Tag Archive: Johnny Rotten


The very British coup of The Crown

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December 2, 2016

THE CROWN Season 1 – Netflix TV Series written and created by Peter Morgan (UK/USA, 2016)

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If you ever get me on the subject of the Royal Family it won’t be too long before you hear words like ‘leeches’ and ‘parasites’ or  me expressing the view that The Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save The Queen’ would make a better national anthem for the UK.

My wife and I therefore began watching season 1 of The Crown on Netflix more out of morbid curiosity than out of any real expectation of viewing pleasure.

I was waiting to see how many layers of superficial dross and gloss would be applied in order to present HRH in a positive light. But the opening scene of King George VI coughing up blood (red not blue!) signals that creator Peter Morgan has something else in mind. Continue reading →

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PUNK ROCK’S INVERTED SUBVERSIVENESS

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June 20, 2012

PUNK BRITANNIA – BBC Four

Rock Britannia is yet another documentary series about the “filth and fury” of punk rock in the UK but this one at least has the virtue of putting the subject into a wider context.

There is still something ironic about the fact that this kind of sociological study is being conducted by the very institution that banned the first two Sex Pistols singles from the airwaves.  When ageing punk rockers look back and recall an oppressive climate of ultra conservatism in the 70s, let’s not forget that the BBC were ,and are, at the heart of the establishment that lend credence to such values. It’s only because three decades have passed that they can be sure that any revolutionary threat to the status quo has been quelled.

Part one (1972-76) focused mainly on the vibrant pub rock scene with bands like Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe and Dr Feelgood.  The third and final part (1978 -1981) looked at the “refuseniks and malcontents” of ‘post punk’ which also got burdened with the more insipid label of  ‘New Wave’. This was worth watching alone for Gareth Sager of The Pop Group‘s assessment of that band’s sound as “avant-garde jazz meets King Tubby at the roots of hell”.

Among the numerous, and mostly legitimate, testimonies, Adam Ant featured prominently looking and sounding a bit of a prat. I’m at a loss to explain why he should be considered such an authority on the subject. I’m suspicious of a guy who so rapidly set aside any fledging anarchic tendencies to become a dandy pop highwayman.

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ENTERING THE PiL ZONE

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June 4, 2012

Public Image Ltd – the 2012 edition.

‘This is PiL‘ starts with a defiant burp and, as with the debut single by the post-Pistols band, it begins with a statement of self-definition. “You are now entering a PiL zone” we are informed – a kind of listener advisory; turn back now if you are of a sensitive disposition.

Actually the rants against moronic institutions, lost values and lying leaders are fairly mild; in one interview John Lydon/Johnny Rotten admits that lyrically there is more “soul-searching than asshole hunting”. Continue reading →

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BACKTRACKING # 32 : SEX PISTOLS’ PRETTY VACANT

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August 18, 2011

Part of an irregular series of bite-sized posts about 7″ singles I own – shameless nostalgia from the days of vinyl. (Search ‘Backtracking’ to collect the set!)

THE SEX PISTOLS – Pretty Vacant  b/w No Fun (Virgin Records, 1977)

This is the third of the Pistols’ trilogy of iconoclastic singles which I gleefully purchased on release and played to death.

After this, the  too long-delayed  Never Mind The Bollocks! album was a bit of a let down, especially since it included all three hits (as Rotten proclaimed in another context : “ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”).

The fact that the band  were allowed to be seen performing the song on Top Of The Pops signified that the cultural assimilation process  had begun. (Hegemony In the UK!).

Still,  Rotten singing “va-cunt” on prime time TV was good value and designed to ruffle a few straight-laced feathers.

The B-side is a cover of The Stooges’ No Fun which opens with a sneering address to the nation promising a “sociology lecture….. with a bit of fuck-ology”.

It’s a warts and all first take recording wherein Rotten bluffs and ad-lib his way through the song (although the lyrics are by no mean complex) . The band manage to drag a three-minute garage rock tune to way past the six-minute mark as though they were emulating the much derided prog-rockers. No fun indeed!

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BACKTRACKING # 31: THE SEX PISTOLS’ ROYAL ANTHEM

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August 7, 2011

Part of an irregular series of bite-sized posts about 7″ singles I own – shameless nostalgia from the days of vinyl. (Search ‘Backtracking’ to collect the set!)

THE SEX PISTOLS – God Save The Queen b/w Did You No Wrong (Virgin Records, 1977)

While Anarchy In The UK may be the defining statement of Brit-Punk, God Save The Queen is the best Punk single ever. I still vividly  recall taking a sharp intake of breath as the needle hit the groove for the first time and the blast of rage-fuelled venom struck home.

Lyrically it is surprisingly sophisticated : “For when there’s no future, how can there be sin. we’re the flowers in the dustbin, we’re the poison in the human machine, we’re the future, your future”

With the iconic cut-up sleeve design by Jamie Reed this both looks and sounds like a statement of intent. The rejection of Royal Family in Jubilee year was symbolic of a trashing of the supposedly sacrosanct institutions that define the nation.

Johnny Rotten’s snarling “We mean it maaaaaaan” was and is also an unambiguous trashing of the Hippy dream – forget love and peace , screw Woodstock – the real New Age begins now. Continue reading →

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