Malcolm and John

John Lydon and McClarren never really gave of themselves in interview. Perhaps John does now in moments off guard but Malcolm was always on display. His manifesto always in front of his personallity. The hatred John eald for Malcolm all these years was the hatred of the spurned lover, stranger even than that. Most dumped lovers, even of great depth, drop away after 2 to 5 years yet John maintained the state for decades. The love he felt for Malcolm must have been deep. The fact Malcolm tricked Sid in to a spiral of self destruction as one of his unwitting sculptures, Johns friend, even as John reaffirmed his autonomy through Public Image Ltd, must have hurt. Having been used as one of Malcolms works himself, watching his best friend succumb to an even harsher fate than his own disillusionment justifies his hatred. Yet John must still have loved Malcolm, how else could he perpetuate his obsessive revulsin. Though John is married to an older woman he surrounds himself with a gang of youthful parodies of himself. His persona was always a mixture of camp and boot boy with the camp invariably trumping his macho outbursts. When Malcolm became ill, he hid the fact from all but his inner circle, his public image required conviction and strength, pity would have been anathema to all he stood for. John, now a beery middle aged pot bellied goon doesnt have those words of wisdom. The lyrics he laid down for the Pistols may have been his but they were the articulation of a different minds ideas. So far ahead of his years. And now he cant do it. What he lost was his mentor, his teacher, Malcolm opened him up and left him exposed and wounded. a discarded painting. But John is a good man, his struggle has been to fit the persona he was baptised by McClarren with his own. I was glad to hear he said kind words on hearing of Malcolms death. I hope they are both free now, John free to be Lydon not Rotten, McClarrens magnificent sculpture.