ROTTEN: NO IRISH - NO BLACKS - NO DOGS. THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY: JOHNNY ROTTEN OF THE SEX PISTOLS.

From Booklist\nLydon, the son of an Irish crane operator, was the consummate outsider: He suffered spinal meningitis at an early age, loved his mother dearly, dyed his hair green, and preferred Oscar Wilde to Rimbaud or Baudelaire. Contemptuous of the herding instincts of the English, he developed his own style and fashions, which he says designer Vivienne Westwood stole. But Westwood owned a boutique with Malcolm McLaren, who invited Lydon to audition as lead singer in a band he managed, the Sex Pistols. Lydon had never sung before but got the job and became Johnny Rotten. What followed is punk rock legend. Cultivating controversy and bad press, the Pistols became notorious and developed a following--the lemming types Lydon so detested. The band hit with "God Save the Queen" and "Anarchy in the U.K.," made a harrowing U.S. tour, and broke up in disarray. Lydon sued McLaren and formed another band, but he couldn't use the name Johnny Rotten (McLaren owned rights to it) until the suit was settled years later. Still angry, Lydon contests McLaren's claim to have masterminded the punk scene and challenges other takes on the era in a repetitive, sloppy account that's still indispensable. Benjamin Segedin\n"I have no time for lies and fantasy, and neither should you. Enjoy or die."--John Lydon\nPunk has been romanticized and embalmed in various media. It has been portrayed as an English class revolt and a reckless diversion that became a marketing dream. But there is no disputing its starting point. Every story of punk starts with its idols, the Sex Pistols, and its sneering hero was Johnny Rotten.\nIn Rotten, Lydon looks back at himself, the Sex Pistols, and the "no future" disaffection of the time. Much more than just a music book, Rotten is an oral history of punk: angry, witty, honest, poignant, and crackling with energy.\nAmazon.com Review\n"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.