Johnny Rotten, Sex Pistols, PIL, John Lydon, Keith Levene, Original Photographs
Specifications
| All Returns Accepted | ReturnsNotAccepted |
| Industry | Music |
| Artist/Band | Sex Pistols |
| Size | 11x14 |
| Original/Reproduction | Original |
| Genre | Rock & Pop |
| Country/Region Of Manufacture | United States |
Years ago, I had a friend who was an ace photographer. He took lots of nature photos, fashion photography, and Rock n Roll bands. Especially Rock n Roll bands. He was really good at it, and could have easily become a professional photographer and done only that, but he had a day job in a field he was already well established in that paid quite a bit more than he was making with his camera, so he never took it to the next level, and always remained a semi-professional. He did monetize some of his photos commercially, but not many. Most of his sold photos revolved around the Reggae band, Culture, who he became friends with and photographed a lot, both on and off stage. In the mid 1970’s, The Sex Pistols were the band that drew the venom of the establishment in Britain, and to a lesser extent, in America. They were a lightning rod for the decline of Western civilization. They were dropped from label after label and ripped in the press on an almost daily basis. Politicians denounced them from the floor of Parliament. Closer to home, The Pistols were the one band guaranteed to bring my upstairs neighbor downstairs to complain about the volume on my stereo. LOL. Shortly after The Pistols imploded, in 1978, lead singer Johnny Rotten reverted to his given name, John Lydon, and founded what some have called the first post-Punk, or even post-Rock band, Public Image Ltd, also known as PiL. He quicly recruited his friends, Jah Wobble and former Clash guitarist Keith Levene to form PiL. After adding drummer Jim Walker, the band started recording and touring. Their first single, “Public Image”, written during the Sex Pistols time, did indeed sound a lot like The Pistols, but after that, they did a total turnaround and started to produce the music that had them labeled post-Punk and post-Rock. Very out there stuff that some have said was reminiscent of Captain Beefheart’s best work! These photos of Johnny Rotten aka Lydon onstage were never sold commercially, and the negatives have been lost, making these two photographs completely unique (and yes, he used film. He was active as a photographer in the 1980s, so digital cameras had not yet taken over the high end camera market.) Back then, if you wanted a high quality image, the medium was film (My, how things have changed! LOL). The images show Johnny on stage with PiL, in the early stages of their existence. Guitarist Keith Levene, now deceased, stands back of Johnny in one of the photos, dressed in his plaid suit and cradling a Fender Telecaster. The other photo depicts Johnny at the microphone, solo. The pictures are printed on photography paper, something like light card stock. The paper measures 11x14, but the images are 8x11.5 and 8x11.75. The solo Johnny photo is printed onto 11x14 photography paper, with a border, while the pic of Johnny and Keith is mounted on 11x14 black paper. They’re both in excellent condition and the photographer has passed on, leaving no dependents. I inherited his portfolio, of which I am now the sole owner of, including all rights related to the photos, as you will be if you purchase these, or any of the photographs that I will be listing for sale in the next few weeks. (Subjects of the other photos include Stevie Ray Vaughn, Carlos Santana, Mick Jones of The Clash, Eric Clapton, Henry Rollins, Johnny Winter, Ronnie Wood, Stevie Winwood, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Cliff, the previously mentioned Reggae band, Culture, and more. So, if any of these subjects interest you, keep an eye on my store, and they will slowly become available. Most are already listed.) You would be free to use or monetize the photos in any way you see fit, if you buy any. The photographs was taken in the New York area in the early1980s.