John Lydon says it's 'so wrong' to credit Patti Smith with the beginnings of punk

Virgin Radio

11 Aug 2023, 14:35

John Lydon has hit out at those who say Patti Smith started punk, calling the claims "so wrong".

Patti Smith had been referred to as the " punk poet laureate" in New York, but Sex Pistols star Lydon insists punk started in Britain.

He told The Sun: “I’ve heard an awful lot of American journalists pretending that the whole punk influence came out of New York.

“Well, hello? Bands like Sweet with 'Ballroom Blitz' and Mud with 'Tiger Feet' — that’s the do that, man!

“T. Rex, David Bowie, Slade, Mott The Hoople, The Alex Harvey Band — their influence was enormous.

“And they try to write that all off and wrap it around Patti Smith. It’s so wrong!”

He continued: “But I didn’t like what it turned into with all that uniformed, studded leather jacket nonsense. I blame the Ramones!”

The former Sex Pistols bandmates of Lydon went on to form a band called Generation Sex, featuring Steve Jones, Paul Cook as well as Billy Idol and Tony James from Generation X.

Unsurprisingly, Lydon isn't a fan: “Good luck to them but come on boys, get it together. “The Pistols side of it is songs they never really understood and Billy’s got to come in as a translator.“What has poor Billy taken on? We used to call him the Cliff Richard of punk and he was such a nice fella and easy to get on with.

“Him and Sid [Vicious] used to be quite ludicrous about who could do the best Elvis Presley sneer.”

Elsewhere, Lydon is still making music with Public Image Ltd (PiL), and he released an album called 'End of World' this week.

There's no sign of him slowing down, either.

He said: “By the time I’m fully finished with making sounds and putting words together, it will be the day I die."