'It's obviously for publicity - it just wreaks of scam...' Sex Pistols legend John Lydon questions Kneecap's motives
Public Image Limited singer John Lydon - who was previously the frontman of The Sex Pistols - has questioned Kneecap's motives for their controversial on stage statements.
John Lydon believes Kneecap's controversial antics are a "scam".
The Sex Pistols legend was interviewed on UK TV show 'Good Morning Britain' on Tuesday (07.05.25) and was asked by host Susanna Reid for his opinion on the Irish hip hop group who have been compared to the 'Anarchy in the UK' punk rockers following a string of controversies.
Recently, footage surfaced from a 2023 gig in London where a member of the group allegedly said: "The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP."
John - who was known as Johnny Rotten in The Sex Pistols - condemned the statement, telling Susanna and her co-host Ed Balls that "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".
The 69-year-old singer has now spoken to Contact Music and insisted the antics of Kneecap - comprised of Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara and DJ Próvaí - are being done for nothing more than publicity.
He said: "If you're going to be shouting kill people, just stop it. You're a wrong un there.
"There's many ways of making money but proclaiming the death of other human beings shouldn't be one of them.
"It's obviously for publicity - it just wreaks of scam."
Lydon also told Contact Music that he has never listened to Kneecap's music and is unimpressed by their attempts to be controversial.
He said: "I don't care about them."
Kneecap released a statement addressing the controversies / Credit: Getty Images
Kneecap's comments are now under investigation by UK counter-terrorism officers.
The Metropolitan Police revealed they were assessing both the MP video and another from November 2024 when the band said, "Up Hamas, up Hezbollah," at another London concert.
In response to the backlash, Kneecap released a statement insisting they would never encourage violence against MPs or civilians and also promised new music.
The band said: "Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history.
“We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever.
"An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.”
Public Image Limited are heading out on tour this summer / Credit: Martin Thompson
Meanwhile, Lydon is heading out on a major tour of the UK and Ireland this summer with his band Public Image Limited.
The 29-date run of shows, billed as ‘This Is Not The Last Tour’, will start in Bristol on 22 May and end in Belfast on 16 August, and includes dates along the way in Dublin (12 June) and Cardiff (26 July).
The tour also include festival appearances at 'Stone Valley South' in Ware (23 May), 'Forever Now Festival' in Milton Keynes (22 June), 'Stone Valley Midlands' in Newark (27 June), 'Stone Valley North' in Durham (8 August), 'Rebellion Festival' in Blackpool (9 August) and 'Putting the Fast' in Belfast (16 August).
'Rise' singer John considered quitting touring in the wake of the death of his beloved wife Nora in April 2023 at the age of 80, five years after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and the passing of his lifelong friend and manager John 'Rambo' Stevens in December 2023 following the last PiL tour.
But Lydon was inspired to perform live again by the memory of his two loved ones who would not have not "tolerated that attitude from me".
He said: "Two years ago when my wife died and my best mate eight months later I was really despondent. I was like, 'I'll just knock it on the head.' Neither of those two folk would've tolerated that attitude from me. I'm too much of a get and up and go [person], do things, and I've got to be busy.
"I enjoy it. I enjoy the terror of live performance. It's nerve wracking before you go on. It winds me up and turns my stomach inside out, but I seem to like that.
"My youth was ruined by The Sex Pistols, so I'm used to hard work. And I really like it, so if there's people out there who are up for the cup, I'm like Arsenal I will deliver.
Tickets are on sale now, available from all venues and Ticketmaster
You can follow Public Image Limited via their official site www.pilofficial.com and on Facebook / Instagram / X
Full list of PiL’s 2025 tour dates:
22nd May Bristol O2 Academy
23rd May Ware Stone Valley Festival South
24th May Bournemouth O2 Academy
26th May Torquay The Foundry
27th May Brighton Chalk
29th May Barnsley Birdwell
30th May Newcastle Boiler Shop
31st May Norwich Epic Studios
12th June Dublin 3Olympia
13th June Limerick Dolan’s Warehouse
22nd June Milton Keynes Forever Now Festival
24th June Margate Dreamland
26th June Hastings White Rock
27th June Newark Stone Valley Festival Midlands
28th June Oxford O2 Academy
1st July Warrington Parr Hall
3rd July Leicester O2 Academy
4th July Lincoln Engine Shed
5th July Portsmouth Guildhall
26th July Cardiff Depot
30th July Sheffield Leadmill
31st July Northampton Roadmenders
1st August Holmfirth Picturedrome
2nd August Coventry Empire
7th August Cheltenham Town Hall
8th August Durham Stone Valley Festival North
9th August Blackpool Rebellion Festival
15th August Cork City Hall
16th August Belfast Putting the Fast in Belfast, Custom House Square
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