John Lydon, a/k/a Johnny Rotten, never took Neil Young's advice of burning out rather than fading away. He persists, and occasionally resurrects his old glories. The Sex Pistols (with original member Glen Matlock replacing the late Sid Vicious) have re-formed and toured, and now it's Public Image Ltd's turn. Stereogum links to a pilofficial.com press release:
Public Image Ltd Return
Press Release:
September, 7th 2009
PiL December 2009 Live Dates
Public Image Ltd are set to return for a series of very special performances for the first time in 17 years.
London’s Brixton Academy will play host to one of the most innovative and influential bands in music history on Monday 21st December, over 20 years since they last played the famous venue.
John Lydon, Lu Edmonds, Bruce Smith and Scott Firth will also tour nationwide in celebration of the 30th year anniversary of the groundbreaking ‘Metal Box’ album, kicking off at The Birmingham Academy on December 15th.
John Lydon-
“I sound like a bag of kittens thrown down the staircase”
Public Image Ltd will not only be celebrating the anniversary of ‘Metal Box’ but also showcasing the unique sounds of singles such as ‘Public Image’, ‘Death Disco’ and ‘This Is Not A Love Song’, to ‘Rise’ and ‘Seattle’, with many further surprises in store.
After fronting the Sex Pistols John Lydon formed Public Image Ltd in 1978 with their experimental sound fusing Rock, Dance, Folk, Ballet, Pop and Dub PiL are regarded as producing some of the most diverse music of the post-punk era. As a band the music and vision constantly evolved like no other, culminating in an incredible live experience.
Now these 2009 December shows are set to re-create the Christmas vibe that was at the forefront of PiL’s first ever UK gigs on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in 1978 at The London Rainbow Theatre.
Lu Edmonds- Multi instrumentalist and former guitarist in The Damned Lu joined PiL in 1986 recording and playing on the album Happy? and co-writing the album ‘9’ adding yet another dimension to the PiL sound.
Bruce Smith- Former drummer in The Pop Group and The Slits became percussionist for PiL also in 1986 playing and recording on the albums Happy? and ‘9’. Seen as a drumming virtuoso Bruce Smith brought his unique style into the fold.
Scott Firth- A bass player/multi instrumentalist that has collaborated and played with a variety of top musicians and bands including Steve Winwood, John Martyn, Elvis Costello, and The Spice Girls.
Birmingham, 02 Academy, December 15th 2009
Leeds, 02 Academy, December 16th 2009
Glasgow, 02 Academy, December 18th 2009
Manchester, Academy, December 19th 2009
London Brixton, 02 Academy, December 21st 2009
Tickets go on sale 9am Friday, September 11th.
Buy online at Livenation.co.uk or Tel 0844 576 5483 (24hrs)
There will be a special ticket pre-sale via PiLOfficial.Com. Details will be announced Tuesday, 8th September...
For Press Enquiries please contact Adam Cotton at The Outside Organisation Ltd
So you have Lydon, two people who joined PiL in 1986, and one person who has played with the Spice Girls (among others). Paul Lester has a problem with that:
Public Image Ltd's debut single, Public Image, was released in October 1978, making it, along with Magazine's Shot By Both Sides, Gang of Four's Damaged Goods and the Banshees' Hong Kong Garden, one of the records that ushered in the post-punk era. It was a period of incredible musical expansion that saw white rock bands dabble for the first time with disco and dub. John Lydon's second outfit played a pivotal role in that exciting development.
Or, at least, the early incarnation of PiL did. There were many versions, featuring a series of drummers, but it was when Lydon teamed up with guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble that the group produced their most groundbreaking work.
And maxkitty has weighed in:
Just sounds like Mr. Lydon having another wank.
