wearing that night was probably some-
thing I got on an airplane, on the duty free.
I did have a Movado, but I don’t know
where it went – it’s something my missus
bought me years ago. And I really like
their thin designs, and the fact that they
came out with scratch-proof glass a long
time before cellphones did.
John
IE: Any other analog devices you prefer?
JL: Pens. Paper. I’m not one to have
learned typing. I’ve tried, it’s hopeless. As
hopeless as trying to remember where to
put your fingers on a piano. So I prefer the
accuracy of a pen on paper. But cursive
writing is a vanishing art these days. They
don’t even teach what an actual paragraph
ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER: When you
toured last time, it was interesting to note
that you wore a wristwatch onstage. How
many rock stars wear those?
JOHN LYDON: Well, One, I am not a rock
star, and I’ve never viewed myself as such.
04•2017
is for, or anything like that, like how to set
up the premise for your conversational
piece. It’s sorely missing. Not that it’s
totally essential, but it does fucking help if
you want any continuity.
And Two, I do like to know the time occa-
sionally. And rather than taking a watch
off when I go onstage, I just leave it on
until it rots off. I just love watches. I don’t
want to call it ‘old school’ – I call it ‘sensi-
ble school.’ It’s an immediate recovery
from lost time. I just need to look at my
wrist and there it is – I know what time it
is. But I’m practical, and I have been all my
life. I’m not one to get bogged down in
modern technology that’s proven itself to
be inefficient. And it’s also my eyesight, so
I require watches that have very clear dials
and very big numbers. So that watch I w