U.S.L.S. 1

Album: 9 (1989)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • On December 21, 1988 John Lydon and his wife Nora were due to catch Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic trip from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Because of delays caused by Nora's packing, they arrived at the airport too late to catch the plane.

    The flight Lydon and his wife missed was the doomed Pan Am Flight 103, which was destroyed by a bomb whilst flying over Lockerbie in Scotland, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members on board. When they learned of what happened, the couple looked at each other and almost collapsed. This dubby near-instrumental was written by Lydon as a message to the Lockerbie bomber, who would have blown him up but for their last-minute change of plan.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.