Johnny Rotten, a punk rock star, has revealed he wants to date Taylor Swift despite the Swift fans’ harsh criticism of the “incredibly dull” singer.
Sex Pistols legend Johnny Rotten – famed for albums like Never Mind the B******* – wants to duet with squeaky clean billionaire singer Taylor Swift.
His surprising revelation comes just months after he triggered a social media backlash from Swifties after calling Taylor “incredibly dull”. According to Rotten, the lead singer of Public Image Ltd. (PiL), who is now known as John Lydon, she is “one of those people that ends up in Vegas.”
In a ‘swift’ reverse ferret, 69-year-old Lydon now tells The Mirror : “Those that do that (kind of music) like Taylor, they do it very well. There was a period in music about 10 years ago when they were really out to kind of get her. I just thought all the boyfriends she dissed (on her songs), she deserves a go at me. Imagine that duet?
READ MORE: Oasis fans warned over ticket scammers and resales ahead of huge reunion tour
I once performed a Kate Bush duet; I adore Heathcliff. She wanted to do a song with me, and I wrote a song called Bird in Hand. Canoe trips to the Amazon, saving parrots, and releasing them in Florida were the goals. She said, “I can’t sing that,” and she was right. F*ck off. ‘ Although it wasn’t exactly what she meant, it did.
John, who as well as insulting Taylor Swift in February had a dig at Lady Gaga, saying about her: “I don’t feel any soul,” rose to fame as one of the main agitators in the Punk Rock movement of the 1970s and 1980s.
Famously banned from the BBC when The Sex Pistols dissed the Queen with their single God Save The Queen, with lyrics like “she ain’t no human being,” he has made more surprising revelations about his musical mentors.
He says:” The band who influenced me the most were Slade. The New York Dolls and Patti Smith? No, don’t bother with your beard and moustache. But Slade and The Ballroom Blitz, Elton John with Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting. Is that bad, Watford fans, is that not?
The Rolling Stones are also my favorites. Yes, I have slagged off the Stones in the past. Not, why? We are all envious of Mick Jagger’s sputtering rubber lips, don’t we? But songs like Street Fighting Man and Sympathy for the Devil – you can’t knock them. More than enough cattle can be produced if someone releases one excellent song. How do I approach music in that manner. I copy none of it. I’m not required to.
Fans will be able to get more of John, his music and, most likely, his controversial views, when Public Image Ltd kick off their 40 date tour – titled This Is Not The Last Tour – in Bristol on May 22. Before traveling to Europe, they will be playing shows all over the country.
Following the tragic passing of his wife, German publishing heiress Nora Forster, who passed away in April 2023 after a five-year battle with Alzheimer’s, John is making a comeback.
Up until her death, John – who was married to Nora for 44 years – acted as her carer at the couple’s home in Malibu, California. Before The Sex Pistols made a big-money move, they first met at Vivienne Westwood’s punk label Sex in 1975.
And John says his own battle with meningitis, aged seven, when he spent several months in a coma and did not recognise his parents once he regained consciousness, helped him to care for her.
When she got Alzheimer’s, John says, “I remember her because I had meningitis and she had meningitis.” You were unable to fully connect everything. At the time, the hospital told my mum and dad not to mollycoddle me, and things would come back. I found myself in my own way, despite the fact that it initially seemed cruel. They could have given me the best gift, in my opinion.
” That memory loss, when Nora was going through that with Alzheimer’s, I could look back on that and think ‘ Wow, that served a purpose. ‘ Don’t squander life experiences because they might come back and be useful. Nora got it, and that helped no end when they had to deal with her, like not asking her any questions. It would snap in her head and the memory would come back in her head on its own.
I had meningitis and that sense of accomplishment. Your memories did indeed return with meningitis, but those of poor Nora would fade and deteriorate as they did.
John’s recovery from his employment with PiL has helped him deal with Nora’s passing, which was followed by John “Rambo” Stevens, his manager and best friend, who passed away suddenly in December of this year, at the age of just 66.
The double tragedy rocked his world, but John says having a sense of humour helps him when it comes to remembering his late wife.
He says: “The favourite thing I bought for Nora? I ended up getting her one of those Japanese toilets that flushed nice hot water like a bidet, which was incredibly challenging.
She exuberantly laughed every time, which thrilled her to no end. I was very pleased with that purchase, but then Nora died and I have spent the last year sitting on this toilet and the hot water flush has give me haemorrhoids! The entire thing won’t stop.
“I just thought I would share that with you. She also used to wear a Donald Trump hat. She never lost her marbles. That was when she was starting to get ill, and I wrote Trump on a Union Jack hat for her.”
John paid tribute to Nora by writing a song in her honor called Hawaii after her passing.
The song was submitted as one of Ireland’s 2024 Eurovision Song Contest contenders, but it was unsuccessful.
John remembers: “Yes, we did the song, and that was Rambo, my manager’s idea. I had no intention of doing it.
I broke down that night because it was difficult to write the song, but I had to travel to Dublin to perform it live on The Late Late Show.
“I just cried my way through it as I am human. You know, I’m not sure if I’ll ever play that song again. Too painful is it. You put a full stop on it, and you move forward”.
Instead, he attempts to make Nora famous in a painting while admitting that it is still in progress, saying, “I have painted a picture of us both.” Although I don’t believe I will ever finish it, I am not in a rush. I may be Johnny Rotten to some people, but I am really John Lydon, a much more loving guy”.
Following his former Pistols bandmates’ recent decision to reform without him, John’s new PIL tour comes to mind.
The Pistols have hired Gallows and the Rattesnakes vocalist Frank Carter to replace John, despite John contributing to the band’s anarchist anthems, God Save the Queen and Pretty Vacant.
And The Pistols have played a string of dates across the UK, as well as the Royal Albert Hall in London, in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Back in 2021, John accused the surviving Pistols of collaborating on Danny Boyle’s Netflix biopic drama series Pistol without him.
John lost his fight to stop the Pistols’ music from being used in the 2022 TV drama, but the dispute reached the High Court.
In true Rotten style, John has more recently branded the Pistols reunion as “karaoke”.
When he discusses his life since he no longer calls himself Johnny Rotten, he says, “I have ended up with citizenship in Ireland, England, and America.
It’s fantastic, I think. What it means is that I don’t get searched when I come back to Blighty, which used to happen a lot.
They used to say, “Oh, it’s Johnny Rotten, yeah, let’s do a full search for him.” That used to occur frequently, didn’t it?
” How much Brussels sprouts and baked beans can you eat before a flight? They would find it less enjoyable, in addition.
“But I enjoy being an American. I love America, apart from the students who don’t study. My British passport just arrived, I believe. It was out of date, shame on me!
” I have to say getting it was hilarious. Johnny Rotten needed a sponsor to demonstrate that he was English, and I needed a sponsor too! I’m grateful for the support of my Indian accountant.
“But should I belong anywhere? Anyone interested in me anyway?
The audience has been left with me because the two people I loved left me. I call it family values. “
* www.johnlydon.com has tickets for his UK tour. official website
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads
READ MORE: Get two reclining sun loungers with sun shades for under £45 ahead of Easter weekend
