John Lydon, known by his stage name Johnny Rotten, is known for controversial statements. Oftentimes, it’s unclear if he’s being facetious or genuine in interviews, and that’s led to some discussion recently. In a recently unearthed interview posted to YouTube by AlexLouderTV, Lydon takes aim at another punk rock band that emerged around the same time as his band, The Sex Pistols. Lydon claims The Clash were racists for incorporating reggae into their music.
In the interview, Lydon is asked: “How important was your 78 trip to Jamaica?” Lydon responded, “To Virgin [Records], apparently, very.” The interviewer then asks, “I got the impression that maybe The Clash, how can I put this lightly, p*ssed their lemon-scented panties when they were over there.” Lydon responds with, “Well, what were they going there for? They have no background of multicultural inheritance. I mean, they weren’t brought up in the council flats like we were. They don’t know that. They were like coffee-table boys, you know, ‘let’s go earn some Black friends, and it’ll be super.”
Lydon further explains, “It went very bad for them. Very, very quickly, ’cause that got sus, you know. They had no proper inheritance here to be indulging in this kind of music. It’s white boys trying to imitate the Black boys’ music.” He then goes on to explain the comparisons to artists in the 1960s: “It’s like them bands in the 60s ripping off R&B, you know, it’s not their stuff. And that’s the thing, that’s very hurtful, and to me, that’s racism, and I don’t mind telling them so.”
Fans Push Back On These Remarks
In the comments on the interview, fans were quick to push back on this assessment. As Lydon seems to claim, The Clash stole this style of music without giving due credit to the original artist; that appears untrue. One fan of Lydon pushed back, stating, “I rarely disagree with John Lydon, but I have to here. Covering Police and Thieves is hardly racist; besides, it’s such a good song, and The Clash did it in their own style.”
Another comment pushed back against these claims of cultural appropriation. “The Clash didn’t appropriate anything at all, nor did they in any way disown the pioneers of reggae. Joe Strummer constantly mentioned Junior Murvin during live shows, and The Clash even collaborated with Lee “Scratch” Perry. Besides, it’s not as if the band spent their entire career tackling reggae and dub; they drew from pretty much every genre they loved. Frankly—even though I saw them live in ’81—I’m not a huge fan of The Clash, but Lydon is really being unfair to them here!”
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