Lydon plinky plonk with punk award

John Lydon has been voted the “most punk” star of all time. The Sex Pistols legend came out just ahead of Joe Strummer from The Clash - and 13 places ahead of former bandmate Sid Vicious.

Pete Doherty came seventh in the top 20 compiled by BBC Radio 1.

Other entries included the late DJ John Peel, Che Guevara, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Cash, Liam Gallagher and even former footballer Eric Cantona.

Music industry insiders including Doherty and record boss Alan McGee voted in the poll, part of BBC Radio 1’s Punk Week celebrating 30 years since the Sex Pistols played their first gig.

Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, was unimpressed with his accolade. His spokesman said: “What is punk anyway? John never said he was a punk.”

The top 20 was counted down by Radio 1 DJs Zane Lowe and Mike Davies.

Most Punk Top 20

1 John Lydon

2 Joe Strummer

3 Hunter S Thompson

4 Johnny Ramone

5 John Peel

6 Johnny Cash

7 Pete Doherty

8 Che Guevara

9 Kurt Cobain

10 Ian MacKaye

11 Bill Hicks

12 Liam Gallagher

13 Courtney Love

14 Sid Vicious

15 Eminem

16 Vivienne Westwood

17 Quentin Tarantino

18 Bill Drummond

19 Tracey Emin

20 Eric Cantona