Public Image Ltd – Q&A

July 22, 2026

The conversation continues in our exclusive Q&A with John Lydon.

Discover what keeps him creating, what fans can expect when Public Image Ltd. takes the stage and what he’s looking forward to most about sailing with us.

You’ve been known for listening to and finding value in a very wide variety of musical genres, is anything in heavy rotation for you now and have there been constants in your life over your career? 

When we start some of our talk shows, I play a bit of Ken Booth before I go on. I love Ken Booth. And other times, we’ll play different music. That’s the music of my youth, that’s what I grew up with. I grew up with reggae. My neighborhood was incredibly mixed. It was Irish and English, British and German, Greek and Jamaican. We didn’t grow up on punk. We grew up on Slade, T-Rex, Hawkwind, Status Quo. That’s what we were listening to as kids. I never set out to copy anything. I’ve always been really interested in textures–stuff like Can and Kraftwerk. My record collection is extensive. I’ve got three libraries spread over two countries. I’m just a nonstop music buyer. If anyone puts something out, I want to hear it. The only thing I ever really spent money on in my whole life is a really excellent, A-1 transparent sound system. It doesn’t even need to be loud. It just needs to be absolutely clear without adding any amplified distortion to anything.

Going back to the origins of PiL, did you and your bandmates set out to create a groundbreaking new sound or did it just evolve into that over time? 

I write about what I know. The songs come from the heart. It’s my lived experience. When I formed PiL, it wasn’t closing the door on the Pistols. It was just opening a new one and showing where I stood in terms of the world. Above all else, it needed to feel honest. It needed to have integrity, which I found sadly lacking in the management (Malcom McLaren) of my first band. 

[PiL] was a clearinghouse for me. It’s always meant absolute freedom. And with freedom comes responsibility. That’s why my songwriting is all about the truth, all about trying to find out what emotions really are, and how not to be misled by them. 

I love a good pop song, you know. I love the whole verse/chorus format, but to broach some subjects properly–with the respect due–you need to step outside the format. Beyond music, almost. That’s a difficult concept for people to understand. It’s not about me trying to be avant-garde or deliberately ‘jazz-fusionist’. It isn’t that at all. It’s a gut reaction to the subject matter. Like “Death Disco” is a song about the death of my mother. And it’s even more applicable now, as my father died last year. You don’t want to wallow in tragedy, but the loss of a parent is a serious thing. It’s extremely hard to come to grips with. Like I say in the song, there are times in life when “words are useless,” where you can’t possibly channel an emotion without a guttural yell. 

You recently turned 70, do you find yourself mellowing as you age or are you still the guy who wrote “Anger is an Energy”?

Well, anger is an energy. Of course it is.

The 80s were known for so many groundbreaking innovations as well as some serious cringe-inducing things. What’s one thing you would love to see come back and what’s one thing you are glad we left behind?

We’re no longer part of the shitstem, now. In the 1980s, record companies didn’t want to release our music. Yeah. “That’ll never sell.” “That’s too different.” And “you have to go mainstream if you want any radio play.” I’ve had to raise the money independently, but let me tell you something. When the Pistols broke up, I had to pay for PiL with whatever money I could scrape together, too. There was nothing coming from the record label.

What excites you most about performing on The 80s Cruise? 

I can’t wait. I’m really excited by this. It’s one of the things I’ve never done before and I think it’s going to be a great giggle. I’m just hoping they give me a good cabin with a nice balcony. 

What do you think makes a cruise like this different from a typical concert or show? 

Well I’ve never done it before, so I won’t be able to answer that until we’ve played. But the band is amazing at the moment. We’ve been playing shows all over the world and it feels like a great time to be spreading our wings and doing something different. I’m really looking forward to it.