Primal Scream defend John Lydon amid MAGA t-shirt controversy

30 September 2020, 13:17 | Updated: 30 September 2020, 13:24

Bobby Gillespie and co have praised the Sex Pistols and PiL frontman for being the reason many people started bands.

Primal Scream have defended John Lydon after he wore a Make America Great Again t-shirt.

The Sex Pistols and PiL frontman - who was known by his stage name Johnny Rotten - caused a stir this week when he was photographed wearing the famous Donald Trump slogan, leading to some disappointment from his fans.

However, Primal Scream have shared their thoughts about the Anarchy In The UK rocker trending on Twitter and argued that many bands today wouldn't have existed without him.

Taking to Instagram, they wrote: "A lot of people putting down John Lydon @pilofficial on Twitter. ( how aptly named) without John / Pistols / PIL none of us would have formed bands and become the artists and musicians we are. We are eternally thankful for his inspiration to us as teenagers and beyond. He and his bands changed music TWICE. He was THE ACE FACE - most stylish man on the planet 1976-81. John made a difference to our lives. Fuck the detractors and no-marks who were'nt there and have never felt the power of punk. "Two sides to every story..."

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A lot of people putting down John Lydon @pilofficial on Twitter. ( how aptly named) without John / Pistols / PIL none of us would have formed bands and become the artists and musicians we are. We are eternally thankful for his inspiration to us as teenagers and beyond. He and his bands changed music TWICE. He was THE ACE FACE - most stylish man on the planet 1976-81. John made a difference to our lives. Fuck the detractors and no-marks who were'nt there and have never felt the power of punk. "Two sides to every story..." #sartorialcorrectness #theboylookedatjohnny #deathdisco #godsavethequeensheaintnohumanbeing #nofuture #aworkingclassheroissomethingtobe

A post shared by Primal Scream (@primalscreamofficial) on Sep 29, 2020 at 9:49am PDT

Many music fans and political enthusiasts alike took to Twitter to share their opinion on the photos, with one making an explicit pun from his appearance in the Country Life butter adverts.

Another joked: "John Lydon is the most disappointing Sex Pistol and one of them killed somebody".

Sid Vicious was arrested and charged with the murder of his troubled lover Nancy Spungen, who was dound dead in the bathroom from a stab wound. He always denied the crime, up until he died of a heroin overdose in 1979.

However, one commenter argued: "Trump is punk rock. I’ve been saying it since 2015. Apparently John Lydon, singer of The Sex Pistols agrees."

Another mused: "I can only conclude that people bitterly complaining about how much their former hero John Lydon has angered and upset them have completely missed the point of their former hero John Lydon."

READ MORE: Did Nirvana copy Sex Pistols' Nevermind The Bollocks with their Nevermind album?

It's not the first time John Lydon has aligned himself with more right-leaning polictics.

As reported at the rime by The Independent, speaking on Good Morning Britain in 2017 he described Nigel Farage as “fantastic”.

“Where do I stand on Brexit?” he added during the appearance. “Well, here it goes, the working class have spoke and I’m one of them and I’m with them."

When asked about Trump, he said: "What I dislike is the left-wing media in America are trying to smear the bloke as a racist and that’s completely not true.

“There are many, many problems with him as a human being but he’s not that and there just might be a chance something good will come out of that situation because he terrifies politicians.

“This is a joy to behold for me. Dare I say, [he could be] a possible friend."

READ MORE: Why did the Sex Pistols break up?

Liam Gallagher and Johnny Vaughan sing the Sex Pistols.