John Lydon thinks "anarchy is a terrible idea"

John Lydon, the former frontman of The Sex Pistols, has reappeared once again to cause further harm to his punk credentials. This time, instead of sending salutes and admiring the Queen, the vocalist has contradicted the band's debut 1976 single Anarchy In The U.K, revealing that now, actually, he doesn't think anarchy to be such a good idea.

The iconoclastic former Sex Pistols frontman, once known as Johnny Rotten, offered his thoughts in a new article he wrote for The Times, where he stated that in the same way he's not entirely anti-royalist (as the band's infamously controversial monarchy-slating anthem God Save The Queen would have you believe), he's not really an anarchist, either.

Explaining his new contradictory stance to the protest song, which contained the lyrics 'I wanna be anarchy', Lydon says: “Anarchy is a terrible idea. Let’s get that clear. I’m not an anarchist.

"And I’m amazed that there are websites out there – .org anarchist sites – funded fully by the corporate hand and yet ranting on about being outside the shitstorm. It’s preposterous. And they’re doing it in designer Dr Martens, clever little rucksacks and nicely manufactured balaclavas.”

Last month, when clarifying his views on the monarchy during a chat with Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Lydon said: "I've got to tell the world this. Everyone presumes that I'm against the royal family as human beings, I'm not.".

Raising his hand to his brow to offer a salute, he continues, "I'm actually really, really proud of the Queen for surviving and doing so well.

"I applaud her for that and that's a fantastic achievement. I'm not a curmudgeon about that."

Defending his views in the song, Lydon adds: "I just think that if I'm paying my tax money to support this system I should have a say so in how it's spent."

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Liz manages Louder's social media channels and works on keeping the sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.