John Lydon has told NME that he thinks Taylor Swift is “incredibly dull” and he “doesn’t like Lady Gaga as a human being”.
The former Sex Pistols frontman and founder of Public Image Ltd. was speaking as part of this week’s edition of Does Rock N Roll Kill Braincells?!, in which he reflected on his time in the music industry and his most memorable moments.
He responded to a question about whether he keeps up with contemporary punk bands like IDLES, Fontaines D.C. or Bob Vylan, to which he said there is “not much point”, adding “I’m not responsible for having to check them all out”.
That prompted a further question about his previous championing of Lady Gaga, to which he said: “Lady Gaga was a massively layered and textured presentation – very Bowie era and pop music at its finest. But what she’s turned into is Bizarro World. She’s acting in films, and I don’t like her as a human being. I don’t think she projects anything healthy. I don’t feel any soul. I don’t feel her heart in it. It seems a shame. She should have another side to her.”
He went on to comment on the all-pervasive popularity of Taylor Swift. “She’s incredibly dull,” he said. “There’s a whole history of that kind of singer in America: the pop teenage trivia thing. What she’s grown into is too elaborate and she’s trapped by not meaning to annoy her fanbase – oh fuck off!”
“No really, it’s just daft. She’s got no place to go, so it’s gone into swishy ballroom-gown vibe. She’s going to be another one of those that ends up in Vegas, because that’s the only place left and that’s no future at all, is it?”
Elsewhere in the interview, Lydon branded the Sex Pistols’ reunion tour with Frank Carter as “karaoke”.
“The poor sausage!” he said, referring to Carter. “Does he know what he’s walked into? Good on him, what a great fucking opportunity, but there’s something darker going on behind it.”
“It’s almost malicious in its intent. And it’s karaoke – that’s all it will ever be. Bloody hell, The Three Stooges in that band have had how many years to write some new songs? That’s what I’d like to hear.”
He also revealed that Daft Punk once asked him to work with them in the studio, but he turned down the offer as he “didn’t feel the vibe”.
“I felt it was too much of a ‘studio’ thing and gimmicky – nothing at all like the fun you could get up to with Leftfield, who I recorded ‘Open Up’ with, which I adore. They [Daft Punk] were just deadpan serious people trying to be techno. I’m not one for fellers that wear helmets as their live performance achievement! [Laughs]”
Lydon also told NME that the upcoming PiL ‘This Is Not The Last Tour’ tour and the “raucous” new music the band have been working on has been helping him with his bereavement. In April 2023, his wife of 44 years Nora Forster passed away from Alzheimer’s.
“I need to get out of the house,” he said. “I’ve done enough wallowing, which of course you can’t avoid, even if you think, ‘No, be the bigger man’. You cannot stop it. You cannot stop the sadness when it comes on, but enough already.”
Looking to how events would shape new material, he said: “Sadness is an energy” – paraphrasing PiL’s iconic 1986 track ‘Rise’. “It can either be applied or you can let it eat you alive. The second option is not very interesting to me, so I choose the other way.”
PiL will be embarking on a full UK and Ireland tour in May. Visit here for tickets and more information. The band have recently shared plans to release the “long lost” alternative US mix of ‘First Edition’ for Record Store Day 2025.
Lydon is also embarking on a live speaking I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right – Q&A Tour. For further information visit here.
