Nora Forster, wife of John Lydon, dies of Alzheimer’s at age 80

Singer John Lydon’s wife, Nora Forster, died five years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. 44 years have passed between the former Sex Pistols leader and the German publishing heiress. She was 80 years old.

In recent years, he has spoken eloquently about becoming Forster’s devoted caregiver as his illness progressed.

He also wrote her a composition which he attempted to submit to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ireland, but was ultimately rejected.

In 1975, Lydon met Nora Forster at Sex, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s London punk emporium, shortly before the punk movement gained national prominence.

She was 14 years his senior and descended from a wealthy family of journalists, but had been working as a music promoter in Germany and then London.

Her daughter Ariane, from her first marriage to vocalist Frank Forster, became known as Ari Up, the lead singer of the punk band The Slits.

After her death in 2010 at the age of 48 from breast cancer, Forster and Lydon became the legal custodians of her three children.

Lydon testified that he believed Forster showed the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s thereafter. In 2021, she told The Times,

“The loss of a daughter by a mother is a pain that cannot be described.”

“From then on the problems were minor, like frequently losing the keys, but they accumulated over time. It happened so progressively and so slowly that, by the time a conclusion is reached, it is impossible to trace its origins.

In 2018, she received an official diagnosis and he became her full-time caregiver as her condition deteriorated.

“There is no happiness without sadness”

In the end, she had difficulty recognizing her spouse. After appearing on the US version of The Masked Singer in 2021, Lydon told The Guardian: “I wanted to see if she could predict, and she did.

She exclaimed,

“Johnny, it’s you!” It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life to hear her speak that way and keep her from shutting up.

As a result, he composed what he called a “serious, personal but universal love song” about a vacation they had taken in Hawaii, as it was one of his most vivid memories.

He sang in the choir,

“Remember me, I remember you.”

Lydon’s parents are Irish, so he submitted the song to Public Image Ltd as Ireland’s entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

“It is dedicated to everyone going through difficult times in life’s journey with their closest loved one,” he said when it was announced. It is also a message of hope that love inevitably triumphs over all.

Lydon told the Sunday Times earlier this year that caring for his wife had deeply upset him and he didn’t know how he would survive without her.

“It’s disgusting. “It’s so pernicious and vile to watch a loved one slowly fade away,” she said.

He stated that their existence together had been “worth every moment.”

“No happiness comes without sadness, and boy, now I know.”