“Daft Punk were deadpan people trying to be techno… It was too gimmicky”: Why John Lydon turned down a collab with the robotsBack in his heyday, you could argue John Lydon was a bit of a daft punk. But don’t get your wires twisted. While the ex-Sex Pistols frontman was happy to wreak havoc onstage, he’s recently revealed he turned down a chance to work with the actual Daft Punk.
In a new chat with NME, Lydon has revealed that he had the opportunity to work with the duo – but says it didn’t feel right. “Daft Punk wanted to work with me a while back, but I didn’t feel the vibe,” he explains. “I felt it was too much of a ‘studio’ thing and gimmicky.”

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While Lydon is primarily a punk, he isn’t averse to jumping on an electronic track. He points to 1993 track Open Up, a prog-house track he worked on in 1993 with with British electronic duo, Leftfield. He “adored” the track so much that he even went on to work with Leftfield’s Neil Barnes again in 2003. The collaboration would result in a dance remix of Pistols classic, God Save The Queen.
Lydon recalls the “fun you could get up to” with the duo. Daft Punk, on the other hand, were quite straight-laced. “They came at me with many ideas, but it was all ‘just turn up, there’s the studio, we expect you to do this. Go!’,” he says. “I can’t work like that. I have to be able to get good and fucking drunk with you before! [Laughs] I have to see your drawers drop!”

Lydon says Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo were “just deadpan serious people trying to be techno”. “I’m not one for fellers that wear helmets as their live performance achievement!” he adds.
Elsewhere, Lydon also unintentionally snubs one of the most acclaimed DJs in the world, David Guetta. In 2023, Guetta came out on top of DJ Mags’ Top 100 DJs poll, falling to number two last year… but Lydon insists he’s “never heard of him”.
“Was that anything to do with Daft Punk?” he asks.
While the Sex Pistols are currently on tour without Lydon, the ex-Pistols frontman will be touring with his current band, Public Image Ltd, this May. Tour will be kicking off in Bristol this May, running til August.

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