FIVE decades after setting fire to the rulebook of British popular culture, John Lydon is stripping away the amplification and stepping into the spotlight with nothing but a microphone, a glass of water, and an unmatched lifetime of stories.
Lydon’s autumn 2026 UK spoken word tour – titled I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right – offers audiences an intimate, unfiltered audience with one of rock’s most enigmatic provocateurs. Spanning extensive dates across the nation, the tour sees the former Sex Pistols frontman and Public Image Ltd (PiL) pioneer trading sneering anthems for raw, conversational candour.
For Lydon, spoken word is not an exercise in nostalgia – it is a vital, living dialogue. The evening is split into two halves: a sweeping narrative of his life, from a working-class London childhood battling spinal meningitis to the chaos of punk and the artistic reinvention of PiL, followed by an audience Q&A session.
“The main lesson I learned from my mum and dad is no self-pity,” Lydon reflects. “Self-pity was unacceptable. Everything is a test. You’ve got to solve these problems.”
That defiance remains central to his worldview. Rather than dwelling on past controversies, he uses the stage to challenge contemporary complacency.
“If you are annoying people, you know you are doing something right,” he notes with a wry grin. “Chaos was my philosophy. Have no rules. If people start to build fences around you, break out and do something else. You should never, ever be understood completely.”
Beyond the fierce persona lies a deeply personal performer who values genuine connection. Having spent recent years navigating personal grief following the loss of his beloved wife, Nora Forster, Lydon approaches these intimate theatre shows with vulnerable sincerity.
“The bond and unity between the stage and the crowd is what performing is all about,” Lydon says of his live appearances. “Nothing beats the intimacy of seeing into your eyes. All I want in life is clarity and transparency. Anger is an energy – don’t view it negatively, use it to be creative.”
Whether dissecting the music industry or sharing lessons learned over seventy years, Lydon promises a night free of scripts and sanitised public relations.
“Don’t ever put full stops on thoughts,” Lydon insists. “They change. You’ve got to stand up and speak your mind.”
The tour has gone off the beaten track, visiting towns and villages that Lydon is going to for the first time in his life – and that includes a show at the Queen’s Hall in November.
“We’re trying to keep these theatres alive,” he says. “There’s so much competition out there and some of these places find it hard to survive. We’ve been to dozens and dozens of places that we wouldn’t normally visit, and we hope it encourages people to support their local.”
John Lydon is at The Queen’s Hall on November 13. Tickets are available from the box office.
