Vivienne Westwood has said that she thinks Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon, AKA Johnny Rotten, “didn’t have any more ideas” when the band “folded”.
Westwood was speaking after of the release of Wake Up Punk, a new documentary directed by Nigel Askew that heavily features the punk legend, known for her eponymous fashion label.
In an interview with NME, Westwood said: “I think John Lydon was a sensation. I think he was so convinced of himself and his ideals – and I believed in him.”
“Once the Sex Pistols folded, he didn’t have any more ideas. We had something to talk about and you don’t just get ideas, they don’t fall from Heaven,” she continued.
Wake Up Punk narrates the decline of punk through interviews with the fashion designer and her two sons, Ben Westwood and Joseph Corré.
The documentary sees Westwood and her sons discuss their own relationship with Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren (Joseph’s father), and tell stories from the punk era.
Westwood also said she has never been interested in pop music “since the Sex Pistols”.
“I don’t think anything came anywhere near it. I mean talk about people like Oasis. I heard that in a taxi once and thought: ‘Who is that? My God is that it?’ Terrible,” she added.
Wake Up Punk premiered 5 May and is now available to stream online.
