John Cooper Clarke Quotes

I love the Sex Pistols. I'm a big Beach Boys fan and a huge Zeppelin and Queen fan.

When punk came along, I found my generation's music. I grew up listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, 'cause that was what got played in the house. But when I first saw the Stranglers, I thought, 'This is it.'

The bands that were big in '77, like the Clash and the Sex Pistols and Talking Heads, I got into them in the early '80s. And it changed my life. It got into my DNA.

It's funny I'm talking to 'Rolling Stone' right now, because back then, it was like, 'Punk rock? Put it back. It's just a flash in the pan.'

I think punk rock needs an 'Amadeus.'

The Germs' contribution to history sucks as far as I'm concerned.

I was a massive Sid Vicious fanatic.

The Knack were a very, very powerful band, and you got to understand, when they came in, all the punk stuff was still going on. There was an amazing conflict within the scenes.

The Ramones are an original rock and roll group of 1975, and their songs are brief, to the point, and every one a potential hit single.

The Sex Pistols had it all - they had the snarl, they had the I-don't-give-a-crap attitude - plus, they could play.

We were just a bunch of high school kids who got into the Ramones together.

To me, Sid Vicious is cool. Super chill.

It's really hard to imagine there ever being the kind of impact there was when punk rock happened in the late 70's. I wish there would be one big change like that again, but I don't know if that'll ever happen.

The photograph, the clothes, the sets - this was about 1974, and I started hanging out with my friend Richard Sold, who was playing in a band with Patti Smith.

When the 'godfather of punk' thing started floatin' around, it was, I was really, really embarrassed. I thought I should have a great, big rig and a cape and everything, and it was very embarrassing. And then after a while, you learn that if people call you anything, this is a great gift.

I always think the Sex Pistols and the Ramones as very, very important because they stripped things down.

It's not every day you get to create a band like the Sex Pistols, and what it changed, on a musical level. I love that we've done something that was important.

I think people are too hard on the Pistols. The Pistols started the whole punk thing and never saw much money.

It was awesome because we were doing Ramones songs.

I never intended for the Sex Pistols to be immeasurably successful.

I was pretty taken with Patti Smith, she was my heroine.

People called me the godmother of punk, but I never name myself anything.

It's hard to imagine the whole punk movement without The Velvet Underground. I toured with them when they did their reunion tour, and no one sounds like that; they are a very unique-sounding band.

I liked the Sex Pistols' music. I thought it was superb.

When punk came along, it made perfect sense to me. I found it melodic. The Clash, Buzzcocks.