Years later, looking back at this relatively short period in my life, I have no regrets whatsoever, and I firmly believe that had I not got off the merry go round when I did it would have destroyed me. I would smile whenever This is not a Love song was played on the radio, it was a good tune. I didn't give a fuck about the money. Perhaps I wasn't strong enough, or I was just a little naive and in awe of those around me, who knows, and who cares?  PiL, at that time  was a great band, the ethos of Levene and Lydon had a strange quality about it that was difficult to define. Make no mistake, anyone else involved was a bit player and highly dispensable. They made slices of music that pushed the boundaries and tested the waters, their influence was far reaching. It was though, a raw talent that constantly needed the support and channelling of others to make it work, a twisted kaleidoscope of moods, feelings sound and rhythm intermingling with the backbeat to numb and stupefy. The band left the rails long before Levene left, Commercial Zone only scratched the surface of what could have been. That album was engineered by a man who had never even listened to Metal Box and wasn't really in tune with the ethos. The Rotten parody roadshow lives on, a sick caricature of a cartoon strip character that lives in a real person. I feel sorry for John in that he has to carry that round for the rest of his life, it in part explains why he is like he is. Metal box should have been PiL's epitaph, John retired and gone off to burn his Sex Pistols memorabilia in peace. He is incapable of publicly showing compassion to anyone. Sympathy, warmth, tenderness, humility...you name it, Lydon doesn't dare show it. The emperor stands stark bollock naked, and has done ever since he pranced down the Kings Road and into McLarens  shop back in the 70's. I think even Johnny has been surprised at how long he has got away with it for. Johnny will die and the legend will live on, as long as his fans don't notice he is naked.
 

The king was in the altogether the altogether the altogether.
The king was in the altogether.... as naked as the day that he was born.

Live in Peace, Love Life.........PETE  JONES XXXX

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