There’s an excellent Saturday Night Live sketch (see below) that very transparently parodies the Sex Pistols: set up as a documentary about the fictional punk rock band Ian Rubbish and the Bizzaros, the sketch saw Fred Armisen abandoning his punk ideals to support Margaret Thatcher.
In a new interview with Piers Morgan, Ian Rubbish – sorry, John Lydon – has come the closest to bringing that pro-establishment parody to real life. The man who wrote ‘God Save the Queen’, one of the greatest punk songs of all time and a rallying cry against the monarchy, told Morgan that he was actually “proud of the Queen.”
‘It’s very anti0-royalist, but it’s not anti-human,” Johnny Rotten declared when discussing ‘God Save the Queen’. “I’ve got to tell the world this. You mustn’t presume that I’m completely dead against the royal family as human beings. I’m not. I’m actually, really, really proud of the queen for surviving and doing so well.”
As he said that last part, Lydon offered a hand to his brow in salute. “I applaud her for that, that’s a fantastic achievement. I’m not a curmudgeon about that,” he continued, before adding, “I just think that if I’m paying my tax money to support this system I should have a say so in how it’s spent.”
He might have secretly had a soft spot for Elizabeth all this time, but Lydon made clear that he’s not a fan of her son Prince Charles. “I think it’s possibly the end of the monarchy because Prince Charles is not going to be able to handle it,” he insisted to Morgan. “This is the man who plays Pink Floyd to his cabbages,” he added peculiarly.
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Lydon wasn’t done there, revealing that he likes watching royal weddings. “I do love pageantry,” he said. “I’m a football fan, how could I not? I like watching royal weddings because I love watching spitfires and B-52s and the like flying over the palace. I get quite emotional with all that. I love me country, I love me people and everything about it, but if there’s problems within it, I think I have the right to say so.”
Lydon had some harsh words for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, calling the couple “parasites.” “If you want to opt out of that family situation, then by all means please do, and then go work at McDonald’s,” he mocked.
So there you have it. Who knew that “God save the Queen / We mean it, man” was a declaration of sincerity all along, with no hint of satire.
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