Motoring & Leisure Magazine
February 2006

John Lydon interview

Just before our meeting John had totally bewildered a film crew by doing the famous end-of-programme wave in his own, inimitable style for Sky TV's Soccer am. John's enduring fame – or infamy depending on how you view it – springs from his time as a main member of The Sex Pistols, the controversial Seventies Punk band managed by legendary impresario Malcolm McLaren. Now, 30 years after The Sex Pistols' disintegration, John has released Megabugs, a series of 10 programmes for the Discovery Channel, in which he goes in search of the world's most deadly creatures, including the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse – America's deadliest arachnid.

'When that Brown Recluse spider started to scuttle up my arm, I thought to myself I am going to have to flick this little chap off just right,' John told me. During filming he came face to face with vicious killer bees and sat with a patient in a plastic surgery clinic who had had a leech applied to his nose. John's natural curiosity and sense of humour makes these and encounters with cockroaches, giant ants, Tarantula Hawk wasps and other creatures compulsive viewing, even for the squeamish.

'So how did you get involved in the series?' I asked him. 'Anarchy!' he replied, laughing. 'No – it would be agony now – I am a grandad to twins! Seriously, I became involved after appearing briefly in TV's I'm A Celebrity' (for which I had a clause in my contract stating I would not harm or kill a living creature just for TV), but I am curious and passionate about nature and all living things, so wanted to show kids these incredible creatures. We had a hectic schedule over six weeks, out in places like the Arizona desert, Florida and Baton Rouge, New Orleans with up to 15 hour days in searing heat. Working in Baton Rouge was like wrapping yourself up in tin foil and going under a hot power shower.'

I marvelled at how he still managed to look so snazzy in the DVD, considering the schedule and the weather. 'I've always liked clothes, they are part of my identity.' When I admired his punky red and yellow short Mohican hair style, he told me that Rambo, his friend and manager, had done it for him. I remarked on the fact that in the programmes it seemed as if he was constantly being bitten and stung. 'I'm glad you said that,' he replied. 'One of the poisonous scorpions was determined to sting me no matter how I held him I respected him for that.'

Giant gnat-bites
'Do you have an aversion to any particular bug?' I asked him. 'I was locked in a cage with 3,000 blo female mozzies. I had never really been keen on them before that, but overcame my dislike. During filming, though, one of them got in my ear and stung my eardrum. The pain became excruciating during the night, and suddenly my ear began to swell up. There was a hurricane, so the doctor wasn't allowed to come out to me for 24 hours and I couldn't go anywhere. That was very painful. I sat in a bath of porridge oats to take the pain out of the stings on my body, though, and that really does work, even though you smell like breakfast afterwards.'

I asked Johnny which creature he'd found the most fascinating. 'The baby alligators in the swamp, it seemed so senseless to me that they are poached and shoes are made out of them. I'm ashamed to say I remember inheriting a second-hand pair of alligator shoes as a teenager. I didn't appreciate these creatures then, but when you hold a baby alligator in your hand they are incredibly beautiful.'

John has also been busy with the release of John Lydon – The Best of British Pound Notes, a CD and DVD featuring his music with The Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd and as a solo artist – for which he designed the covers.
'What are you now looking forward to now?' I asked 'Music,' he replied. 'I can't wait to do more music and I also have my own TV company, Rotten TV.'

Despite his anarchic past, I found 'Johnny Rotten' a perfect Gentleman John – a passionate and creative man. I had brought a copy of David Arnold's book, Sixty Years On with me to give to him and, having met the man, was unsurprised by how delighted he was with it. 'Thank you so very much,' he said, 'I love history. Oh look, it's got newspaper cuttings, posters and everything – fantastic!'