John Lydon of PiL and Sex Pistols fame.

There are two sides to every story. Especially John Joseph Lydon’s.

Sometimes he’s Johnny Rotten, the infamous and mischievous provocateur of punk pioneers the Sex Pistols. The rest of the time, he’s John Lydon — family man, outdoorsman, longtime Californian and leader of newly resurrected post-punk art-rockers Public Image Ltd. As the former, he forever altered the face of music while scandalizing the British masses with his sneering lyrics about anarchy, abortion, religion and royalty. As the latter, he’s no less influential and outspoken — though the most shocking thing about him these days might be the fact that he’s a regular Mr. Nice Guy.

At least, he was when I called him at a luxury hotel in Chicago last week during PiL’s reunion tour, which stops in Toronto and Montreal this weekend. Travelling under a pseudonym based on a sophomoric reference to oral sex, the 54-year-old Lydon was chatty, genial and sincere, speaking frankly about everything from the recent death of ex-manager/nemesis Malcolm McLaren to who farts on the tour bus. Hey, he might be a nice guy, but he’s still a pistol:

You’ve done about 10 shows in North America now. How is the tour going?

It’s really going down a storm. People are literally crying with enjoyment. These are serious, serious shows. It’s hard to put this into words, but it’s like love. The range of emotions in the songs really affects people. And our performances are growing. We’re starting to play different songs on different nights. And that’s how it has to be with PiL, because there are so many great tunes.

Are you sorry you waited more than 15 years to return?

I’m very, very sorry. But it’s not entirely due to my laziness. When a record company cuts you off like ours did, it leaves you stranded. Doing the last Pistols tour was supposed to establish some connection with these labels, but they just used it as an excuse to push PiL aside. I find that unforgivable. PiL is by far the better band. By far. The gamut of emotions we are capable of dealing with is far superior. The Sex Pistols is my inheritance and I love my inheritance. But for me it’s not enough.

I think most people would assume the Pistols would let you exorcise more demons.

No, the Pistols are all about social issues. Personal issues is PiL.

If those songs are so personal, are they difficult to perform?

Well, it’s always somewhat difficult to perform. I suffer stage fright something wicked. But oddly enough, it does help me perform a song like Death Disco, where I can just let my heart open. Being onstage with PiL is a completely openhearted experience. Unlike Johnny Rotten in the Sex Pistols, I’m less ego-driven.

How do you view Rotten? As a character?

No. It’s just that poor little Johnny Rotten had a lot of problems that needed to be solved for him to get on in the world. I went through a school system that continually told me I had no chance and my kind of people should just shut up. Johnny Rotten was a rejection of that. And then I had a manager that had more or less the same attitude. In the Pistols, there were few endearing moments aside from being onstage.

Given that, it was very gracious of you to say you would miss Malcolm McLaren when he died.

Well, you can’t kick the dead. You mustn’t hurt the wounded. And you must always remember there are good things in everybody. I regret the death of any human being.

Does that mean you were able to forgive and forget your problems with him?

Oh, certainly not. No. You can forgive, but you should never forget, lest they come back and do it to you again. It’s as simple as that. Malcolm did his utmost to steal everything he could off me, including my good name and reputation. And all just to benefit his own ego, which is a terrible waste of his life. But he did have a great sense of fun, too.

You’ve said you want to make a new PiL album. Are you working on new material?

I’ve never stopped. I could never stop writing; it’s the one great joy in my life. But we haven’t started working on anything as a band yet. We’ve only just got back together. We’re all back in one bus again after so many years, so the reintroductions can be amusing.

How are you getting along?

Fine, until someone farts.

And is that someone you?

Usually.