It is next to impossible, especially given the global stardom of one the last remaining Rock'N'Roll and Punk icons of this century like John Lydon, to refuse an invite issued to our website to review the show that Lydon is currently taking around the United Kingdom called I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right, which takes inspiration from the opening line taken from one of the most recognisable songs of Lydon's Public Image Limited, titled Rise.
I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right is also the title of Lydon's brand new book and, although said book was never mentioned, throughout the 90 minutes evening at The Harlington, a venue located in Fleet, Hampshire, this tour constitutes for the frontman of the legendary Sex Pistols and the bandleader of P.I.L. (Public Image Limited) a vehicle to try and "find himself again", as Lydon's self-proclaimed, as soon as he entered the stage welcomed by a very enthusiastic, sold-out crowd.
The last 12 months of John Lydon's life have been particularly hard for the singer/songwriter, between the loss of his beloved wife Nora Forster, following a long battle with Alzheimer and, not long after, of his best friend John, who Lydon used to nickname, affectionally, "Rambo", due to his long army service. It felt therefore necessary, for the now US-based artist, to take his new book around Lydon's country of origin, perhaps, unconsciously, to use this tour both as a therapy for himself but not forgetting, at the same time, to give to the crowd that side of Lydon as the loquacious, outrageous, funny and raged at the same time artist that he is universally known for.
The show is divided into two parts, the first one in which the artist delves deeply into his childhood and his time with his wife Nora, through a series of photos projected on a screen behind the artist, where, between little banters and painful truths, some truly dramatic and touching moments about the Lydon's infancy emerge. From time to time, in the first section of the show and between those tales of personal sufferance, to dilute the mood with the crowd, Lydon would throw in his so much loved C*** swearword, although always making very clear that some of the songs he had written in his long-standing career, between his time with the Pistols and P.I.L., were the result of direct experiences and traumas Lydon lived on his own skin, with the intent of not trying to gain sympathy from the crowd, but rather to make the audience understand the place Lydon came from and grew and where it got him.
Naturally, as a consummate artist Lydon knows, while it is important for himself to share the pain he went through for some parts of his life through this tour, it is also necessary, within the boundaries of the show business, to offer a piece of the John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten rebellious musician of the last-plus decades to the loving audience that came here tonight to see Lydon's show.
The British Punk Pioneer asked the many fans present at the Harlington to write down, in-between the end of the first half of the show and the beginning of the second, a series of questions to which the artist would answer in his own usual honest, colourful and totally spontaneous style. Lydon's, as expected, is unstoppable, while responding to the live Q&A and his answers often provoked great hilarity, between the crowd. The P.I.L. leader doesn't pull punches at all, in his answers, related to many different aspects of his life and career, like his current relations of the Pistols or something completely unrelated to it, like his love for Reggae music or his respect for Abba, for example, among other topics.
The fitting show's finale (perhaps the only pre-planned part of the show?), where Lydon starts singing over Anarchy In The UK under a member of the audience's request, with a consequent roaring crowd participation, it's the perfect end for a show where Lydon's human and artistic sides are both displayed in such an authentic, heart-warming way, albeit the occasional colourful language used by the singer/songwriter himself.
While many, to these days, consider Lydon still a little like an enigma, there is no doubts that in a world where everything gets diluted and everyone's life is constantly under control, Lydon is one of nowadays' very rare loose cannons of uncompromising honesty and unconditional emotional beauty. Because he says just like he sees it, something that we, as a society, have long forgotten how to be. A triumphant show.
