John Lydon Predicted Battle Of Seattle, Rap-Rock

Nostradamus, Anthony Carr and Uri Geller are some well known psychics and "seers," both living and dead. You might as well add John Lydon to that list.

Why? Well, Lydon says he predicted the "Battle Of Seattle," or the protests about the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in November 1999, in Public Image Ltd.'s "Seattle," which appears on 1987's Happy?

"Firstly, I'll tell you how 'Seattle' was written. It’s because we had a week off in the middle of the tour and were stuck in Seattle and so, we coined the song's title, 'Seattle,'" Lydon says in an interview with Nardwuar, which you can read in full here.

"It wasn't, at the time, very relevant to the song, really, but then years and years and years later, with those riots you had in Seattle over the World Trade Order?

"If you check out some of the refrains in the song about palaces, barricades, threats made promises. It shows a great deal of foresight on my part."

Lydon also talked about his role in collaborating with early hip-hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa, which also kind of means he predicted... rap-rock. Shudder.

"In the early days of what we call hip-hop — which later turned into rap — people had much more open minds about music," Lydon told Nardwuar. "You could be involving all genres of music and basically balancing them into a jolly good evening of dance with some social awareness lyrics.

"And so I took great joy in working with Afrika Bambaataa, and I think we made a really excellent record. Unfortunately, of course it didn't grab the mainstream headlines that later pieces of work with AC/DC — or, no, Aerosmith — and I can't remember his name now… Run D.M.C. They followed on our heels."

Lydon has reunited Public Image Ltd., and the band are touring for the first time in 17 years. You can see them here:

April 23 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
April 24 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
April 26 Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre
April 28 Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
April 30 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater
May 1-2 Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues Chicago
May 4-5 Boston, MA @ Royale
May 7 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
May 8 Montreal, QC @ L'Olympia
May 9 Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
May 11 Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live!
May 12 Washington, DC @ 9:30
May 14 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Zoo
May 15 Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata Music Box
May 16 Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street
May 18-19 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
July 10 Zottegem, Belgium @ Bevegemse Vijvers (Rock Zottegem)
July 11 Liege, Belgium @ Parc Astrid De Coronmeuse (Les Ardentes)
July 17 Benicassim, Spain @ Festival Internacional De Benicassim
Sept. 3 Stradbally, Ireland @ Stradbally Hall (Electric Picnic)