The Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten
Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images

John Lydon has a lot on his mind, and he's not afraid to share it with the world.

The outspoken frontman, who's perhaps better known by his stage name, Johnny Rotten, said he is excited for the Sex Pistols' upcoming comeback gigs in the U.K., which will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the band's seminal release, 1977's Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, which is slated for an expanded vinyl re-release later this month.

But according to him, this is no reunion. Prior to this recent revival, the Pistols re-formed in 1996 for a six-month tour, which included dates in Europe, North and South America, Australia and Japan.

"I don't like words like 'reunited' or 'reunion' — we just come together every now and again, when we feel the time's right," Lydon explained. "This year, the time was right because in England, they were celebrating 30 years of punk, and we let it go all year. After listening to the bands that were putting forth a load of nonsense and getting punk wrong, we thought it was about time we went back and sorted them out, and that's exactly what we're doing."

In addition to the band's seven U.K. dates, a Pistols concert has been scheduled for October 25 in West Hollywood, California — the only U.S. date thus far. Lydon did indicate that, in 2008, the Pistols will remain intact for a North American tour, and are even tinkering with the idea of starting their own festival — which would feature up-and-coming punk acts, stamped with Rotten's seal of approval — comparable to an Ozzfest or Warped Tour.

"But better than that," he insisted, "we're not using any model at all. It would be a typical Sex Pistols approach — from the ground up. We build our own brick sh--houses, and we make sure they're indestructible. The work involved in any of these processes is overwhelming."

For the first time in decades, the Sex Pistols recently returned to the studio to re-record two of its classic songs for use in the "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" video game: "Pretty Vacant" and "Anarchy in the U.K." Lydon said the sessions weren't much different from when the band last recorded together.

"We thought we had the masters, but the record company told us they couldn't find them, so we had to go in and re-record 'Anarchy' and 'Pretty Vacant,' " he explained. "It meant whatever money we would have made doing these games we lost re-recording — that's what the experience is like. It's brilliant fun. Brilliant. Brilliant fun. Really brilliant. It was just me, [guitarist] Steve [Jones] and [drummer] Paul [Cook], which is how Bollocks was recorded anyway. It was back to basics for us, and we really, really liked each other. We remembered the good times, instead of just moaning about the bad ones. They sent me 'Guitar Hero,' and I loved it immediately. It's great. It's fun and then some."

But would Lydon ever consider recording fresh material with the Pistols and possibly release an album? He's not so sure about that.

"I've said for years, 'No,' and I'm still kind of of that mind," he said. "If I feel it's right, we'll do it, and we'll do it the way we always did it. It happens instinctively and instantly. The idea of booking a recording studio to go in and specifically come up with new songs is too format for any of our tastes. That's not the way we do things. Things happen for the right reasons, or otherwise they don't happen at all."

And what's the punk's response to fans, who might criticize the video game move as an act of — gulp — selling out? "I have certainly, in 30 years, not once ever joined the establishment, or put out anything of inferior quality, just to part fools from their money," Lydon defended. "That's never been the way, and it never will be. We don't demand attention, we just do what we do. And oddly enough, that seems to be what everybody wants to copy.

"One thing people got to understand is, the Sex Pistols started as a genuine band, from a working-class background, facing serious social and economic situations," he continued. "Massive unemployment, riots in the street, Margaret Thatcher in power — this was a serious time, so the songs relate directly to that. And lo and behold, 30 years later, it's the same situation. But people aren't standing up anymore. Everybody seems to be rolling over, because I think they're bored with confrontation, and that's ridiculous. The very fact that you have to, as a human being, express your individuality in this world, or you get sucked up into the malaise, doesn't seem to be sinking in. You have very apathetic younger generations at the moment, and they're turning their rage and anger in on themselves. They're killing themselves in colleges, because there's no focus in them. That's a sad state of affairs."

So what's the answer? "Think," he offered. "Just try thinking. Get off the video games."

Lydon, who has been working on his own solo album for several years now, also hinted at a revival of his other band, Public Image Ltd., which went on an indefinite hiatus back in 1993.

"Public Image Ltd. is only what I want it to be, so as long as I'm in it, it's consistent," he said, adding that he hopes to release another album from the act in the not-so-distant future. "I'm in the middle of a solo album at the moment, which I'm putting together myself, and I can't give you any release date because, indeed, I don't have a label to release it on as of yet," he said. "It's now up to about 12 songs, and I've been working on it on and off for a while."

Really, much of Lydon's time in recent years has been taken up by television. Lydon is a regular on European nature programs, he said; he did a series for the Discovery Channel on insects and has worked on documentaries about great white sharks and gorillas in the Congo. "I'm always doing something," he said. "It might not always be directly in the public eye, but there is a quality level for what I do."

Lydon's now pitching a new show, which he hopes will air on American television too. "It will be a 10-episode series called 'Rotten Loves America,' " the California resident said. "But we don't know if that's going to take off or not. I love this country very much — more so than George Bush. I can't talk about the show, really, but it will be seriously interesting. There's a few little bubbles to burst along the way, because America doesn't seem to have a voice anymore, and anybody that expresses any opinion that differs from the current government seems to be claimed as un-American. I find that shocking. Have you allowed your country to be kidnapped by those right-wing idiots? They're fools, they're loonies, they're bonkers, and they shouldn't be listened to."

Without being prompted, Lydon lashed out once again against the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted the Pistols in 2005 — an honor the original members turned down (see "Sex Pistols Respond To Rock Hall Invite With Filth And Fury").

"This was what they call a silent vote, by record-company executives, who voted us into their wonderful little museum," Lydon explained. "That's trying to suck us up into the sh--stem, but at the same time fob us off. We don't take awards like that as a compliment; we take them as an insult. If you can't put your name behind us, and say you truly support us, we don't want you anywhere near us. It's stand-up-and-be-counted time, and that might be the difference between our ideology and the current state of the nation."

He also had some choice words for Green Day and Britney Spears. And the 2007 Video Music Awards were also targeted during Lydon's recent conversation with MTV News.

"I love to tease that lot, because I think they're dopey," he said of Green Day. "They hold no promise, no future. They jumped on a bandwagon that was all clearly laid out for them, forgetting all the bands that did the groundwork, putting together a punk movement. They came in and said, 'Yes, we can wear these clothes and have our hair like this, wear those boots and play music that way, and we'll call ourselves punk.' Not much thought went into them. Nothing — nothing original. Therefore they smell, big time. They're like old gorgonzola cheese in old boots.

"The current state of music is dour — it's lifeless and listless and mediocre," he continued. "When you look at the last Video Music Awards fiasco, when you get Kid Rock and Tommy Lee Jones [note: It was actually Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, not the actor — although that would have rocked] fighting over that worn-out old blown-up woman. It's insane. It's daft. How were they let in? I've never been invited. Maybe they were afraid I'd cause trouble — what? Like everybody else does?"

Then, he turned his attention toward Ms. Spears' VMA performance.

"Didn't anybody take a look at Britney before she trotted onstage like dobbin the donkey?" he wondered. "It was like a school play by 11-year-olds — that's what it came over as. How grim. I'd like to think it was a clever decision to let her go on like that, but sadly, it wasn't, so the event became humorless."

• Johnny Rotten
• The Sex Pistols
• John Lydon
• Britney Spears
• Kid Rock

Former Sex Pistols and Bow Wow Wow manager Malcolm McLaren will reportedly drop out of the election next week and will endorse England's ex-Health Secretary, Ken Livingston.

• John Lydon
• The Sex Pistols

Consider it the "The Great [Political] Rock & Roll Swindle."

• John Lydon
• The Sex Pistols

Care to spend your Saturday afternoons with Johnny Rotten?

• John Lydon
• The Sex Pistols

So what could bring together a Spice Girl and a Sex Pistol?

That was the question many were left with after Monday night's Neurotic Outsiders show at L.A.'s Viper Room, when Sporty Spice Mel C. joined the band on stage for three songs (see "Sporty Spice, The Cult Join Neurotic Outsiders For Viper Room Farewell").

The band (Sex Pistols' guitarist Steve Jones, former Duran Duran bassist John Taylor, ex-Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan on guitar, and GN'R/Cult drummer Matt Sorum) seemed an unlikely backing band for Mel C., and the collaboration led many to speculate that she and Jones had struck up a romance.

No so, according to Jones, who insists that he and the Spice Girl known as Melanie Chisholm are just friends.

"I don't think she'll have an old git like me," Jones told MTV News. "I'm old enough to be her dad, her grandad."

Speaking about how the union actually did come about, Jones said, "I went to see Garbage and Alanis Morissette, and we just got along good. I invited her down here just to see one of the shows, and she came down. I said, 'Do you want to get up and do one of the songs?' So we had one rehearsal yesterday, and just kind of did it. She's got big balls, that chick. She's great." [RealVideo]

The Jones-Sporty friendship officially went on display about halfway through the Neurotic Outsiders' set, which marked the end of a multi-week run at the Viper Room. Mel jumped on stage and belted out three songs with the band: Billy Idol's "White Wedding," and the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy In The U.K." and "Pretty Vacant."

Chisholm wasn't the only surprise Monday night, as the Outsiders also welcomed the Cult's Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy. The duo performed such Cult songs as "Love Removal Machine" and "Wild Flower," in addition to closing out the show with a cover of the Sex Pistols' "Bodies."

• John Lydon
• The Sex Pistols
• Spice Girls

John Lydon apparently lived up to his Sex Pistols' pseudonym of Johnny Rotten last weekend, as the punk legend's typically outrageous behavior caused a scene on a live British TV show.

Lydon became upset during the taping of an ITV program, "World Cup Fantasy Football," then cursed at the audience and allegedly assaulted a female producer, the British Press Association reports.

The singer then threw a lit-cigarette into the studio audience and was subsequently bounced from the "Football" broadcast after he began berating the play of the U.K.'s World Cup soccer team.

As we previously reported (see "Lydon To Bring Anarchy To TV On New Show"), Lydon, who has developed as much a reputation for his snotty, aggravated temperament as for his vocals, is working on a pilot program for VH1 and two films based upon his life and experiences with the Sex Pistols.

• John Lydon
• The Sex Pistols

God save the TV.

Former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon is in talks to bring his brand of in-your-face anarchy to the airwaves with a new TV show on VH1.

The weekly program, which is currently dubbed "Rotten Television," would feature Lydon and guests discussing (or in Lydon's case, ranting) on a wide variety of topics, ranging from entertainment and fashion to sports and current events.

"Rotten Television" is just the latest in a string of high-profile projects for Lydon, who released his first solo album, "Psycho's Path," last year.

As we previously reported (see "Lydon Signs On For More Movie Bollocks"), the singer is currently wrapping up deals for two films one a dramatization of his autobiography, the other a documentary based on the Sex Pistols and the '70s punk scene.

• John Lydon
• The Sex Pistols

Former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon is in the midst of wrapping up his second film deal in less than two weeks.

According to his manager, Lydon is finishing up a movie deal with a British company for a Sex Pistols-produced documentary, comprised of all archival footage of the Pistols filmed from 1976 to 1978.

As we previously reported (see "Johnny Rotten Film In The Works"), the former Johnny Rotten has also clinched a deal to oversee the development of a script based on his autobiography, "Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks No Dogs."

Lydon's agreement on that project will have him involved in selecting the screenwriter, director and cast members, although he will not be playing himself.

That as-yet-untitled film will focus on the Pistols and the social circumstances surrounding their rise to punk infamy in the '70s.

Meanwhile, Lydon is now in Los Angeles shooting what his management refers to as a "significant cameo role" in "The Independent," a film about the motion picture industry starring Janeane Garofalo.

• John Lydon
• The Sex Pistols

Johnny Rotten's story is coming to the silver screen.

The Hollywood Reporter says that the former Sex Pistol front man turned PIL (Public Image Ltd.) leader (aka John Lydon) will be the subject of a $5 million movie based on his autobiography, "Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs." The book was published by St. Martin's Press in the fall of 1994. Lydon is heavily involved in the film, and he's overseeing script development and helping choose the screenwriter, director and cast.

Lydon's manager, Eric Gardner, (who is producing the film) told the The Hollywood Reporter that the film will be more of a "portrayal of the social, cultural and political times of England in the 1970s" than a story of the Sex Pistols.

The band has already been the subject of at least one movie -- "Sid and Nancy" portrayed the lives and deaths of bassist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungeon.

The Sex Pistols, considered the founders of the punk movement, released just one album during the less than two years they were together, 1977's "Never Mind the Bollocks." The band attempted to tour the U.S. early the following year, but 14 days into the trip, they imploded -- Rotten quit the band after their show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom. He formed Public Image Limited later that year.

Rotten was the band's creative and political force, arrogantly rebelling against the 1960's hippiedom by promoting or at least singing about themes like anarchy, violence, apathy and fascism. He sparked a tattooed, independent 'hard core' working class revolution.

• John Lydon
• The Sex Pistols

January, while The Stooges remain outside, waiting.

Meanwhile, another punk icon, onetime Sex Pistols singer John Lydon, was on an L.A. soundstage last Tuesday taping an installment of the TV show "Judge Judy," a faux legal proceeding, along the lines of "The People's Court," which offers to settle minor disputes among people seeking to avoid the expense of a real world trial. Lydon's dispute was with a former drummer, Robert Williams, who claimed that Lydon had hit him, and was seeking $5000 in lost wages. Lydon's version of the story had Williams quitting his band four days before the start of a tour. Judge Judy took it all in.

JOHN LYDON: There's no point in me wasting money on separate individual hotel rooms, when I'm perfectly able to share. And I'm apparently the pop star.

JUDGE JUDY: Don't play something for me that doesn't say what you purport that it doesn't say. It doesn't say anything about his acknowledging that he assaulted you. Stop! Say nothing else! Mr. Lydon, you have almost been very patient, sir. (The court laughs).

LYDON: Well, as you can understand, Mr. Williams is a very difficult person to work with, and I think this is classic him.

Robert Williams, former Captain Beefheart drummer. That show won't air until next month, but as some newspapers have already noted, Lydon walked away the winner.

• John Lydon
• The Sex Pistols