John Lydon has blasted the Arctic Monkeys for making "a mockery" out of the music industry.

The former Sex Pistols frontman - also known as Johnny Rotten - claims the Sheffield based band - whose debut album became the fastest-selling in British music history - are a waste of space and stuck in the past.

He said: "That's not a band. That's a showbiz construct. A mockery. That's very much like that awful band Green Day or Avril Lavigne.

"It's not right, they're using our wings to make money on something they never helped create for themselves.

"They don't advance. They're stuck in a time warp and not writing from the heart. Once you recognise the four walls of a genre and stick inside them, you are not writing from the heart."

The 54-year-old singer also claimed Alex Turner was definitely not the genius writer he has been made to be.

He said: "Oh, stop it. He just turns on the computer and types in 'punk' and it goes ping. I see no gut-wrenching soul-searching going on there. Just pleasant little ditties. There's room for that, but I'm seeking more substance."

John has previously attacked both Coldplay and Radiohead for being "soulless".

He said: "Coldplay and Radiohead bug the hell out of me because it's so soulless. It just seems pointless. It's nice but it's tosh. There's nothing about heart and soul, they don't know about heart and soul, they don't know about people dying, living and aspiring."