In 1977 Neil Young sang about Johnny Lydon back when the front man was a Sex Pistol. In the song My My, Hey Hey Young laments, "The king is gone, but he's not forgotten. Is this the story of Johnny Rotten?"

And although the moniker "Rotten" was abandoned long ago, he is still going strong at the age of 57. The "king" isn't gone; he's on tour.

On Saturday, a mix of local and international fans, along with a few Chinese rock stars such as Cui Jian, witnessed the Beijing debut of Public Image Limited (PiL), a band whose singer continues to have an indelible influence on the way music is sung, shouted and screamed.

He's just as relevant today as he was four decades ago, when he was with his first band, the Sex Pistols.

The near two-hour set, played before a packed house at Yugong Yishan, consisted of songs from PiL's catalogue, beginning with Four Enclosed Walls from the album Flowers of Romance and included songs from their most recent and ninth release, This is PiL.

Although the band played two encores, they did not venture off course or play a Sex Pistols song, as some in attendance probably would have liked.

After the show, Lydon partly explained why PiL's music is so diverse by describing himself as a "musical explorer" rather than a "musical tourist".

The band ripped through such classics as Public Image Limited, Rise and This is not a Love Song. Then again they could have played anything and nobody would have been disappointed, as the show also served as an opportunity for Chinese punk rock fans to see someone many thought would never play in China.

One Chinese PiL fan, Jian Lin, who works as a Web designer says: "I came from Tianjin to see this show. I was so excited when I heard they were coming to China, because they were my idols when I was in college. I still can't believe I am actually here watching them. This is the best show I have ever seen."

As a performer, Lydon is a class act. It's hard to say if he and his band will return, but they could if they wanted to, as they didn't wear out their welcome by dedicating songs or the entire concert to any bandwagon causes.

The singer's presence in Beijing was the only message that needed to be heard. You could tell he was just as excited about being here as his fans. You could feel and see his enthusiasm while he was onstage, the first night of the band's Asian and Australian tour.

"For me, tonight in Beijing was beautiful. I never expected a reaction so friendly and open and accessible to what is strange music, even in the West."

After the show the singer spoke on a variety of topics, ranging from the Internet, England's monarchy and the true definition of punk.

"I love to perform live," he says. "I do not perform on the Internet. It's a line I used in a song called Rise years ago. I used the expression, 'the written word is a lie.' Well, now the modern update is 'the Internet is a lie.'

"The state of the music industry is much worse (than climate issues) because there's so much dishonesty in it. And people making music, they don't believe in it, they just do it to make money and be famous."

Always a voice for the working class in his own country, he says: "The institution of monarchy is crippling society. It is a financial burden that could be better spent on the poor. And as soon as you can turn Buckingham Palace into the Forbidden City ... yippie!"

He also explains the true definition of punk.

"Punk means love. This is the most important message that has been sadly lost over the years."

And when asked if punk is dead, he replies: "There are people that do wrong using the format, but I'm still here. And I am king of the punks and nobody can contradict that, and if you disagree with me then you are not punk."

He wrapped things up by saying, "Life will always present you with problems. If anybody said life is easy, they've never heard a PiL record because I tell it like it is."

And after Saturday's show, for those who weren't convinced of this beforehand, they were once the show ended.

The band was off to Shanghai on Sunday, and will hit Japan and Australia after that.

Fan Zhen contributed to this story.

lancecrayon@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/02/2013 page18)