Hilarious Footage of 1980 American Bandstand Appearance by Public Image Ltd.
PiL's, hilarious, and now infamous, 1980 'performance' on the prime time US pop show was broadcast on national tv. Pre-recorded on 3rd May, PiL was to lip synch
Poptones and
Careering. Long time American Bandstand host D1ck Clarke introduced the band as, "a memorable moment in rock n roll, something special and interesting". The longstanding mainstream music show was thrown into chaos as Lydon invited the entire audience up to dance with the band on stage! John barely pretends to lip synch the songs, while PIL band members merrily are swapping around musical instruments. Lydon later commented, "I forgot the words to the song, and I was miming really badly, so I had to act quick." And he did. Another moment of inspired chaos from the UK's most beloved son of anarchy.
When asked to introduce themselves Mr. Clark. Jah Wobble replies, "Wobble. THE Jah Wobble". The pair have actually already met backstage, apparently Clark walked in on Wobble while he was trying to have a quick sleep. "I'm Wobble, who are you?" he's reported to have asked, "I'm D1ck Clarke" he replies, "Good" Wobble snaps, "Well f*ck off"! Rumour has it that Clark had asked Larry White before the show "What can I expect from this assh*ole?"
Despite the chaos, Clark later claimed, "(Lydon) told me he was going to be rambunctious. I said 'be my guest'. We were in total control." Yup, it sure looked like it from the video.