Johnny's still Rotten: Kele Okereke's assault claims

Jul 21, 2008, 11:55 GMT

Kele Okereke of the British band Bloc Party performs in concert at the Murat Egyptian Room in Indianapolis, Indiana. USA, 12 September, 2007. EPA/STEVE C. MITCHELL

Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke claims he was the victim of a racist assault involving the entourage of Sex Pistols star John Lydon.

The incident occurred at the Summercase Festival in Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday (19.07.08) and was reportedly witnessed by over 50 people.

The alleged assault occurred when John Lydon fan Kele approached the rocker - also known as Johnny Rotten - to ask if he would ever consider reforming his band Public Image Limited.

According to an official statement released by Bloc Party's publicist, the 52-year-old became intimidating and aggressive, while his associates responded with a "racist tirade" which included the comment "your problem is your black attitude".

Three people reportedly punched the 'I Still Remember' singer and attacked people who tried to intervene, including Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson and Foals singer Yannis Philippakis.

Talking about the alleged assault, Kele said: "It's not an issue of the physical assault, even though it was an unprovoked attack, it is the fact that race was brought into the matter so readily. Someone as respected and as intelligent as Lydon should know better than to bring race into the equation, or socialise with and encourage those who hold such narrow-minded attitudes. I am disappointed that someone I held with such high regard turns out to be such a bigot."

The attack left Kele with facial cuts and bruises.

One witness described Lydon's entourage as "acting like a gang of racist thugs".

Festival security broke up the altercation, which was reported to Spanish police.

Kele also officially reported the incident on his return to the UK.

News of the incident first emerged when Yannis alluded to it on stage at the Latitude Festival on Sunday (20.07.08), saying: "We were in Spain yesterday and I got into a fight with Johnny Rotten. I don't know why I'm telling you all this, but I was handcuffed and we nearly didn't make it."