitable now.

Lydon has never been consistent in anything he’s said, but you still can’t help but believe in him. He is telling the truth at that moment, he really believes it. You’d think that 30 years would have mellowed him, but he still seems exasperated by the world in general. Interview wise he’s always been able to play up to the cameras with style, but what I found fascinating was watching him on ‘I’m a Celebrity’. Ok, there’s still cameras for people to show off in front of, but he just came across as a very genuine person. Still witty, and caustic, but caring and wise too. For all my initial doubts about him appearing on this show, I was sucked in to watching him every night. I didn’t care about the rest of them, they paled in comparison to John. He even left at the right time. There’s no way you could imagine him playing the gracious winner, if he had been crowned. All he need was the chance to be seen by so many viewers, and his personality did the rest. People you never dreamed would back him, were spouting praise for the so called antichrist. I really hope from this we see a uk based Rotten TV show, or that this means more backing for the film version of his book, even a ‘filth and the fury’ type documentary about PIL. Those tales probably make the Pistols story seen like a fun fair ride.

What is it about death that makes you credible? Is it the ‘just think what they could have achieved if they were still here’ theories? Sid Vicious has books, exhibitions, and accolades. For what? Being a junkie, and crap bass player. Give me a break. As for Joe Strummer, I’ve never seen such a hypocritical press reaction to someone passing away. Ignored for years by the music press, but as soon as the poor guy has a heart attack, then we are besieged with tributes and praise. Then came the reviews proclaiming his post death album the best of his career? It’s a joke. Give the man some respect while he’s alive. It’s exactly the same with Lydon. His only crime being he lived into middle age. So queue all the typical comments. John Lydon, isn’t he that guy that used to be cool? He’s the one that sold out, and went to live in LA and makes his money out of property. That’s not very punk rock! Well that’s what you’d believe if you read most of the music press, or listened to the more elitist punks. Sure he does live in the sunny climes of LA, and he does make money out of selling real estate. So what, who cares! He’s entitled to a life. Did you expect him to still be living in a squat near the Kings Road? He’s done enough for us already, just let him enjoy his past, instead of having to live up to it.

In these anodyne times, we certainly need an entertainer willing to take things to a more intelligent level. So I still salute you John.