John Lydon reveals pain of briefly leaving wife for Eurovision entry gig

Born in London to Irish parents, Lydon entered with the song Hawaii, which was described as a “love letter” to his wife of nearly 50 years, Nora.

John Lydon of Public Image Limited performs the song Hawaii on the Late Late show Eurosong Special (Andres Poveda/RTE/PA)

John Lydon said he was “disturbed” to leave his wife, who has Alzheimer’s disease, so he could compete to be Ireland’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.

His band Public Image Ltd, also known as PiL, formed following the break-up of the Sex Pistols in 1978, and lost out to We Are One by the Irish band Wild Youth after a public vote earlier this month.