John Joseph Lydon (born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which was active from 1975 to 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s. He is also the lead singer of post-punk band Public Image Ltd (PiL), which he founded and fronted from 1978 until 1993, and again since 2009. Lydon's outspoken personality, rebellious image and fashion style led to his being asked to become the singer of the Sex Pistols by their manager, Malcolm McLaren. With the Sex Pistols, he penned singles including "Anarchy in the U.K.", "God Save the Queen" and "Holidays in the Sun", the content of which precipitated what one commentator described as the 'last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium' in Britain. The band scandalised much of the media, and Lydon was seen as a figurehead of the burgeoning punk movement. Because of their controversial lyrics and disrepute at the time, they are regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music. After the Sex Pistols disbanded in 1978, Lydon founded his own band, Public Image Ltd, which was far more experimental in nature and described in a 2005 review by NME as 'arguably the first post-rock group'
