First of all the venue – the Grand Pavilion Porthcawl is charming. Built in 1932, it’s housed in an octagonal dome and it’s really close to the seafront. The event was well organised and the staff were friendly and helpful.
Originally the venue was intended for hosting tea parties, balls and civic functions and on a mild night in November it welcomed on stage John Lydon.
John Lydon has performed in over 50 venues with his ‘I Could be Wrong I Could Be Right’ tour and this was one of his last dates.
It was an odd gig to be fair, a random 90 minutes of opinions and memories. He paid respect to Sid Vicious by asking us to sing Fernando by ABBA with him. Mr Lydon told us that Sid Vicious loved ABBA, they were his favourite band. He talked a little bit about the proposed use of Sex Pistols recordings in a six-part television series. Despite asking for details of the script or screenplay, he still does not know any. There were a few expletives on offer here.
On Alzheimer’s he advised us to never ask those suffering from the disease questions, as this can cause confusion. He talked at length on his love for his wife Nora. On the likes of Steptoe and Son and Tommy Cooper, he said that this was British humour at his best, he could be right. I think he said that Donald Trump was an ordinary guy, he could be wrong. His parents taught him how to read and write by the age of 5. He spoke of how important that was, he is definitely right.
There was a question and answer session at the end, on topics such as the indecency trial in 1977 surrounding the use of the word ‘bollocks.’ Apparently the word was originally derived from an Anglo Saxon term for a small ball, and was also used as a 19th Century nickname for clergymen. They won the case.
At the end we all stood up and danced and sang with him to RISE by Public Image Limited, it’s a great song. John Lydon, ex front man to one of the most rebellious bands ever, could be wrong, he could be right – just like the rest of us.
Oh and I was the 7725 th person to buy his book.