you ’ ve got to play to these people . You can ’ t let student ’ s-union lobbyists heckle

early offshoots into the world of music , and from there I discovered the possibility of studying my own emotions , which I think describes Public Image rather well . So there it is – no looking back , all an improvement . And the older I get , the more honest I get , and the more I find out about myself . And I find a great sense of relief and enjoyment in that , because I ’ m someone who had his childhood memories stolen from him by a hideous illness , and I ’ m lucky to be alive . So there ’ s someone looking out for me . It ’ s possible that

Sex Pistols , circa 1977

you into ignoring populations . I don ’ t support any fucking government anywhere , ever . But I do support the cannon fodder – the people who have no choice and are pushed to the frontlines to be shot at in every war . They ’ re my fellow citizens , and the ones I ’ m talking to .

IE : Any songs leap out at you when you were assembling this material ? JL : Well , when I first started writing for a band , I was very picky about my subject matter . And so it was very …. not inwardlooking , but more focused on institutions and churches and politics , things that were genuinely offending me and conscripting me to a sense of world order which I strongly disagreed with . Those were my

nature really does like me .

IE : Do “ Poptones ” or “ Careering ” mean something different to you now ? JL : No . I tend to remember things almost photographically . I know the exact time I wrote it , and I know for how long these songs bubble around inside my head , driving me mad sometimes until I actually commit them to paper . So I know where I ’ m going with the thing . And the actual final writing usually takes place all in one go . So I ’ m trying to combine with the jumble I call a brain , and that comes out in drawings . So words I don ’ t like to alter . Maybe live . I do like to shape-shift a performance , but never on the written page . And I ’ ve got a frightful short-term memory

– it just runs away from me sometimes . So when I ’ m onstage , I ’ ve always got a lyric book up there .

IE : Forty years . What do you make of it all , looking back ? JL : There ’ s not enough of . I don ’ t have enough hours in the day to [ do ] all the things I want to . So none of this ‘ I hope I die before I get old ’ Pete Townshend crap for me . Life for me is too short , and all there is , is life . No ‘ Hark , the herald angels sing ’ or any of that guffaw . So I do intend to fulfill my journey , until the day I die , when I can go , “ Oh , thank God – I can stop thinking now !” That will be my reward – hours of silence .

IE : We just need to get you a new wristwatch . JL : Actually , I ’ ve got about 20 . They ’ re all hanging from nails above the bed . And when I ’ m indoors , I don ’ t need a watch , because the big thing about any house that I live in – even hotel rooms where I stay – is that I always insist on a clock on the wall . How demanding of me , right ? But everywhere I [ go ], there has to be a clock . Because I like to keep track of time . It ’ s really important to me to be on time , with anybody and everybody !

Tom Lanham

12 illinoisentertainer . com april 2017