Indeed, with his ensuing PiL line-ups, Lydon went on to conceive hits as diverse as the brassy, funky “This Is Not A Love Song” and the glorious, Afro-Celtic fusion of “Rise.” Singles’ post-Y2K selections, “Reggie Song,” “One Drop” and the pugnacious “Double Trouble,” meanwhile, demonstrate that Lydon’s current PiL crew – Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth and Bruce Smith – are surely his most able lieutenants to date. Versatile, but equally volatile, this first PiL iteration splintered when Wobble departed in July 1980, but the band were barely out of their infancy.

“Public Image” thus kicks off the self-explanatory first disc of The Public Image Is Rotten (subtitled Singles 1978-2015), after which PiL Mk I also supplied “Memories” and the haunting, Swan Lake-inspired “Death Disco,” the twin singles the box lifts from the band’s landmark second album, Metal Box.

If the John Lydon that plugged butter on commercials or appeared in reality television shows seemed a far cry from Johnny Rotten, the importance of his music with the Sex Pistols helped to cement his position as one of punk's leading architects.Propelled by Jah Wobble’s rumbling, subterranean bass, Keith Levene’s brittle, metallic guitar and Jim Walker’s precise, Jaki Leibezeit-esque drumming, PiL’s innovative debut single, “Public Image,” from October 1978, has been described by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore as “ that really changed the landscape after punk”, while luminaries ranging from Beastie Boys to Moby and Red Hot Chili Peppers have continually sung the praises of this iconic song and its parent album, First Issue. They would remain semi-active for the next decade while Lydon became a personality on UK TV. Though he initially swore that the Pistols would never reunite, Lydon eventually announced that the band would come together in 1996 for a series of well-received dates around the world. When the Sex Pistols combusted under the weight of internal tensions in 1977, Lydon formed Public Image Limited, a new outfit whose eclectic approach to rock had a major influence on alternative rock, electronica and industrial music. Lydon's sneering voice and cutting lyrics helped to establish the band as leading figures in the growing punk movement of the 1970s.

As Johnny Rotten, singer John Lydon spread fear into the hearts of middle-class Britain as the volcanic frontman for the legendary Sex Pistols.

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