John Lydon calls on The Rolling Stones to retire: “I’m not short of a song idea or two, so there’s a difference”
John Lydon has called for The Rolling Stones to retire, suggesting they’ve run out of ideas.
The former Sex Pistols frontman made the statement during his recent appearance on Good Morning Britain, where he discussed the deaths of his wife Nora in April 2023, followed by his manager less than a year later.
At the time, the loss of his wife and manager – who had also been his best friend for decades – led Lydon to claim he would never tour again. He’s since walked back talks of retirement, jokingly telling hosts Ed Balls and Susanna Reid: “That’s dementia for you, I forgot that bit.”
Lydon continued: “As I indicated before, if I just sat back and retired, that’s not me. I’m not that kind of person. By all means, The Rolling Stones should retire, I’m not short of a song idea or two, so there’s a difference.” He went on to make a comical expression, adding: “I’ve offended music lovers.”
He brought 'Anarchy to the UK' nearly 50 years ago, but after sadly losing his wife Nora in April 2023, and his best friend and manager just 8 months later, former Sex Pistol John Lydon thought he'd never tour again.
But two years on, the pioneering godfather of punk is back… pic.twitter.com/Nr7oN6WBSZ
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 7, 2025
Host Susanna Reid chimed in, hinting at the musician’s knack for snarky comments: “I’m not sure you worry about causing offence.” Lydon responded with another dig at The Rolling Stones: “Certainly not. I mean, comparing music lovers with The Rolling Stones is absurd.”
Elsewhere during his appearance, Lydon hit out at Irish rap trio Kneecap, who have recently courted controversy for their vocal support of Palestine in the Israel-Gaza war, and footage from previous live shows resurfacing, appearing to both support Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as call on fans to “kill their local MP”.
Footage from the shows has become the subject of attention from counter-terror police in the UK, while the divisive set at Coachella led to calls from Sharon Osbourne to have their working visa revoked.
On the matter, Lydon said on GMB: “If you’re advocating the death of another human being, then you have no cause whatsoever. You are my enemy from here on in for the rest of your mediocre existence. You shouldn’t be talking like that, you shouldn’t be making enemies of your fellow human beings. Other than that, maybe they need a bloody good kneecapping!”
In Lydon-related news, the Public Image Ltd. frontman had a chat with NME in February as part of the Does Rock N Roll Kill Braincells?! series, where he branded the Sex Pistols’ reunion tour with Frank Carter as “karaoke”.
“The poor sausage!” he said, referring to Carter. “Does he know what he’s walked into? Good on him, what a great fucking opportunity, but there’s something darker going on behind it. It’s almost malicious in its intent. And it’s karaoke – that’s all it will ever be. Bloody hell, The Three Stooges in that band have had how many years to write some new songs? That’s what I’d like to hear.”
He also revealed that Daft Punk once asked him to work with them in the studio, but he turned down the offer as he “didn’t feel the vibe”. As for what Lydon has in the pipeline, he spoke to NME about the upcoming PiL ‘This Is Not The Last Tour’ tour and the “raucous” new music the band have been working on.
The post John Lydon calls on The Rolling Stones to retire: “I’m not short of a song idea or two, so there’s a difference” appeared first on NME.
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