Enter the mind of John Lydon, infamous frontman of the Sex Pistols and more recently the creative mastermind behind Public Image Ltd, one of the most forward-thinking and challenging post-punk groups of the late ’70s and early ’80s. 

Following the Sex Pistols’ split in 1978, Lydon departed the band both physically and ideologically. That same year he created Public Image Ltd, abandoning the rigid, “three angry chords” construction synonymous with punk to experiment with new sounds. 

Lydon and The Clash founding member Keith Levene, sick of their successful and consequently mundane projects, proclaimed Public Image Ltd was not a band, but a communications company. The group went on to question and then discard of any and all rock ‘n’ roll customs.

Lydon and Public Image Ltd. were experimental in that their sound was new, strange and bass-heavy. The band incorporates sounds from many genres, mostly notably dub, prog rock and reggae. Explore these wonderfully weird sounds on Summer 2017’s last MMT.