"John Lydon is the devil,"says Kele

Mon 17th Nov, 2008 in International News

With Bloc Party set to land on our shores this week, frontman Kele Okereke has vented about his backstage confrontation with head Sex Pistol John Lydon in July. “John Lydon is the devil in my eyes,” Okereke told UK tabloid The Sun.

As the story goes, Okereke approached Lydon backstage at the Summercase festival in Spain and was met with hostility. “The Sex Pistols singer became intimidating and aggressive while his entourage responded with a racist tirade including the statement, – œyour problem is your black attitude’,” reported Bloc Party’s management at the time. A scuffle ensued, with Yannis Philippakis from Foals and Kaiser Chiefs’ Ricky Wilson reportedly weighing in for Team Bloc Party.

Looking back on the fracas in his chat with The Sun, Okereke still seems quite worked up. “I’m not really someone that’s very good at backing down from fights you know. I’ve been in worse fights before, and it’s important to defend yourself,” he said. “I was so mad though. I really wanted to like whip his face off. I was lucky I had lots of people around me who were calming me down.

“I only have one thing to say about that man – John Lydon is the devil in my eyes.”

HYPED FOR BLOC PARTY’S VISIT? CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE BAND’S LAST TOUR.