John Lydon Quotes - Page 4

Over the years, during television interviews, whenever the host or the reviewer or whoever gets cynical and nasty with me, I will behave accordingly. I will defend myself.

Obama's dense as a doorbell; not much going on up there - it's a wooden top.

[Replying to the question of the presenter: "where did the name "Sex Pistols" come from, who thought this name up?"] Some animal. I can't remember. It doesn't matter. It's history.

I wanted to wear the most impenetrable suit of armour ever known to mankind. 'Hello, Mr. Rotten...' You can't say anything about me. You can't put me down in any way shape or form - I'm rotten to the core... you know, what's left for you? Pleasantries? I suppose the worst insult you could sling my way is 'Oh, he's really nice, him.'

You never know how things will work out. After all the bad reasons in the world, some good came out.

I find Lady Gaga hilarious. And I kind of like her. My heart's warmed to her.

It's no good being nice and young and naive. There's no good in that at all. You've got to do it all yourself, and you've gotta learn quick. And you can't look for sympathy either.

I always feel like a bit of an outsider myself, but as a working class lad, the system was always against me. The British system itself and then of course all the illnesses that were challenging to me.

Me, as a human, I never want to take away another human being's choices or lifestyles or anything.

Do not stand in the middle, go to the right or to the left.

I love pop music. It's not easy to write a good pop song.

Situationism is a ludicrous proposition. It's ill-formed and it's perfectly French. That Gallic disposition towards common sense. L'Anarchie!

I'm not blowing my own trumpet here, but I made a rap song 20 years ago with Afrika Bambaataa.

I've always strived to maintain a very healthy, friendly working situation, and lo and behold, it only took forty years, so the next sixty are looking bright. You're dealing with human beings on the cutting edge, and there's bound to be tension. You have to be make room for that, and you can't be too unreasonable, because that's everybody else's role.

It's nice to be irritated. It's a very joyous thing.

I never wore a studded leather jacket, y'know. Ne-va! If I had had the money I wouldn't have spent it on shit like that.

I'm not going to pontificate and tell you to execute your government at dawn, but it wouldn't be a bad idea.

I've never done anything deliberately; I just speak my mind, and that is what I consistently do and will always do in any way shape or form that I can.

I'm aware of my songs. I'm aware of them because they're about true emotions, true feelings, things that matter.

For me, I'll always stand up for the disenfranchised, and I'm going to make a big point of that. I'm not a protest singer as such, you know? After the endurance course of the early 70s and 60s, I don't want to become one of them twats. But you got to learn to speak the truth.

If anyone asks for your autograph they're showing you respect and give it back to them.

I don't need a Rolls-Royce, I don't need a house in the country, I don't need to live in the south of France. I'm quite happy as I am.

I've created several musical trends, really. That's not because I'm so far out and fabulous. It's because most bands have no ideas of their own. They're so desperate they'll grab at any old straw.

It's a loser's emblem (swastika), because the Nazis lost the war. It's ridiculous to suggest we are involved with fascists. All my best friends are black, gay, Irish or criminals.

As a young concert-going person, I was never enamoured with celebrities who would walk out to feature in certain songs and then walk off.