John Lydon's wife Nora Forster dies aged 80 after Alzheimer's battle
6 April 2023, 19:31 | Updated: 6 April 2023, 19:41
John Lydon's wife Nora Forster has died aged 80 after living with Alzheimer's for several years.
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Mr Lydon, who is also known by his stage name Johnny Rotten, has been her full-time carer and raised awareness about the disease.
The ex-Sex Pistols frontman tried to represent Ireland at this year's Eurovision with a song dedicated to her called Hawaii, which is about a trip they had that had endured in her memory.
1/2 Rest in Peace Nora Forster
— John Lydon Official (@lydonofficial) April 6, 2023
It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that Nora Forster - John Lydon's wife of nearly 5 decades - has passed away. Nora had been living with Alzheimer’s for several years. In which time John had become her full time carer. pic.twitter.com/MmQQdtmrjG
A post on Mr Lydon's Twitter account said: "It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that Nora Forster - John Lydon's wife of nearly five decades - has passed away.
"Nora had been living with Alzheimer's for several years. In which time John had become her full-time carer.
Please respect John's grief and allow him space. Rest in Peace Nora. Heart felt condolences to John from Rambo and all at PiL Official."
Forster met Mr Lydon at the clothing shop owned by the Sex Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood in London.
He said they had been together for 45 years in January.
Forster was the daughter of Franz Karl Maier, the wealthy German publisher who worked at Der Spiegel and Der Tagesspiegel.
She was the mother of Ari-Up – born Arianna Forster - who was part of a punk rock band called the Slits. She died in 2010 after a serious illness aged 48.
"As I say in the song, old journeys end and some begin again, but this is the beginning of a new journey with us," Mr Lydon said of the Eurovision song.
"And, oddly enough, as bad as Alzheimer's is, there are great moments of tenderness between us. And I tried to capture that in the song, and so it's not all waiting for the Grim Reaper.
"I can see her personality in her eyes, she lets me know that it's the communication skills that are letting her down.
"And I'm just blessed really that I can be there and catch on to that and maybe share that information as this progresses, as we know it will, to its ultimate sad demise."
Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia in the UK. It can affect memory, thinking skills and other mental functions.
