The punk rock revolution of the mid-1970s was driven by a plethora of different motivations and social conditions, from rising youth unemployment and a shift in the political landscape to the rise of art schools and squat culture. Perhaps the most well-known characteristic of the music scene, however, was its complete rejection of mainstream music and culture. As far as punk rockers, like the Sex Pistols’ sneering frontman John Lydon, were concerned, the artists that populated the top 40 singles chart may as well have been the devil incarnate. 

Punk’s rejection of mainstream culture was, ironically, integral to its success. There was an entire generation of kids, both in the UK and abroad, that felt alienated by the glitz and glamour of Top of the Pops. Especially given the depressing landscape of England in the 1970s, there was a desperate need for aggressive, political music to counteract the likes of Cliff Richard and his pithy pop-rock records. For many, the answer to this need for something more honest came with the advent of the Sex Pistols. 

Manufactured by clothes salesman and wannabe music mogul Malcolm McLaren, the Sex Pistols quickly became the poster boys of London’s punk scene, helping to spread the gospel of anarchy, rebellion and anti-authority. Of course, the band’s success is owed largely to its intense frontman, John Lydon. Lydon, or Johnny Rotten to use his Pistols stage name, was pivotal in establishing the look and attitude of punk rock, often treating audiences with the same disdain he held for the monarchy and government.

In the years since the punk explosion fizzled out, Lydon has taken virtually every opportunity to tear down his punk contemporaries. In countless interviews, live appearances and even his own memoir, Lydon has taken aim at the likes of Blondie, The Clash, the Ramones and countless others. For the original wave of punks, insults scarcely come harsher than the accusation of ‘selling out’, and Lydon has been known to throw that indictment around on more than a few occasions. 

Recently, Lydon took this insult to an entirely new level, comparing one of his fellow OG punk rockers to none other than Cliff Richard, about as far away from punk authenticity as you can get, despite what Rik from The Young Ones might tell you. Last year, while talking about the formation of Generation Sex – a punk supergroup composed of ex-Generation X and Sex Pistols members including Billy Idol – the Public Image Ltd frontman was less than complimentary. 

“Good luck to them,” he said before clarifying, “but come on, boys, get it together”. The supergroup introduced themselves at Glastonbury 2023, playing a selection of both Sex Pistols and Generation X tracks. Speaking on Billy Idol’s involvement, Lydon said, “What has poor Billy taken on?” recalling, “We used to call him the Cliff Richard of punk”. That is a moniker that Idol cannot be particularly thrilled about, given his efforts within the field of punk, world’s away from the inoffensive Christian rock of Cliff Richard. 

In fairness to Lydon, he did also note that Idol “was such a nice fella and easy to get on with,” so there clearly isn’t a huge amount of bad blood between the two. Nevertheless, it seems the Public Image Ltd frontman is not all that keen on Idol’s music or his recent takes on the tracks that Lydon himself performed with the Pistols.