John Lydon Slates Damon Albarn's Gorillaz

John Lydon has launched a stinging attack on Gorillaz, labelling the cartoon band "sh--."

Perhaps in a state of nervy disarray as he prepared to take the stage with Public Image Ltd at Spain's Benicassim festival on July 18, Lydon told NME.com in a video interview that the 'Dare' hitmakers lacked originality and that much contemporary music is a "melange of sh--."

Lydon said before the show, "I really don't wanna talk about sh-- like the Gorillaz, you know what I mean? Come on, I'm the originator – don't toss us with that."

He added, "I think there's less original talent now than 30 years ago. It's much more manufactured. And the shame is I opened so many doors for so many people and they've all foolishly slammed it behind them. So what you get now is a melange of sh--."

The Benicassim performance turned out to be an eventful one for Lydon, with an on-stage bust-up occurring between the singer and his band.

Lydon recently revealed that he turned down the chance to work with Blur frontman Damon Albarn on his side project's 2010 album 'Plastic Beach,' as previously reported by Spinner.