One would have to be incredibly naive to go into an interview with John Lydon expecting a tea party brimming with graciousness and affability. We knew it would probably be more akin to shock therapy. The man known as Johnny Rotten did not disappoint.

On this afternoon, In the midst of a grueling book tour, he was irritable and impatient. Never one for niceties, Lydon spewed out whatever came into his head. The lack of Blood Mary mix in his hotel mini-bar wasn't helping his mood.

Lydon shot to notoriety in the 70s as the lead singer and lyricist of punk pioneers the Sex Pistols. The bristling, brash, brazen band caused shudders in such traditional British bastions as Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street. Their recordings of such songs as "Anarchy in the U.K." and "God Save The Queen" sparked intense controversy. The Sex Pistols made the social, political and music establishments quake in fear.

When the Pistols self-destructed in 1978, Lydon, their feisty frontman, segued into Public Image Limited (PiL), a far more eclectic and musically sophisticated ensemble. This band, too, proved to be highly original and influential.

Lydon has used his celebrity in radio, television and films, starring in nature, travel, reality and music shows. A visual artist, as well, he has used his sketches and cartoons throughout his career.

We interviewed Lydon in 1994, as he was releasing the autobiography "Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs." Though he gleefully projected his trademark anti-charm, he made up for it with candor. His natural antagonism was balanced by a somewhat endearing, sardonic humour. When my interview time was up and I was departing, he thrust into my hand a semi-obscene doodle.

In 2014, a more extensive Lydon memoir was published -- "Anger is an Energy: My Life Uncensored."

The London, England native and his wife Nora [Nora Forster, mother of Ari Up, the late lead singer of post-punk band The Slits] have been residing in Los Angeles. They have been married since 1979. Sadly, in 2018, he revealed that Nora was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

Global crises allowing, fans will hopefully be able to catch an impishly irascible Lydon on his 2021 "I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right" Q&A tour.

Rotten forever? We can only hope so.

POP CULTURE CLASSICS:
Are you enjoying the book tour?

JOHN LYDON:
No.

PCC:
Why not?

LYDON:
Because it's hard work... answering the same questions, day in, day out for two weeks running, going across two countries, it's quite a complication I don't really need at this point in my life.

PCC:
What made you decide this was the time to write an autobiography?

LYDON:
I've been at it for something like five years -- two of ideas running through my head, three of work. It's not an instant thing. We didn't slap it out last week.

PCC:
Did you get a different perspective on it, having a lot of time to let it brew?

LYDON:
No, no, no. It's quite simple. If you've told no lies, you remember things fairly accurately. If you're a fantasist or a mythologist, then a book like this isn't the kind of thing you'd be putting out. There's no dreaming involved in my part of England.

PCC:
What about the way other people remember it? Have you had much reaction from those who didn't get a chance to express themselves in the book?

LYDON:
Like who?

PCC:
People from that era who...

LYDON:
Very many people just refused, point-blank, to comment... only because they've got so many vested interests now that they can't be seen to be standing out in a crowd. There's an awful lot of that. Others, who were bit players at the time, are not there because I don't think they bloody well deserve to be. They've had their say. They've put out their pieces. And I see no need to continue that kind of line of thought. They told lies and I don't want to know about them.

PCC:
Having had a lot of lies told about you...

LYDON:
Well, I've had my history rewritten for me. I've had my role in it all reduced to some kind of like paranoid, schizophrenic, idiot, ranting and raving about nothing in particular, which is quite the opposite. I knew exactly what I wanted out of life.

PCC:
So was this an mission to set the record straight?

LYDON:
Not necessarily to set the record straight, but just to tell it as it really is. There are many people, of course, who know that. By my work in Public Image, they know that I don't live a lie.

PCC:
So many young bands today list the Pistols as a primary influence...

LYDON:
Probably so, but they completely misunderstand, don't they? Some of them, result in death. And I say, good riddance to them for being so stupid not to know what the truth really is. Anyone who follows that -- Drugs are cool; Rock 'n' roll is all about getting fucked-up -- Fuck off! That's negative, stupid, devoid of life. And life's all we know. It's all we've got.

PCC:
What about the bands who just want to emulate the Pistols in terms of the music?

LYDON:
I couldn't care less. You shouldn't emulate anything. You should be creating on your own. Sorry, I'm all for the art of the individual. Personality counts. Imitation is an insult.

PCC:
But do you find it ironic, the fact that the whole punk thing was about rejecting...

LYDON:
It's not ironic. It's nothing to do with me.

PCC:
You've always rejected the...

LYDON:
I don't like slavish idolatry.

PCC:
So what do you think, when you see kids out there...

LYDON:
[Snippier] I told you -- don't pursue this! You're going to really piss me off!

PCC:
I would hate to do that.

LYDON:
Well, shut up.

PCC:
When you started out, you didn't fancy yourself a singer. So what was the allure of the rock world for you?

LYDON:
There was no allure of the rock world at all. I just thought this was a marvelous opportunity to voice what I had inside me. An outlet. I've never seen myself as a rock singer in a rock band. Not ever. The Sex Pistols are not a rock act.

PCC:
What do you think was the main impact the group had?

LYDON:
Honesty, plain and simple. There'd been nothing like it before. Been nothing like it since.

PCC:
But the band was misunderstood.

LYDON:
Completely. And I think most of those misunderstandings come about because of certain managerial wranglings. As I said, people like to rewrite history and they like to rewrite their part in it, in a bigger and more favorable light to themselves. So I can't tolerate any of that.

PCC:
The fact that the band had a relatively brief duration -- do you think that was inevitable?

LYDON:
I don't know about inevitable. It ended at the right time. It ended for all the wrong reasons, but at the right time. It became all futile and squabbly and pathetic... and just a big pie fight.

PCC:
But did the conflict add to the energy of the music?

LYDON:
Animosity is a wonderful thing. Anger is an energy. We used all of that, certainly. But then it becomes this childish hatred. And pranks. It's not on. Out and out deceit, really. And that gets you nowhere.

PCC:
Sid's problem [heroin addiction], do you think that was the main cause of the downfall?

LYDON:
Ego was Sid's main problem. Ego's all well and fine. But you have to have something called intellect to back it up. Otherwise, it can result in death.

PCC:
What about the egos of the other personalities in the punk scene of the time? Was there much of a sense of competition among the bands?

LYDON:
What scene? Like I said, there were the Sex Pistols and a whole bunch of imitators. And I have no interest in any of them.

PCC:
Everybody seems to want to take credit for...

LYDON:
I'm sure they do, but that's not the reality of it.

PCC:
Do you believe that the punk movement was primarily responsible for Margaret Thatcher's rise to power? A sort of backlash?

LYDON:
I'd love to think so. But no. She came about, because the country was just dull. The Labor Party, as a political force, had ceased to function. They'd been in power for so long, that they just thought that nothing could touch it. And it was their sheer complacency that allowed her in. She had an awful lot to say. Little of it meant anything. But at least she was saying something. She was a punk rocker [laughs].

PCC:
Though punk may say something negative within the music, do you think it has had a positive effect?

LYDON:
Punk definitely opened the door for women to have a voice of their own. And it is kind of curious that Margaret Thatcher, for the first time in Britain, was a woman leading the country. Kind of curious.

PCC:
Was it important to you that something positive come out of the phenomenon you were involved in?

LYDON:
Of course it was. But it was very difficult, because of Sid's death. There was a storm cloud over the whole thing. So it was much better for me, when I parted my ways with the Pistols. Just leave it alone and get on with another way around things. But people don't let you do that. If you silence yourself, they will stick knives in your back. It's curiously odd that the timing seems right now to tell it like it was. It just feels right now. There's enough distance from then to not be another part of the confusion.

PCC:
There seems to be a tendency to want to glamorize the whole period.

LYDON:
Yeah.

PCC:
Is that another thing you wanted to do, set out to de-glamorize it?

LYDON:
I don't like glamour. It doesn't work.

PCC:
How do you avoid it in show biz?

LYDON:
By being an outrageous pop star.

PCC:
How important is it to still shock people?

LYDON:
It's not important at all. I don't think you can shock anyone anymore. Why try? I've never done anything to shock. It just happens that way. People are so mediocre they find an honest opinion threatening. That's their problem, not mine. I've never done anything to hurt anyone. I don't do violence. I just merely spoke my mind.

PCC:
That's another part of the misperception -- you being aligned with violence.

LYDON:
Yeah, but it's completely wrong. I've often been the victim of violence, but never the perpetrator.

PCC:
While all the chaos was going on, did you always have a sense of purpose?

LYDON:
You have to. You know why you begin these things and you know where you want them to go. But there's too many cooks. And it gets confused. For me, one of the greatest tragedies with the Pistols was when I went my separate way, that they continued to use the name. And they just ruined it all... with "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" [1980 British satirical documentary directed by Julien Temple]. People still associate me with that period. And I've nothing to do with it at all. A catastrophe. And a total rip-off. And that's the difference, if you want to see where I am and where Malcom [the band's manager, Malcolm McLaren] is. Malcolm was totally in charge of "The Rock 'n' Roll Swindle."

PCC:
The fact that you were ripped-off, financially, as well as artistically, does that make it imperative to be involved in the business side of things at this point?

LYDON:
You damn well have to be. If people take the piss out of you in that way, you teach them a sorry lesson. I've never cheated on anyone and I don't expect to be cheated either.

PCC:
But how do you avoid becoming too caught up in the whole business nonsense?

LYDON:
What's caught up? You owe me. Pay up or else. That's it.

PCC:
So it never interferes with the creative end of things?

LYDON:
No. It does, if you're trying to manage yourself or all of that. You do need people to do those kind of things. But you just keep a clear head.

PCC:
How conscious a decision was it on your part to create this stage persona of Johnny Rotten There was this whole thing about Richard III and studying Olivier... Was this a very determined effort?

LYDON:
Of course it was. I mean, it was instinctive. But instinctively, I knew that that was the way to go, because, I'm sorry, pop music's just deeply ridiculous to me. There were too many people taking themselves far too seriously. To chuck Richard III in there was jolly good fun. I'm completely anti-star. And unfortunately, it's been imitated many times since and has now become the norm. That's what happens.

PCC:
And when you saw that happening, were your angered or just amused?

LYDON:
No, if that's what people want, the dilution, then fine, let them have it. Doesn't bother me. I've got other things to do. I just see them as they are -- imitators. They're irrelevant. Guaranteed massive sales, though there'll be.

PCC:
But you don't see it as flattery either.

LYDON:
No, it's not flattery. You can learn from others, but you should never outright imitate. You take bits from everything and reposition them. But never do a wholesale, out-and-out copy.

PCC:
What were the important elements that you borrowed from here and there?

LYDON:
There was the chaos of the entire English scene. The music business was completely manipulated by the upwardly mobile middle class. There was no room for anyone from my social strata. I changed that.

PCC:
You've said that the Pistols were not just for the working class, but for all ages, all classes.

LYDON:
That's right. Opened the doors. Removed prejudice. Completely removed it. Didn't exist any longer. So the class game couldn't be played.

PCC:
And yet it continues on some levels.

LYDON:
I don't care about what happens with other bands. I care about what my life, what I do. People all too willingly accept categories -- the grunge rock scene, the rap scene. Fuck 'em. They've go it wrong. They've narrowed themselves. They're wearing blinkers. It kind of eliminates the whole of music, the whole of life. Don't just narrow yourself to one tiny little vision. You're being selfish and stupid to yourself and to everybody else.

PCC:
When you formed Public Image, what was the direction you saw yourself going into?

LYDON:
Onwards. Forwards. The future. And not a revisionist band.

PCC:
Does Public Image continue as an entity, even though you've been working on solo projects?

LYDON:
Of course. We're on holiday for a year. Don't assume. When you assume, you make an ass of "u" and "me."

PCC:
What made you want to record a solo album?

LYDON:
I've worked in a band format now for 18, 19 years. I figured a brief change would be good for me.., and for Public Image.

PCC:
What sorts of material are you doing in the solo album that might not have fit Public Image?

LYDON:
You'll have to wait until it comes out to decide that. I don't even talk about music in that way. I'd never give it a category. I won't. There will be variety. It'll be entertaining. It might extremely annoy you, but that's a form of entertainment in itself.

PCC:
Is it important that it be surprising, as well?

LYDON:
Not necessarily so. It's just what I want to do. And if there's an audience out there for it, that's all well and fine. As long as it doesn't become a fashion or a trend, I think I'll be happy.

PCC:
Did you get to work with people that's you've wanted to collaborate with before?

LYDON:
What do you mean? It's a solo project.

PCC:
Well, don't you have other musicians playing on it?

LYDON:
How can it be a solo project, if I have other people playing on it?

PCC:
I never did understand that term. But I just assumed... there I go, assuming again.

LYDON:
It is just me. There'll be no one else involved at all. And if I shift the goalposts at a later point, you'll be the last to know... Okay, we've got to wind this up, because there's lots to do. I've got to go down to the bar.

PCC:
Just a couple more questions. Is it important to you what sort of image people have of you at this point?

LYDON:
No, it doesn't matter. Read the book. That's me, warts and all. I'm not a nice person. I've never pretended to be... And I don't deserve to be shot either.

PCC:
Being viewed as an outsider, was that something you plotted at some point?

LYDON:
No, it just happens... when you're unpleasant.

PCC:
Well, I'm glad it's worked so well for you.

LYDON:
Has it?

PCC:
Hasn't it? Look where you are -- a luxury hotel in San Francisco.

LYDON:
And I'm not paying.

PCC:
Well, there you go.

LYDON:
Cheers. May the road rise...

For the latest on this artist, visit www.johnlydon.com.