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In the late 1970s, John Lydon was willing to leave the Sex Pistols for prog rock, but he was rejected
John Lydon, then known as Johnny Rotten and frontman of the Sex Pistols, tried to join the experimental German band Can in the late 1970s. Can co-founder Irmin Schmidt later said Lydon repeatedly left messages because he wanted to sing with them, but the band had already stopped performing together.
The timing ended a striking possible change of direction for Lydon, who admired progressive and experimental music despite his punk reputation. After the Sex Pistols broke up, he formed Public Image Ltd, whose boundary-pushing sound drew on influences such as Can and was later associated with early post-rock.
In short
- Lydon sought to become Can’s singer.
- Can had already stopped performing together.
- He later formed experimental group Public Image Ltd.
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