Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs

John Lydon · Keith Zimmerman · Kent Zimmerman

Jun 2014 · Macmillan + ORM

About this ebook

"I have no time for lies and fantasy, and neither should you. Enjoy or die..." --John Lydon

Punk has been romanticized and embalmed in various media. An English class revolt that became a worldwide fashion statement, punk's idols were the Sex Pistols, and its sneering hero was Johnny Rotten.

Seventeen years later, John Lydon looks back at himself, the Sex Pistols, and the "no future" disaffection of the time. Much more than just a music book, Rotten is an oral history of punk: angry, witty, honest, poignant, crackling with energy. Malcolm McLaren, Sid Vicious, Chrissie Hynde, Billy Idol, London and England in the late 1970s, the Pistols' creation and collapse...all are here, in perhaps the best book ever written about music and youth culture, by one of its most notorious figures.

Ratings and reviews

Well this was quite a read. A great read, focusing on firstly the background of the Pistols and how they got together. It takes you further, delving into the poor and working class backgrounds the members of the Pistols came from and how this affected the music and attitudes. Enjoyable and enticing, the book journeys from the beginning of punk to the end when Johnny spewed out those last words in Kansas City. It tells the story of a shy, introverted boy growing up in an Irish family. His mother was a big influence on his life, teaching him how to read. Regarding the punk movement I had no idea how much violence played a huge part in it. Johnny made his own style, sewing safety pins through the clothes he wore, sometimes buying a pair of trousers from Malcolm's shop, Sex. If you are already a fan then this will delight in its raw material. Indeed the book is one of the pinnacle of success. Congratulations Mr Lydon!

Very good boys and girls that's precisely what Mr Rotten wants ya to do. Have a voice, speak up, let's have some discourse, and maybe, just maybe, we'd be a more efficient and compassionate world society. Don't let other blokes speak for you. Thanks John for doing this book! A+

It's honest, he tells it like it was and doesn't embellish. what blew me away was he was very good friends with Chrissie Hynde, I wouldn't have picked it. I enjoyed it because he made it entertaining.

About the author

John Lydon now records and performs both as a solo artist and with PiL (Public Image Limited). He lives in California.

Keith and Kent Zimmerman are writers for Gavin Report. The live in Oakland, California.