Lydon in 'dead carcass' jibe at Sting

Punk legend John Lydon has lashed out at Sting – calling The Police frontman a “soggy old dead carcass”.

The Sex Pistol, also known as Johnny Rotten, poured scorn on the Eighties band’s recent comeback.

Lydon, 51, was speaking as the Sex Pistols prepare for a one-off gig to mark the 30th anniversary of their album Never Mind The Bollocks.

The former punk rebel dismissed Sting as “Stink”, saying: “That really is a reformation isn’t it? But honestly that’s like soggy old dead carcasses.

“You know listening to Stink try to squeak through Roxanne one more time that’s not fun.

“It’s like letting air out of a balloon.”

The once legendary hellraiser told Virgin Radio that drug-taking was “a bit old fart”.

Of Amy Winehouse’s and Pete Doherty’s problems, he said: “You know you can use drugs for entertainment but you should be quiet about it. That shouldn’t be your centre showpiece.

“There’s not much going on in their head with them. They’re not thinking. They’re not doing this for the right reasons.

“They obviously don’t enjoy what they’re doing. And that’s why you turn to drugs. And that’s what happened with Sid (Vicious), he wasn’t happy about what he couldn’t do.”

He added: “It’s a slow suicide and it’s a cry for help because they’re in pain, they’re in mental pain. And this is a disgusting industry because people just cut you dead.

“It goes on and on and on like this. I see it year in year out.

“It’s the same repetitious format. Its destructive, it’s a cry for help, it’s not self pity... the pressure of being in a band.

He said of Doherty: “Banging about your drug habits is a bit old fart isn’t it?”

Lydon, who surprised punk fans when he joined the likes of Jordan and Alex Best in I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, condemned modern British music for lacking originality.

He said: “I’m so bored with everything I’ve heard in the last two years. It’s just been so repetitive, so borrowing from the past.”

Lydon, who now lives in LA, added of his new US hometown: “With Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor we’re not doing too well. It’s like a naff bad plot.”