For a music legend who has conquered both the rock stage and the art of cynical snark, there’s only one place to go. The sewer.
Former Sex Pistol and current Public Image Ltd frontman John Lydon is going underground, of sorts, voicing a character in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nickelodeon’s latest reimagining of the franchise that bows Monday, Sept. 17. Never mind the bollocks, here’s the heroes in a half shell.
Lydon lends his unmistakable vocals to new character Meat Sweats. He’s an erstwhile celebrity chef, now a power-hungry mutant pig who scours the scene underneath NYC looking for the perfect living ingredients for his diabolical recipes. In other words, Sweats is the latest menace to take on the band of pizza-loving bros.
Although Lydon is on the road promoting new doc The Public Image Is Rotten and prepping for the new PiL tour, which starts Oct. 9 in New Orleans, he did pause to embody his new character for Billboard. “Meat taught me everything,” he says. “Now to trap a turtle!”