John Lydon has postponed recording a new Public Image Ltd (PiL) album to mourn the loss of his stepdaughter.

The punk legend and founding member of The Sex Pistols has been left distraught by the death of Arianna Forster – who was also a punk singer with The Slits, and sung under the name Ari Up – and said he is not ready to work on new music while he comes to terms with her passing, from cancer, last month.

He told BBC News: “We were going to go into the studio but in light of my stepdaughter’s death I really can’t be doing that at the moment.”

John added he will be spending as much time with his wife, Nora Forster, as possible, saying his band “all understand” his present circumstance.

He added: “I don’t want to leave my wife alone for any length of time right now. So the music side has had to be held.

“The band all knew her anyway. So it’s a good thing that we’ve taken a breather. It would have been impossible and would have affected the outcome of the record.”

John formed Public Image Ltd in 1978 after the Sex Pistols broke up, and they played live for the first time in 17 years a year ago.