I use the Daily Star

There had been quite a bit of excitement at the idea that John Lydon had been due to guest-edit the Daily Star today (a role which would be less about deciding between credit-cruch and environment and choosing which photo of Sylvia from Big Brother should be used, of course). Turns out, though, that his guest-editing duties extend only to the Playlist page.

And he's not edited so much as just written some things about what a visionary he was.

Like this bit:

I ALWAYS wanted the music business institution to fall apart – and now it is. Gloriously.

My advice to young musicians is: You can do it for yourself, you really can.

The Sex Pistols, of course, were signed to record labels and never did it themselves; Public Image Limited did their duty for Warners, Elektra and Virgin. Since when did Lydon press up his own seven inch singles and flog them round the streets?

Despite the shaping of his career break by Malcolm McClaren, Lydon warms to his theme of being your own man:

During the whole of my career I’ve never orchestrated a record with a tour and a publicity campaign. It’s never happened and yet I’m here today doing this page.

Part of the reason why the Pistols never had a record label led campaign was because they were being marketed to, not by labels. Even so, you have to wonder what that big signing outside Buckingham Palace was, and the Jubilee boat trip up the Thames if the idea wasn't to promote records.

More amusingly is the way that Lydon positions 'writing some stuff for the Daily Star' as if it is one of those honours, like a laureateship or an ITV 'An Audience With' programmes which are granted to our culture's elder statesfolk, rather than, erm, part of a promotional blitz to try and push a Sex Pistols DVD.