Former Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon takes pride in being difficult to impress and, as a result, has become something of a negative beacon. Many bands have irritated and frustrated John Lydon over the years, including Depeche Mode, whom he described as “completely lifeless” during one interview.
Lydon’s star continued to fall throughout the 1980s. It was with Public Image Ltd becoming less influential in popular culture with each album. Depeche Mode’s voice, on the other hand, had only grown louder with each project they released since their debut album in 1981. Lydon saw their position at the top of the music industry as proof of everything wrong with the industry and its current direction.
Lydon was the most dangerous person in music a decade before. The Sex Pistols were the most important band in Britain at the time. His place in the musical hierarchy, however, had become less sacred than it had once been, and there were a slew of new superstars in town. They didn’t share his worldview, much to his frustration, and he wasn’t afraid to express his displeasure.
During an interview with Q Magazine in 1989, Lydon explained how Depeche Mode represented everything that was wrong with the music industry at the time. “A lot of bands take the easy way out: there’s a computer, and it’ll solve all of your problems.” I’m sorry, but I prefer humans over technology every time.” he ambiguously said
Lydon went on, “A bad example of how bad things can be is Depeche Mode, who I despise.” They are completely lifeless. What they do is not motivated by love. It’s a tragedy to see them live. They don’t move, and they’re uninterested in what they do…”
Despite his disdain for Depeche Mode, Lydon can admit when he’s wrong about a band, and the release of ‘Personal Jesus‘ forced the former Sex Pistol to reconsider. “It’s a serious problem for me, all this technology,” he wrote in his memoir published in 2014.
“The people who have used it best would be Depeche Mode,” Lydon continued. ‘Your very own Jesus!’ They got it, bloody ‘ell! They used the Casiotone effect and built a song around it, but they didn’t let it dictate the song. That’s another song I adore – I was so impressed with the bravery of tackling such a subject.”
The Public Image Ltd singer never had an agenda against Depeche Mode. His dislike for the band was solely due to their music. Lydon was happy to back down and admit his mistake in labeling the Essex band as “completely lifeless”. It was when they released a song that tickled his senses. He wasn’t an early fan of Depeche Mode’s synth-pop sound. But ‘Personal Jesus’ changed everything in Lydon’s relationship with the band.
