In a riveting chat with Express in early 2024, John Lydon, the iconic frontman of the Sex Pistols, opened up about a chilling prediction he made more than four decades ago regarding Jimmy Savile. At 69, Lydon reflected on the turmoil he faced when he attempted to sound the alarm about Savile long before the world knew about his horrific actions. “Back then, I was banned by the BBC for bringing him up—even now, people are saying, ‘John Lydon was right all along,'” he revealed.
The incident that sparked Lydon’s frustration dates back to 1978, when a BBC interview he gave was mysteriously shelved. While his band, the Sex Pistols, faced the wrath of “Aunty Beeb” after their politically charged anthem, God Save The Queen, was banned in 1977, Lydon’s attempt to expose Savile was met with a similar fate.
The following year, 1979, Lydon participated in a now-infamous radio interview for BBC Radio 1 that was ultimately never aired. During that session, he made waves by expressing extreme sentiments about Savile. “I want to kill Jimmy Savile – he’s a hypocrite. I bet he’s into all kinds of seediness that we all know about but aren’t allowed to talk about,” Lydon declared. Recognizing the line he had crossed, he quickly added, “I bet none of this will be allowed out.”
Lydon’s bitterness resurfaced more than three decades later during a 2015 segment on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories when he revisited the fallout of Savile’s revelations. “I’m very, very bitter that the likes of Savile and the rest of them were allowed to continue. I did my bit, I said what I had to. But they didn’t air that,” he said, exposing his frustration once again.
A 2016 investigation led by Dame Janet Smith uncovered that Savile had committed sexual assaults in virtually every one of the BBC’s premises where he worked. The report, set up in response to the scandal that emerged in 2012, highlighted the deeply flawed culture of the BBC during Savile’s tenure from 1964 to 2007.
After the report’s release, then-BBC Director General Tony Hall issued an apology, acknowledging that the organization should have acted sooner. While he noted that the findings were inconclusive about whether the BBC formally knew of Savile’s crimes, he voiced concerns about the culture that allowed such acts to persist. “How could you not have known?” he questioned, further emphasizing the responsibility of the institution.
Lydon’s vindication may be bittersweet, yet it illustrates a crucial narrative—a reminder that sometimes, prophetic voices are silenced in the face of more significant powers. In his case, it seems, the world is finally waking up to the truth he had the courage to reveal decades ago.