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Musicians

The Resume

    (1978-1993)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Original Line-Up:
    John Lydon (January 31, 1956- ), vocals
    Keith Levene (July 18, 1957-), guitar
    Jah Wobble (Birth name is John Wardle; 1956- ), bass guitar
    Jim Walker, drums
    Recorded the albums ‘First Issue’ (1978), ‘Metal Box’ (1979), ‘Flowers of Romance’ (1981), ‘Live in Tokyo’ (1983), ‘This Is What You Want… This Is What You Get’ (1984), ‘Album’ (1986), ‘Happy’ (1987), ‘9’ (1989) and ‘That What Is Not’ (1992)
    Known by the acronym PiL

Why they might be annoying:

    They spent much of the recording budget for their first album on drugs.
    They had to change studios in the middle of recording their first album when Wobble beat up an assistant engineer.
    Karl Burns of the Fall briefly drummed with PiL but left after Wobble set him on fire (September, 1979).
    During an appearance on ‘American Bandstand,’ Lydon harassed the cameramen, urged the audience to storm the stage and made no effort to conceal his lip-synching (1980).
    During a concert at the Ritz in New York, they played behind a screen and taunted the audience, inciting bottle throwing and a near riot (May 15, 1981).
    After the departures of Wobble and Levene, Lydon hired members of a New Jersey wedding band to replace them for a tour (1983).
    They may have stolen the idea for their generic ‘Album’ from an identically titled record by the band Flipper.

Why they might not be annoying:

    They added an eclectic blend of influences to the basic punk sound.
    For good or bad, they tried to make each of their early concerts an event.
    Dick Clark called their performance one of the 10 best American Bandstands.
    Levene’s sharp, metallic guitar sound influenced the Edge.
    They toured with New Order and the Sugarcubes as the ‘Monsters of Alternative Rock’ (1989) two years before the similarly-themed Lollapalooza festival.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 18 Votes: 61.11% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 20 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 39 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 29 Votes: 48.28% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 46 Votes: 63.04% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 70 Votes: 70.0% Annoying