# The album John Lydon said should never have been made: “Not going there”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-album-john-lydon-said-should-never-have-been-made-not-going-there/
- Published: 2026-07-20T15:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-30T07:16:46+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/album-john-lydon-said-should-never-have-been-made/
- Topics: Art, Celebrity, Culture, Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Lydon rejected the Sex Pistols’ 1979 soundtrack album.
- He saw it as tied to Malcolm McLaren’s exploitation.
- The release followed his departure from the band.

## Summary

John Lydon said that *The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle*, the Sex Pistols soundtrack album released in 1979, should not have been made. His objection reflected his long-running dispute with the band’s manager, Malcolm McLaren, and his view that the project exploited the group’s collapse rather than representing its music.

The album accompanied McLaren’s film of the same name and was assembled after Lydon had left the Sex Pistols in 1978. It featured material involving other contributors, including Sid Vicious, rather than a straightforward final Sex Pistols record; Lydon dismissed discussion of it with “Not going there.”

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.