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Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs
 
 
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Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs [Paperback]

John Lydon (Author), Keith Zimmerman (Author), Kent Zimmerman (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)

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"Much has been written about the Sex Pistols. Much of it has either been sensationalism or journalistic psychobabble. The rest has been mere spite. This book is as close to the truth as one can get ... This means contradictions and insults have not been edited, and neither have the compliments, if any. I have no time for lies or fantasy, and neither should you. Enjoy or die."

So writes author John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, in his introduction to the book Rotten, an oral history of punk: angry, honest, and crackling with energy. Seventies punk has been romanticized by the media and the up-and-coming punk bands of today, but the sneering, leering disaffection of that time has been lost. Now, Lydon candidly and at times, dare we say it, fondly looks back at himself, the Sex Pistols, and the "no future" attitude of the time. Rolling Stone calls Lydon a "pavement philosopher whose Dickensian roots blossom with Joycean color," and the San Francisco Chronicle calls Rotten an "invaluable [book] ... sheds welcome light on that short period of great music and spasmodic cultural change."

Bollocks you say? Read, sneer, and enjoy or die.

From Publishers Weekly

Britain's short-lived, notorious late-'70s punk band the Sex Pistols has become one of rock 'n' roll's greatest legends. But it's time to set the record straight, writes Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, frontman for the Pistols and author of the controversial songs--"Anarchy in the U.K.," "God Save the Queen"--which made his band an immediate sensation. In his engagingly nasty and unexpectedly witty autobiography, he seeks to demythologize the Sex Pistols by suggesting that punk rockers are just like the rest of us, people with families, friends and financial troubles. Vitriolic about the British class system and the music industry, Lydon is nevertheless unabashedly affectionate when discussing his own family. And his depiction of Sid Vicious, his ironic bandmate who has been alternately romanticized and maligned for his addictions to heroin and self-mutilation emerges as a touchingly helpless figure. Lydon's account of the Sex Pistols' demise is one-sided and his narrative rambles at times, but textual anarchy seems appropriate in the context. He augments his personal perspective with the disparate impressions of his fellow bandmates and associates to make his memoir a convincingly candid account of the Sex Pistols as working-class stiffs who mainly wanted to shake things up a bit and inadvertently stumbled across rock 'n' roll sainthood. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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49 Reviews
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4.2 out of 5 stars (49 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Straight from the source, Aug 21 2009
This review is from: Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs (Paperback)
If you like books that shed light on historical periods, maybe like punk music, and like things straight from the source, I would definitely recommend Rotten's autobiography. It somehow reminds me of Jack Kerouac's On the Road and Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-aid Acid Test, but more genuine. Also, I can detect Rotten's voice in this book -- I don't think he merely sat down with a professional writer for 2 hours and revealed a few juicy details and left his story mostly in the hands of another. Rotten has a one in a million personality and his book suggests with freshness that it's okay to be a flawed person, as long as you aren't a faker.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, a must if you want the facts and perspective, July 6 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs (Paperback)
I'm only 15, this being my first book and the fact that I actually read it completely amuses me. I've liked Sex Pistols for about 3 years now and definately like them more now after reading this book.

Johnny is brutally honest in this book, and the fact that the former band members contributed to this book didn't hold back his criticism of them, wich surprised me, and it works the other way around too. It gives you the facts and perspective from the guy who was there taking heat from the press and so on. The fact alone that they did this in the 1970's earns them some serious respect, it was new, unique. One of a kind, in my opinion.

This book was released 10 years ago though, so I'm looking forward to Johnny's next book, in an interview('02) he said he'd write "several" and mentioned one about his band, Public Image Limited and another one about political process.
Keep your eyes peeled.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A repulsive charisma, April 15 2004
By 
Rocco Dormarunno (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs (Paperback)
There's a lot of denial and acceptance, boasting and modesty going on here, but these are the contradictions we should expect from John Lydon. But, frankly, this is a very enjoyable book, no matter how much of this narrative is tongue-in-cheek, and no matter how much he tries to repulse us. Personally, I enjoyed the earlier chapters much more than the later ones. The story of his early childhood rings more of the truth. He may be embellishing the hardship he endured, trying to make himself sound more like a Dickensian poorboy, but I don't think the embellishment is necessarily exaggeration. Growing up Irish where he grew up could not have been easy. Who would brag about such suffering?

The later chapters have a more defensive ring to them. Maybe he has a right to such a stance, if he is speaking is truth. But you never know with Mr. Lydon. And by this time, the whole story of the disintegration of the Pistols, and of Mr. Vicious, have entered into rock 'n' roll mythology/legend/hype. Nonetheless, this book reads so much differently than most rock autobiographies, biographies, and histories. First of all, there is no presence of a ghostwriter behind the scenes. This is John, no doubt, and his caustic wit. Also, there is no holier-than-thou or rockier-than-thou or druggier-than-thou tone. Lastly, he allows some other people to speak, although the quotes seem highly selective at times. In any event, he is not hogging the microphone; he's screaming at it, as usual, as he should. I would expect nothing less than that.

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