Have you ever tried to out-stare John Lydon? I have.

The first time was when I was very young. I was playing, probably drawing actually and this huge drumbeat began beating from the telly in the corner. It was slightly faster than my own heartbeat so I think I must have sped up to go along with it. I didn’t know that at the time of course but I felt it. I looked up to see this unusual man in a strange suit, arms wide, surrounded by sheets blowing from clothes lines! Not what I expected. He kept repeating, “I could be wrong, I could be right.”

For some reason this moment had a huge impact on me.

John Lydon portrait by Kevin McHugh Art

The main thing that caught my attention though were this man’s eyes. I felt like he was looking straight through the screen and could see me sitting there with my mouth open trying to understand what was happening. What was happening in fact was, for the first time in my life, I was experiencing the power of music.

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