“HELLO? Hello?” John Lydon’s unmistakeable North London accent comes down the phone and I’m instantly reminded of the start to Public Image, the debut single from Lydon’s band Public Image Limited (PiL) which launched the singer, formerly known as Johnny Rotten, back into the record buying public’s conciousness after the Sex Pistols split.

That was back in 1978 but to celebrate the band’s 40th birthday, Lydon has put PiL back on the road, with a date in Wrexham coming at the end of this month.

“Save your breath mate,” says Lydon, 62, when I attempt to ask him about the band’s formation. “Plain and simple, 40 years isn’t long enough. Life is an endurance course and those of us who love life and our fellow human beings can’t get enough of it.”

PiL’s current line-up is its most stable in the band’s history and with their last album, What The World Needs Now - self-funded and released on their own label PiL Official - Lydon is enjoying life free from the record company machinations he always felt were behind the Sex Pistols’ demise, even if the band’s latest incarnation owes its existence to Lydon’s appearances on I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and his infamous adverts promoting a brand of British butter.

“I was put through a test by the record companies wasn’t I?” he asks rhetorically. “They did everything they could to cancel my career, but I just persevered and had to have more patience than a hospital.

“Finally through TV productions, and of course butter, I managed to raise enough money to buy myself out of that situation and so here I am now, seven years later and we’re independent, we mean what we do, we love what we do and the system can no longer corrupt us.

“It was an entanglement I’d been caught up in since the early days of the Sex Pistols - there were deals attached that were never to my liking and it was a very harsh relationship.

“The irony is I get on very well with Richard Branson (who signed the Sex Pistols to Virgin Records in 1977) but at the same time the business thing got in between us, which was a pity.

“It’s the ruination of the modern world: everything is run by accountants and guess what? They don’t account for any of their behaviour.”

Widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential bands of all time, PiL’s music and vision earned them five UK Top 20 singles and five UK Top 20 albums.

With a shifting line-up and unique sound, Lydon guided the band from their debut album, First Issue, in 1978 through to 1992’s That What Is Not.

After a 17-year hiatus, Lydon reactivated PiL in 2009 by taking them back on the road worldwide.

“We just do it ourselves now,” says Lydon. “We’re not after chart positions or any of that nonsense. I never have chased that throughout my entire life and I don’t understand people who try and play that corruption game - you can fake chart position but are you relevant?”

Later this month sees the release of The Public Image is Rotten (Songs from the Heart) box set, coming in the form of a staggering five CD/two DVD/six LP set and including dozens of B-sides, rarities, radio sessions and 12” mixes, as well as videos and TV appearances by PiL.

“Apologies to the world for being so enormous,” chuckles Lydon. “I’ve accidentally released an enormous bunch of material - there’s six hours of footage in there!

“I don’t think there’s anything there to be ashamed of at all - I’ve told no lies and I’ve tried to be as honest and empathetic with my fellow human beings as I possibly can. I’ve run every gauntlet that’s been put in front of me and I’m still here.”

PiL’s second album, Metal Box (1979), pushed their sound further into the avant-garde, and is often regarded as one of the most important albums of the post-punk era, with the likes of Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Massive Attack all naming it as a key influence on their music.

“I think as human beings we can’t help but influence each other,” he states, before I ask him about the famous Sex Pistols gig in Manchester in 1976, which was attended by future members of Joy Division, The Smiths, The Fall, Buzzcocks and Simply Red.

“There are a lot more people who allegedly attended that gig than actually did,” he cackles. “I find in my life there’s a whole bunch of that. People always want to have been at something they’ve missed because it’s a shame they missed it in the first place.”

With the Sex Pistols, Lydon penned classic anti-establishments singles including Anarchy In The UK and God Save The Queen, the content of which precipitated what one commentator described as the “last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium” in Britain.

So what does the man who now lives in Los Angeles think of the country he’s recently flown back to?

“I’m not interested in the politics at the moment whether it’s Left or Right,” he says. “They’re offering us nothing but confusion and if Brexit is what most people voted for than why not? What’s wrong with that?

“If you overturn that you haven’t got a democracy. You can’t do a U-turn and I don’t see any harm in it - sometimes a break is as good as a rest and let’s face it, if we don’t trade with each other we’ll starve.

“I don’t need Belgium to tell me how high a double decker bus should be. That’s the silliness that caused it in the first place. We’re voting in lunatics all around the world but maybe that’s what we need to shake it up - it’s a bit like: that was extreme - let’s try normal!”

Some musicians entering their seventh decade might baulk at the prospect of a 32-date headline tour of UK and Europe but Lydon seems to be relishing the campaign.

“Hard work never killed anyone,” he says. “That’s my working-class principles mate. I’m enjoying it very much, especially the personal touch between audience and band, which is exceptional.

“It allows me to draw deeper emotions out of the songs than I would normally and the sharing of that experience is rather magnificent. I can see it in people’s eyes when certain lines mean something so deep to them and that is the reward right there.

“The sheer variety in the crowds is great too - they are all ages, all races, all creeds and that is success.

“There is no point going out and preaching to the converted wannabes. Anyone who wants to be someone else is doing it wrong.”

PiL’s visit to Wrexham is typical of an artist who made sure the Sex Pistols attempted to play in every corner of the UK, even if they did face the prospect of being banned by over zealous local councils.

“Places like Wrexham are where people are,” he stresses. “Why should they be short changed because all the major acts want to pretend they’re in a Las Vegas circus? We’d all like to be in a circus and there’s plenty of clowns in the music industry but some of us like community and I’m one of them.”

We sign off by discussing Lydon’s beloved Arsenal FC. Born a stone’s throw from the Emirates, he’s supported them all his life but that doesn’t mean he’s a fan of recently departed manager Arsene Wenger or his fellow Gunner Jeremy Corbyn (“he’s such a fence sitter - I recommend Preparation H for that fella”).

“My only answer is at last we’ve got our Arsenal back,” he adds. “I feel like there’s an effort being made after appalling stagnation and laziness.

“It was sad. Arsenal is a vibrant community and the indifference to the genuine supporter has driven a lot of the locals away. That’s what happens when you fill a stadium full of people who own Range Rovers: you’re not going to get much passion.”

Public Image Limited play Wrexham William Aston Hall on Sunday, June 24. See www.pilofficial.com for ticket links and additional information