Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and aga ...
(previously known as the singer of
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
), guitarist
Keith Levene
Julian Keith Levene (18 July 1957 – 11 November 2022) was an English musician who was a founding member of both the Clash and Public Image Ltd (PiL). While Levene was in PiL, their 1978 debut album '' Public Image: First Issue'' reached No 22 ...
, bassist
Jah Wobble
John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...
, and drummer
Jim Walker in May 1978. The group's personnel has changed frequently over the years; Lydon has been the sole constant member.
Following Lydon's departure from the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
in January 1978, he sought a more experimental "anti-
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
" project and formed PiL.
That year PiL released their debut ''
First Issue
''Public Image: First Issue'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Public Image Ltd, released in 1978 by record label Virgin.
It is considered one of the pioneering records in the development of post-punk.
Recording
"Public Image ...
'' (1978), creating an abrasive, bass-heavy sound that drew on
dub,
noise
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...
,
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
and
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
.
PiL's second album ''
Metal Box
''Metal Box'' is the second studio album by Public Image Ltd, released by Virgin Records on 23 November 1979. The album takes its name from the round metal canister which contained the initial pressings of the record. It was later reissued in ...
'' (1979) pushed their sound further into the
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
, and is often regarded as one of the most important albums of the post-punk era.
By 1984, Levene, Wobble and Walker had departed and the group was effectively a solo vehicle for Lydon, who moved toward a more accessible sound with the commercially successful albums ''
This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get'' (1984) and ''
Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
'' (1986). After a late 1990s hiatus, Lydon reformed the group in 2009 and has released several further albums, including ''
What the World Needs Now...'' (2015).
History
Early career
Following the Sex Pistols' break-up in 1978, photographer
Dennis Morris suggested that Lydon travel to
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
with him and
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
head
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields.
Branson expressed ...
, where Branson would be
scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
for emerging
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
musicians. Branson also flew American band
Devo
Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...
to Jamaica, aiming to install Lydon as lead singer in the band. Devo declined the offer.
Upon returning to England, Lydon searched for musicians but it was difficult. He stated in the press: "I'm thinking about going up north for someone. They've got bands up there who are trying to be different". He approached
Jah Wobble
John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...
(
né
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...
John Wardle) about forming a band together. The pair had been friends since the early 1970s when they attended the same school in Hackney (both belonged to a circle of friends Lydon informally dubbed "The Gang of Johns" – John Lydon, John Wardle, John Gray, and Simon John Ritchie/Beverley, a.k.a.
Sid Vicious
John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...
). Lydon and Wobble had previously played music together during the final days of the Sex Pistols. Both had similarly broad musical tastes, and were avid fans of reggae and
world music. Lydon assumed, much as he had with Sid Vicious, that Wobble would learn to play bass guitar as he went. Wobble would prove to be a natural talent. Lydon also approached guitarist
Keith Levene
Julian Keith Levene (18 July 1957 – 11 November 2022) was an English musician who was a founding member of both the Clash and Public Image Ltd (PiL). While Levene was in PiL, their 1978 debut album '' Public Image: First Issue'' reached No 22 ...
, with whom he had toured in mid-1976, while Levene was a member of
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
. Lydon and Levene had both considered themselves outsiders even within their own bands.
Jim Walker, a Canadian student newly arrived in the UK, was recruited on drums, after answering an ad placed in ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' published on May 6th, 1978.
PiL began rehearsing together in mid-May 1978, although the band was still unnamed. In July 1978, Lydon officially named the band "Public Image" (the "Ltd" was added when the company was incorporated in July 1978), after the
Muriel Spark
Dame Muriel Sarah Spark (née Camberg; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006). was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist.
Life
Muriel Camberg was born in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, the daughter of Bernard Camberg, an ...
novel ''
The Public Image
''The Public Image'' is a novel published in 1968 by Scottish author Muriel Spark
Dame Muriel Sarah Spark (née Camberg; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006). was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist.
Life
Muriel Camber ...
''.
["PiL Chronology: 1978"]
by Karsten Roekens & Scott M, Fodderstompf.com, 2006.
PiL debuted in October 1978 with "
Public Image", a song written while Lydon was still a member of the Sex Pistols.
[Lydon, John. ''No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs'', Keith & Kent Zimmerman, ]St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...
, May 1994. The single was well received and reached number 9 on the UK charts, and it also performed well on import in the US.
''Public Image: First Issue'' (1978)
The photography for the album was shot by Dennis Morris who also created the PiL logo. In preparing their debut album, ''
Public Image: First Issue'', the band spent their recording budget well before the record was completed. As a result, the final album comprised eight tracks of varying sound quality, half of which were written and recorded in a rush after the money had run out. The album was released in December 1978.
The single "Public Image" was widely seen as diatribe against
Malcolm McLaren and his perceived manipulation of Lydon during his career with the Sex Pistols. The track "Low Life" (with its accusatory lyrics of "Egomaniac traitor", "You fell in love with your ego" and "Bourgeoisie anarchist") has also been regarded as an attack on McLaren, although Lydon has stated that the lyrics refer to
Sid Vicious
John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...
. The two-part song "Religion" refers contemptuously to Roman Catholicism; Lydon came up with the lyrics when he was part of the Sex Pistols but he claims the other members of the band were reluctant to use them. The closing track "Fodderstompf", heavily influenced by dub, comprises nearly eight minutes of a circular bass riff, played over a Lydon/Wobble double act lampooning public outrage, love songs and teenage apathy. The track culminates with the sound of a fire extinguisher being let off in the recording studio with Wobble heard saying "I will show our frustration at society by picking up that fire extinguisher over there and spraying it at the mic".
"PiL was the simple thing of four different people doing different drugs at different times," Wobble observed to ''
Select''. "It was only in any way together for the first two months of its existence. We had a fuckin' good drummer called Jim Walker, but he fucked off after a few months
n early 1979and it just fell apart. Somehow it had sort of death throes that produced a couple of blinding albums."
''Metal Box'' (1979) and ''Paris au Printemps'' (1980)
![PiLposterforWikipedia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/PiLposterforWikipedia.jpg)
The departure of Jim Walker made way for a series of new drummers. Auditions were later held at Rollerball Studios in
Tooley Street
Tooley Street is a road in central and south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (.)
St Olave
The earliest na ...
,
London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
. David Humphrey was their second drummer, who went on to record two tracks at
Manor Studios in Oxford, "Swan Lake" and "Albatross", for ''
Metal Box
''Metal Box'' is the second studio album by Public Image Ltd, released by Virgin Records on 23 November 1979. The album takes its name from the round metal canister which contained the initial pressings of the record. It was later reissued in ...
''. "
Death Disco
"Death Disco" is a song by Public Image Ltd. The record was released in both 7" and 12" single formats with a "½ Mix" of the song and "Megga mix" (an instrumental version of "Fodderstompf" from '' Public Image: First Issue'') on the 12" version ...
" (a.k.a. "Swan Lake") was released as a single in 1979 and reached No. 20 in the charts.
The majority of the drumming on the album was provided by
Richard Dudanski
Richard "Snakehips" Dudanski, also known as Richard Nother, is an English drummer who was a member of a number of seminal British proto-punk, punk and post-punk bands, including The 101ers, The Raincoats, Public Image Ltd., Tymon Dogg and the Fool ...
(formerly of
the 101ers
The 101ers were a pub rock band from the 1970s playing mostly in a rockabilly style, notable as being the band that Joe Strummer left to join The Clash. Formed in London in May 1974, the 101ers made their performing debut on 7 September at the ...
), PiL's drummer from April to September 1979. He was replaced by
Karl Burns
Karl Burns (born Carl Birtles,1958 in Manchester, England) is a British musician best known as the drummer for the Fall, featuring in many incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998.
Although several musicians have rejoined the Fall havi ...
(formerly and latterly of
the Fall). Following sessions took place in which
Martin Atkins
Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke. He also works as ...
would show up for an 'audition' and discover himself in the middle of a recording session with the tape rolling. The recording was released on ''Metal Box'' as "Bad Baby". Atkins was PiL's drummer from 1979 to 1980 and 1982 to 1985.
''Metal Box'' was originally released as three untitled
45-rpm 12-inch (30-cm) records packaged in a metal box resembling a film canister with an embossed PiL logo on the lid (it was later reissued in more conventional packaging as a double LP set, ''
Second Edition''), and features the band's trademark hypnotic
dub reggae
Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican re ...
bass lines, glassy,
arpeggiated
A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.
An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...
guitar, and bleak, paranoid,
stream of consciousness vocals. ''Metal Box'' is starker than ''First Issue'', more spread out and uncompromising, and scattered with bits of
ambient synthesiser. The design for ''Metal Box'' was the brainchild of Dennis Morris.
PiL had a series of contentious live shows and behind-the-scenes controversies during their first American tour in 1980. Their appearance at the
Olympic Auditorium
The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium ...
in Los Angeles was fraught with hostile exchanges between Lydon and the audience. Tensions offstage mounted as well. PiL demanded that they work only with local promoters, bucking the promotional machinery of
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, their American label. For both the Los Angeles and San Francisco appearances, PiL agreed to work with
David Ferguson and his independent
CD Presents
David Ferguson was an American international outsider-culture impresario, activist, music producer and concert promoter. Over his career, most of which has been spent on the West Coast, he worked with musical acts such as the Avengers, John L ...
label. This business arrangement pitted the band and CD Presents in a pitched battle against San Francisco-based promoter
Bill Graham, who negotiated with concert venue owners and San Francisco government officials to deprive PiL of a concert location. Fearing public outbursts if the show was cancelled, San Francisco city officials instead opted to allow the CD Presents-sponsored event to proceed.
[Wechsler, Shoshana. "Emperor's New Clothes: Public Image in San Francisco". Damage, Vol. 1, No. 7. July 1980. pp. 8–10]
On 17 May 1980, the group appeared on the teenage music show ''
American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
'' at the invitation of host
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...
.
PiL's performance was chaotic; they abandoned lip-syncing, invited the audience onto the stage while the music played and Lydon clowned. Clark would go on to name the performance among his top 100 AB favorites.
In June 1980, Lydon and Levene were interviewed on NBC's ''
The Tomorrow Show
''The Tomorrow Show'' (also known as ''Tomorrow with Tom Snyder'' or ''Tomorrow'' and, after 1980, ''Tomorrow Coast to Coast'') is an American late-night television talk show hosted by Tom Snyder which aired on NBC in first run form from Octob ...
'' by host
Tom Snyder
Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and ' ...
. The interview was awkward (and combative at times), and ended with Snyder apologising to the audience: "The interesting part is, is that we talked to these two gentlemen a couple of weeks ago, a pre-interview, apparently that went all just fine and it made great sense, and what I read about them this afternoon, but somehow it got a little lost in translation tonight. But that's probably my fault." Lydon re-appeared on Tom Snyder's show in 1997, and Snyder apologised about what happened that night. Lydon shook it off by saying "it's just entertainment", and the completely normal interview proceeded without difficulty.
1980 also saw the release of PiL's first live album, ''
Paris au Printemps'' – also the group's last album featuring Jah Wobble. On this release's album sleeve, the band's name and all of the track titles were translated into French. The album cover was a painting by John Lydon depicting himself, Keith Levene and
Jeannette Lee
Jeannette Lee is a British music record executive, music manager, filmmaker and former musician. A retail worker at the Acme Attractions store that, along with the SEX boutique run by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, was instrumental in ...
.
In May 1981, PiL appeared in New York at the Ritz, playing from behind a projection screen. Lydon, Levene and Jeanette Lee were joined by a new drummer, 60-year-old jazz player Sam Ulano, who had been recruited for the gig from a bar, having apparently never heard the band before. While something reminiscent of but clearly different from PiL improvised behind the screen, PiL records were played simultaneously through the PA. Lydon taunted the audience, who expected to hear familiar material (or at least see the band), and a melée erupted in which the audience pelted the stage with bottles and pulled on a tarp spread under the band, toppling equipment. The promoters cleared the hall and cancelled the next night's show, and a local media furore ignited in New York.
''The Flowers of Romance'' (1981)
Later in 1980, Jah Wobble left the band and was not formally replaced. The resulting album was notable for its almost complete lack of bass parts. Martin Atkins, who had initially joined at the tail end of the ''Metal Box'' sessions, was re-recruited to drum on ''
The Flowers of Romance''. Levene had by then largely abandoned guitar in favour of synthesiser, picking up a new technique although owing a debt to
Allen Ravenstine
Allen Ravenstine (born May 9, 1950) is an American keyboard player, most recognized for his work in the experimental rock group Pere Ubu. In 1991, he quit music to become a commercial airline pilot.
History
Early years
Allen Ravenstine was ...
of
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...
. Atkins' propulsive
marching band
A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...
-style drumming, the lack of bass and guitar, and Lydon's increasing lyrical abstraction made this LP a difficult listen for rock fans, and contemporary reviews expressed great confusion. The record consists mostly of drums, vocals, ''
musique concrète
Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, ...
'', and
tape loops
Tape or Tapes may refer to:
Material
A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation):
Adhesive tapes
* Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive
* Athletic tape, pressure-sensiti ...
, with only gestures toward bass (played by Levene) and keyboards. The title "Flowers of Romance" was the name of
a short-lived band featuring Keith Levene,
Viv Albertine
Viviane Katrina Louise Albertine (born 1 December 1954) is an Australian-born British musician, singer, songwriter and writer. She is best known as the guitarist for the punk band the Slits from 1977 until 1982, with whom she recorded two studio ...
, and Sid Vicious in 1976. The track "Francis Massacre" was partially inspired by Lydon's incarceration in
Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison ( ga, Príosún Mhuinseo), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed ''The Joy'', is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland.
The current prison Governor is Edward Mullins.
History
...
and the track "Hymie's Him" began life as an instrumental piece intended for the score of
Michael Wadleigh
Michael Wadleigh, (born September 24, 1942, in Akron, Ohio), is an American film director and cinematographer renowned for his groundbreaking documentary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, ''Woodstock''.
Biography
A native of Akron, Ohio, Wadleig ...
's 1981 werewolf film ''
Wolfen''.
1983–1986: ''Commercial Zone'', ''This Is What You Want...'' and ''Album''
An aborted fourth album recorded in 1982 was later released by Levene as ''
Commercial Zone
''Commercial Zone'' is an album of studio recordings by Public Image Ltd., recorded in 1982 and 1983, and released in 1984 by PiL founding guitarist Keith Levene. ''Commercial Zone'' includes five songs that were later re-recorded for PiL's f ...
'', which included contributions from bass player Pete Jones. Lydon and Atkins claim that Levene stole the master tapes. Atkins stayed on through a live album (one of the first digital live albums ever recorded), ''
Live in Tokyo'' (1983) – in which PiL consisted of him, Lydon, and a band of session musicians—and left in 1985, following the release of ''
This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get'' (1984). This album consists of re-recorded versions of five songs from ''Commercial Zone'' (several of which feature a horn section) and three new tracks (four songs from ''Commercial Zone'' were not re-recorded for the new album). PiL was moving towards a more commercial pop music and
dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...
direction, and while many new fans found PiL, little of their original audience (or sound) remained.
During this interim period, the band released the single "
This Is Not a Love Song
"This Is Not a Love Song" is a single released by English post-punk band Public Image Ltd in 1983. It is the band's biggest commercial hit, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and at No. 3 on the Irish Singles Chart.
The 12" remixed versio ...
" in 1983, the song's lyric lampooning the ire from some fans and the music press over the band's movement towards a more commercial style. The song's title was inspired by a line in the song "Her Story" (1979) by Virgin label stablemates the
Flying Lizards
The Flying Lizards were an experimental English new wave band, formed in 1976. They are best known for their eccentric cover version of Barrett Strong's "Money", featuring Deborah Evans-Stickland on lead vocals, which reached the UK and US re ...
, about bands 'selling out' their artistic principles for commercial success ("''But you can still make money, by singing sweet songs of love... this is a love song''"). Ironically, it gave the band their biggest international hit single, reaching No. 5 in the UK singles charts and No. 12 in the Netherlands.
A re-recorded version with harsher vocals and a brass section was included on the album ''This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get''.
In 1985, Lydon recorded a song entitled "World Destruction" in collaboration with
Afrika Bambaataa's band
Time Zone
A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...
and producer
Bill Laswell
William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...
. PiL's 1986 album release was simply entitled ''
Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
'', ''Compact Disc'', or ''Cassette'', depending on the format. The cover's blue typeface and spartan design parodied
generic brand
Generic brands of consumer products (often supermarket goods) are distinguished by the absence of a brand name, instead identified solely by product characteristics and identified by plain, usually black-and-white packaging. Generally they imitat ...
s; promotional photos featured Lydon in a "generic blue" suit surrounded by generic foods and drinking generic beer. Produced by Bill Laswell (despite Lydon-fuelled faction and disunion) and with many of Laswell's usual rotating cast of musicians, it also featured guitar solos by
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
, considered by Vai himself to be some of his best work.
Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg (born 7 June 1958) is a Sweden, Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin (musician), John McLaughlin, Sultan Khan (musician), Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Ande ...
, solo bassist and at the time, member of
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra
* Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter
* John McLaug ...
's reformed band,
The Mahavishnu Orchestra, played bass on the album. Jazz great
Tony Williams and legendary
Cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
drummer
Ginger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...
drummed on the album, which also featured
Ryuichi Sakamoto
is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto inf ...
of the Japanese electropop group
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is conside ...
. Controversy reared again, with claims that the album cover and title concept had been stolen from the San Francisco noise/punk band,
Flipper, contemporaries of PiL, whose album, ''
Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
'', featured a similarly unadorned sleeve. Flipper retaliated by naming their next album, ''Public Flipper Limited''.
To tour ''Album'' in 1986, Lydon recruited former
Magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
and
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...
guitarist
John McGeoch
John Alexander McGeoch (25 August 1955 – 4 March 2004) was a Scottish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Magazine (1977-1980) and Siouxsie and the Banshees (1980-1982).
He has been described as one o ...
, world music multi-instrumentalist (and former
Damned guitarist)
Lu Edmunds, bass guitarist Allan Dias, and former
The Pop Group
The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed d ...
and
The Slits
The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...
drummer
Bruce Smith
Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...
. (Dias had previously played with
David Lloyd and
Andrew Edge
Andrew Edge (born David Andrew Edge) is a musician from Leeds, England. He moved to London in the late 1970s, and joined the Thompson Twins. After one year Edge left the group and joined Uropa Lula, who released three singles (on Arista Records) ...
in
Uropa Lula
Uropa Lula were a British pop group, consisting of David Lloyd (vocals and guitar), Allan Dias (bass guitar), Pete Fromm (keyboards), Andrew Edge (drums/percussion), Chester Kamen (guitar), and Carol Isaacs (keyboards). The group were manage ...
).
As the years went on, PiL's line-up grew steadier as the sound of the albums drifted toward dance culture and drum-oriented pop music. Edmunds left due to
tinnitus
Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no corresponding external sound is present. Nearly everyone experiences a faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely quiet room; but it is of concern only if it is bothersome, interferes with normal hearin ...
in 1988, and Smith left in 1990. McGeoch and Dias were members of PiL from 1986 until 1992, making them the group's longest-running members besides Lydon.
1987–1992: Later career
PiL released the album ''
Happy?'' in 1987, and during early 1988 were the supporting act on
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
' ''
Kick
A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...
'' tour in the US. Bill Laswell, who produced PiL's previous album, was at one point supposed to produce ''Happy?'', but this idea fell through allegedly because Laswell wanted to replace the PiL lineup with his own session musicians (as had been the case with ''Album''), a request to which John Lydon would not agree. ''Happy?'' was ultimately produced by
Gary Langan
Gary Michael Langan (born 19 April 1956) is an English engineer, record producer, mixer and musician.
Biography
His career started at age 18 when he worked as an assistant engineer at Sarm East Studios, learning the craft from Gary Lyons and M ...
and PiL. The album produced the single "Seattle" as well as the abortion-themed single "The Body", a sequel of sorts to the similarly titled Sex Pistols song "
Bodies
Bodies may refer to:
* The plural of body
* ''Bodies'' (2004 TV series), BBC television programme
* Bodies (upcoming TV series), an upcoming British crime thriller limited series
* "Bodies" (''Law & Order''), 2003 episode of ''Law & Order''
* ...
". In 1989, PiL toured with
New Order and
the Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes ( Icelandic: Sykurmolarnir) were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir (vocals, keyboards), Einar Örn Bened ...
as "The Monsters of Alternative Rock". PiL's seventh studio album, ''
9'' – so called as it was the band's ninth official album release, including the two live albums – appeared in early 1989 and featured the single "
Disappointed". The album was produced by
Stephen Hague
Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s.
Early life
Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960.
Early career
Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...
(who was known for working with the
Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...
and New Order), Eric "E.T." Thorngren and the band.
In 1990, Public Image Limited's song "The Order of Death" (from ''This is What You Want...This is What You Get'') was prominently featured in
Richard Stanley's movie ''
Hardware''. That same year saw the release of PiL's first compilation album ''
The Greatest Hits, So Far'', which featured one new song, the environmentally themed single "Don't Ask Me". The rest of the album consisted of previously released material, though remixes of several songs were used rather than original album versions and the album remake of "This is Not a Love Song" was included rather than the original single version. Lydon claims that he wanted the album to be 28 tracks long; the eventual 14-track listing was a compromise with Virgin Records (who, according to Lydon, originally wanted only eight tracks). The compilation, which boasted album-sleeve artwork by
Reg Mombassa
Christopher O'Doherty, also known by the pseudonym Reg Mombassa, is a New Zealand-born Australian artist and musician. He is a founding member of the band Mental As Anything and member of Dog Trumpet (alongside his brother Peter O'Doherty).
Ear ...
, made No. 20 on the UK album charts.
PiL's last studio album of this period, 1992's ''
That What Is Not'', included a
sample
Sample or samples may refer to:
Base meaning
* Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set
* Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal
* Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...
from the Sex Pistols' song
"God Save the Queen" in the song "Acid Drops" (the younger Lydon's voice is heard chanting the words, "No future, no future..." in the outro). Lydon disbanded the group a year later after Virgin Records refused to pay for the tour supporting the album, and Lydon had to pay for it out of his own pocket. The band's last concert was performed on 18 September 1992 with the lineup of Lydon, McGeoch, Ted Chau (guitar, keyboards),
Mike Joyce of
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...
(drums), and
Russell Webb (bass). Allan Dias, PiL's bassist since the spring of 1986, quit the band in the summer of 1992, some months before PiL itself went on hiatus.
Hiatus
In 1993, Lydon worked on his memoirs, first published in 1994 as ''
Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs'', and in 1996 he regrouped with
Steve Jones,
Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only alb ...
and
Paul Cook
Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene.
Early life and career
Cook was raised in Hammersmith and atte ...
for the Sex Pistols'
Filthy Lucre Tour
The Filthy Lucre Tour was the 1996 reunion tour of the pioneering British punk rock band Sex Pistols. The 78-date world tour lasted for almost six months.
A live album, ''Filthy Lucre Live'', was recorded at Finsbury Park in London and reach ...
. Lydon released a solo album, ''
Psycho's Path'', in 1997. 1999 saw the release of the 4-disc PiL compilation ''
Plastic Box''; it offered a more comprehensive retrospective of PiL's recorded output than the single-disc ''The Greatest Hits, So Far''. ''Plastic Box'' contained a mixture of previously released and unreleased material spanning PiL's entire career, although no material from ''Commercial Zone'' or PiL's two live albums was included (in the compilation's liner notes, Lydon wrote that "this collection represents a comma not a full stop, I fully intend to carry on with PiL, and there will be more in the future.").
2009–present: Reunion and new albums
![John lydon live 27 10 2013 photo 13](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/John_lydon_live_27_10_2013_photo_13.JPG)
In September 2009 it was announced that PiL would reform for five UK shows, their first live appearance in 17 years. Lydon financed the reunion using money he earned doing a UK TV commercial for Country Life butter. "The money that I earned from that has now gone completely – lock stock and barrel – into reforming PiL," said Lydon.
On 15 October 2009, Lydon registered the private limited company ''PIL Twin Limited'' as his new music publishing company in the UK.
![Public Image Ltd (7737966598)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Public_Image_Ltd_%287737966598%29.jpg)
The new lineup (consisting of Lydon, earlier members
Bruce Smith
Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...
and
Lu Edmonds
Robert David "Lu" Edmonds (born 9 September 1957) is an English rock and folk musician. He is currently, as of 2018, a vocalist and saz and cümbüş player in the Mekons and the lead guitarist for Public Image Limited. Edmonds reportedly p ...
, plus multi-instrumentalist
Scott Firth) played to generally positive reviews in late 2009, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of ''
Metal Box
''Metal Box'' is the second studio album by Public Image Ltd, released by Virgin Records on 23 November 1979. The album takes its name from the round metal canister which contained the initial pressings of the record. It was later reissued in ...
''. However, protested Lydon, "This tour is absolutely nothing to do with an anniversary of anything… We didn't even know that
Virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
were planning on releasing a very limited edition of ''Metal Box'' because they never bothered to confer with us." The tour spawned a live album, ''ALiFE 2009''.
In April 2010, PiL began an extensive North American tour, including a sub-headlining appearance at the
Coachella Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. I ...
. The band played several European concerts in July 2010 and at the
Summer Sonic Festival
The , also known as Supersonic, is an annual two- or three-day rock festival held at the same time in Osaka and Chiba, Japan. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day go to Chiba the following day and vice versa. The line-up cont ...
in Japan in August 2011.
In November 2009, Lydon said PiL might re-enter the studio if they could raise enough money from their December tour or from a record company.
PiL went to
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
to headline the
Heineken
Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star.
History
On 15 Febr ...
Music Conference 2010 Festival in August 2010. The group met with criticism for breaking the
artistic boycott of Israel by some British musicians organized in protest over Israeli policies toward Palestinians. Lydon said in response:
On 30 November 2011, the band's own label ''PiL Official Limited'' was registered as a private limited company in the UK.
PiL released the vinyl-only EP "One Drop" in late April 2012, which was eventually made available for streaming. The new 12-track studio album, ''
This is PiL'', followed in May. ''This is PiL'' was the band's first studio album in twenty years.
On 28 July 2015, the band uploaded a promo video for lead single "Double Trouble" from their next album, ''
What the World Needs Now...,'' via their
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel. On 21 August, PiL released the single (backed with "
Bettie Page
Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos. ") and a non-album track, "Turkey Tits". ''What the World Needs Now...'' is PiL's tenth studio album, released in September 2015.
On 17 November 2015, the group played "Double Trouble" on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...
''.
In December 2016, the group released super deluxe editions of ''Metal Box'' and ''Album''.
In 2018, a documentary film, ''The Public Image Is Rotten'', was released. Also in 2018, the band
released ''The Public Image is Rotten - Songs from the Heart'', a compilation CD/DVD box set to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band. It consists of five CDs and two DVDs that include B-sides, rarities, radio sessions, live concerts, 12" mixes and promo videos.
Members
Current members
*
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and aga ...
– lead vocals, keyboards, violin, saxophone
*
Bruce Smith
Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...
– drums, percussion, programming, backing vocals
*
Lu Edmonds
Robert David "Lu" Edmonds (born 9 September 1957) is an English rock and folk musician. He is currently, as of 2018, a vocalist and saz and cümbüş player in the Mekons and the lead guitarist for Public Image Limited. Edmonds reportedly p ...
– guitar, keyboards, saz, banjo, backing vocals
*
Scott Firth – bass, keyboards, synthesisers, backing vocals
Discography
*''
Public Image: First Issue'' (1978)
*''
Metal Box
''Metal Box'' is the second studio album by Public Image Ltd, released by Virgin Records on 23 November 1979. The album takes its name from the round metal canister which contained the initial pressings of the record. It was later reissued in ...
'' (1979)
*''
The Flowers of Romance'' (1981)
*''
This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get'' (1984)
*''
Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
'' (1986)
*''
Happy?'' (1987)
*''
9'' (1989)
*''
That What Is Not'' (1992)
*''
This Is PiL'' (2012)
*''
What the World Needs Now...'' (2015)
References
Bibliography
*
* Reynolds, Simon.
Heavy metal: The legacy of PiL and Metal box, Frieze 111 : UK, 2007
*
External links
*
Band's biography/discographyinterview with John Lydon atSuicideGirls
SuicideGirls is an online community-based website that revolves around pin-up photography sets of models known as the Suicide Girls.
The website was founded in 2001 by Selena Mooney ("Missy Suicide") and Sean Suhl ("Spooky").
Most of the site ...
Adrian Sherwood speaks about PIL*
ttp://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/clashkeithlevineinterview.htm Keith Levene on PIL
{{Authority control
Elektra Records artists
English post-punk music groups
Dub musical groups
English new wave musical groups
English experimental rock groups
Musical groups established in 1978
Musical groups reestablished in 2009
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
Underground, Inc. artists