In celebration of 40 years of songwriting across both the SEX PISTOLS and PUBLIC IMAGE LTD (PiL) eras, JOHN LYDON is delighted to announce the personal and truly exclusive publication of MR ROTTEN'S SONGBOOK. Due out March 31, 2017 and limited to 1000 copies, MR ROTTEN'S SONGBOOK is available to pre-order now via: https://mrrottenssongbook.concertlive.com.
Presented in glorious, luxury large format (370x290mm portrait), MR ROTTEN'S SONGBOOK features never before seen artwork as well as annotated song lyric sheets spanning LYDON's entire career all written in his own hand. As the book unfolds, each album is featured with an exclusive introduction to the songs from JOHN as well as the original cover and hand-drawn artwork from LYDON to beautifully bind the lyrics to their meanings. MR ROTTEN'S SONGBOOK gives fresh insight into the purpose behind the words that have shaped over four decades of his songwriting career. Every one of the book's three-hundred, handcrafted pages reflect JOHN working night and day over the final six months of 2016. Each book is hand signed by the man himself and individually numbered.
Always outspoken, controversial and sincere, JOHN LYDON, formerly Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols and then lead singer in Public Image Ltd (PiL), John Lydon has secured a prime position as one of the most recognizable icons in the annals of music history. As Johnny Rotten, he was the lead singer of the Sex Pistols--the world's most notorious band--who shot to fame in the mid-1970s with singles such as 'Anarchy in the UK' and 'God Save the Queen.' So revolutionary was his influence, he was even discussed in the Houses of Parliament, under the Traitors and Treasons Act, which still carries the death penalty. Via his music and invective, he spearheaded a generation of young people across the world who were clamoring for change--and found it in the style and attitude of this most unlikely figurehead. With his next band, Public Image Ltd (PiL), Lydon expressed an equally urgent impulse in his make-up--the constant need to reinvent himself, to keep moving. From their beginnings in 1978, he set the groundbreaking template for a band that continues to challenge and thrive in the 2010s. He also found time to collaborate on new dance records with the likes of Afrika Bambaataa and Leftfield. From his beginnings as a sickly child of immigrant Irish parents who grew up in post-war London, to his present status as a vibrant, alternative national hero, Lydon has remained a compelling and dynamic figure--both as a musician, and, thanks to his outspoken, controversial, yet always heartfelt and honest statements, as a cultural commentator.
Photo credit: © Paul Heartfield 2012.
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