A set of stand-alone essays written by the cream of rock music's commentators—among them Rob Johnstone, Clinton Heylin, Legs McNeill, Greil Marcus, Kris Needs, Judy Nylon, Alan Clayson, and Nigel Williamson—this work could well be the final word on the symbol of 1970 punk they once called "Rotten." Love him or hate him, 30 years after the release of the Sex Pistols' first record, John Lydon—the man who was the focal point of the British punk movement—is impossible to ignore when discussing the history of rock. Was the Sex Pistols' album Never Mind the Bollocks the one true masterpiece of punk's first wave? How did the Pistols influence American punk? How does Lydon's post-Pistols work in PIL compare in influence and artistry? Contributors delve into these questions and more in this fitting tribute to an underdog who went on to become an antihero to millions.