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Synopsis
Love him or hate him, when it comes to the man they once called 'Rotten', what you can't do is ignore him. And with two big anniversaries in 2006 [in November it's 30 years since the release of the Sex Pistols' first record and of punk in general going overground - and Johnny Lydon's 50th was celebrated in January], there won't be much chance of avoiding him at all this year. Because 12 months of commemorative programmes, films, books, magazine special editions, articles and all manner of other media events is already underway and is set to reach fever pitch this autumn. With all this in mind, there couldn't be a better time to explore exactly what it was John Lydon did, thought and achieved; that which made him the focal point of the whole British punk movement. The book further explores what his post Pistols/Punk career meant; was he simply riding on the back of his punk credentials, or was the man blessed with a special talent which allowed him to achieve far, far more than any other individual musician or performer to come out of Punk's first wave way back in 1976.Not a traditional biography as such, "John Lydon - Stories of Johnny - A Compendium of Thoughts on the Icon of an Era" contains a series of stand alone essays written by the cream of rock music's writers and commentators. A book which can be either dipped in and out of or read cover to cover, and which both tells the man's story and gets behind what he was - and indeed is - all really about; this work could well be the final word on Lydon and a fitting tribute to an underdog of sorts who became the anti-hero to millions.
About the Author
CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE; the 'big daddy' of American rock journalism, GREIL MARCUS; US Punk author, LEGS McNEILL; esteemed British music historian and author, CLINTON HEYLIN; legendary ex editor of Zig Zag Magazine and friend of the stars, KRIS NEEDS; ex Mojo editor PAT GILBERT; Punk insider and friend of Johnny, JUDY NYLON; deputy editor of Uncut Magazine, NIGEL WILLIAMSON; world authority on the music of the 1960s and 70s ALAN CLAYSON; EMI recording artist, music journalist and vocal coach, BARB JUNGR and - a foreword by Creation Records supremo and the man who discovered Oasis, Alan McGEE.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
it could have been so rubbish, it really coulda. Picture the scene - rope together a bundle of old punk has-beens and get them to squawk about how brilliant 1977 was and completely miss the point that johnny actually left all that punk gubbins behind the day he slammed the door on the pistols - BUT IT AIN'T!!
Thankfully, what we get is this collection, which, admittedly, does have some punk has-beens in it, but they don't get all dowy eyed and over sentimental, instead offering a CAREER LONG view of rotten.
I like PiL for instance, sometimes more than the pistols, so i was chuffed to see clinton heylin's chapter on the pioneers (although it;'s something of an expansion of his Rise/Fall book from the 90s, you gotta admit).
Elsewhere rotten's clash with tommy vance is detailed, and there's a fair bit of chin stroking from UK and US punk journos (as seems to be the norm these days), which is great bog reading.
If you're wondering whether or not to buy it, then you should, as it's criminal how little work is available on this icon. Johnny'll probably hate it himself, but that's what you'd expect i guess.
Thankfully, what we get is this collection, which, admittedly, does have some punk has-beens in it, but they don't get all dowy eyed and over sentimental, instead offering a CAREER LONG view of rotten.
I like PiL for instance, sometimes more than the pistols, so i was chuffed to see clinton heylin's chapter on the pioneers (although it;'s something of an expansion of his Rise/Fall book from the 90s, you gotta admit).
Elsewhere rotten's clash with tommy vance is detailed, and there's a fair bit of chin stroking from UK and US punk journos (as seems to be the norm these days), which is great bog reading.
If you're wondering whether or not to buy it, then you should, as it's criminal how little work is available on this icon. Johnny'll probably hate it himself, but that's what you'd expect i guess.
4.0 out of 5 stars
John Lydon: Stories of Johnny - A Compendium of Thoughts on the Icon of an Era (2006)
24 Jun 2012
By Faustus
Format:Paperback
The correct ratio of arrogance and enthusiasm can be a positive thing. John Lydon has spent his entire life making himself a visible target for the socially repressed and political ideologists to attack, and in so doing he exposes the attacker's own prejudices and fears. Love him or hate him, the world needs Lydon. Truth needs Lydon. He admits the things he says can seem contradictory and that his opinion will change from day to day but it always reflects how he feels at that time, and the core values that underline his philosophy never change.
This book is similar to the kind of critical studies you find on every academic reading list at school, the kind of thing that collects together essays offering different perspectives on a chosen topic. Together they build up a picture of Lydon; whether or not it's an accurate picture is open to debate. Nevertheless, it's a fun undertaking and the constantly shifting topics keep it interesting.
One chapter focuses on the rise of punk, one on the reaction of the media, and another on the nuances of Lydon's unique vocal delivery, etc. You don't need to start at the beginning and work your way through to the end, you can jump in anywhere. It's focussed primarily on the Sex Pistols era but there are enough Public image Ltd anecdotes to please fans of both sides.
Black & white photos are scattered haphazardly across the pages. They're obvious filler, sometimes bearing no relation to the text whatsoever.
The entry by Kris Needs, and similarly the essay by Judy Nylon are essential reading. On the flip side, Legs McNeil proves once again he's an egotistical idiot piggybacking on the nearest bandwagon; how that man has been allowed to pursue journalistic endeavours for so long remains a mystery.
This book is similar to the kind of critical studies you find on every academic reading list at school, the kind of thing that collects together essays offering different perspectives on a chosen topic. Together they build up a picture of Lydon; whether or not it's an accurate picture is open to debate. Nevertheless, it's a fun undertaking and the constantly shifting topics keep it interesting.
One chapter focuses on the rise of punk, one on the reaction of the media, and another on the nuances of Lydon's unique vocal delivery, etc. You don't need to start at the beginning and work your way through to the end, you can jump in anywhere. It's focussed primarily on the Sex Pistols era but there are enough Public image Ltd anecdotes to please fans of both sides.
Black & white photos are scattered haphazardly across the pages. They're obvious filler, sometimes bearing no relation to the text whatsoever.
The entry by Kris Needs, and similarly the essay by Judy Nylon are essential reading. On the flip side, Legs McNeil proves once again he's an egotistical idiot piggybacking on the nearest bandwagon; how that man has been allowed to pursue journalistic endeavours for so long remains a mystery.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book can be a good starting point, but you need a knowledge of the underlying subject matter (punk rock in both Great Britain and USA) to get the full flavour, so it will be best appreciated by those who already know a lot about punk and its main characters.
If you feel a little bit lost after the introduction, then you are advised to either read first the titles proposed there (at the very least "England's Dreaming") or to have them ready for help when needed (I will also add two more fundamentals: Clinton Heylin's "From The Velvets To The Voidoids" and "Please Kill Me" by Legs Mc Neil and Gillian Mc Cain, incidentally the first two of them among the contributors of this compendium).
Five stars? Yes, for the Judy Nylon essay alone.
Hence I disagree with the other reviewer in terms of why this tome gets a very high praise, but I praise it as well.
If you feel a little bit lost after the introduction, then you are advised to either read first the titles proposed there (at the very least "England's Dreaming") or to have them ready for help when needed (I will also add two more fundamentals: Clinton Heylin's "From The Velvets To The Voidoids" and "Please Kill Me" by Legs Mc Neil and Gillian Mc Cain, incidentally the first two of them among the contributors of this compendium).
Five stars? Yes, for the Judy Nylon essay alone.
Hence I disagree with the other reviewer in terms of why this tome gets a very high praise, but I praise it as well.
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