Public Image Limited news

In celebration of their 40th Anniversary, JOHN LYDON’s PUBLIC IMAGE LTD (PiL) have announced THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN: NORTH AMERICAN TOUR, will kick off in New Orleans on Tuesday, October 9 (see below for all dates).

Tickets go on-sale starting Friday, July 13 at 10:00AM local time. Further PUBLIC IMAGE LTD activity includes the release of THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN a career–spanning box set (out July 20) and a new documentary film of the same name, the latter of which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York and at London’s Raindance Festival.

Directed by Tabbert Fiiller and released by Abramorama, the film will make its North American theatrical premiere on Friday, September 14 in New York City at Metrograph with more theatrical dates in October-November to coincide with PiL’s North American fall tour.

View the trailer for THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN film (here).

THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN: NORTH AMERICAN TOUR arrives on the heels of the band’s current headlining UK/Europe tour which has included a number of sold-out shows as well as festival performances and Japanese dates. The group’s worldwide tour in 2016 was regarded by many as the best performances the band have ever played; it followed the release of their 10th studio album ‘What The World Needs Now…’ (2015) and the critically-acclaimed ‘This is PiL’ (2012) which marked the band’s first album in 17 years.

‘What The World Needs Now’ peaked at number 29 in the official UK album charts and picked up fantastic acclaim worldwide from both the press and public. (The album also peaked at number 3 in the official UK indie charts and number 4 in the official UK vinyl charts). ‘What The World Needs Now…’ was self-funded by PiL and released on their own label ‘PiL Official’ via Cargo UK Distribution.

Widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential bands of all time, PiL’s music and vision earned them 5 UK Top 20 singles and 5 UK Top 20 albums. With a shifting line-up and unique sound, JOHN 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.

JOHN LYDON, LU EDMONDS, SCOTT FIRTH and BRUCE SMITH continue as PiL and remain the longest stable line-up in the band’s history.

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD is:
John Lydon - After fronting the Sex Pistols, John Lydon formed Public Image Ltd in 1978. Outside of PiL John has released several solo records and collaborations. He also brings quality TV to the masses and has recently released the autobiography ‘Anger is an Energy: My Life Uncensored’.

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 - Drummer in The Pop Group and formerly of The Slits Bruce became percussionist for PiL in 1986 playing and recording on the albums ‘Happy?’ and ‘9’. Seen as a drumming virtuoso, Bruce 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 and Elvis Costello.

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:

TUE 10/9 New Orleans, LA The Civic Theatre
WED 10/10 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
FRI 10/12 Washington, DC Black Cat
SAT 10/13 Asbury Park, NJ Asbury Lanes
MON 10/15 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel
TUE 10/16 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
THU 10/18 Montreal, QC Club Soda
FRI 10/19 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace
SUN 10/21 Detroit, MI The Majestic
MON 10/22 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
WED 10/24 Dallas, TX Granada Theatre
THU 10/25 Austin, TX The Mohawk
SUN 10/28 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
MON 10/29 Seattle, WA Showbox
WED 10/31 San Francisco, CA The Chapel
THU 11/1 San Francisco, CA The Chapel
SAT 11/3 Los Angeles, CA El Rey
TUE 11/6 Mexico City, MX Pepsi Centre

FILM:

‘THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN’ THEATRICAL FILM PREMIERE FRI 9/14 New York City, NY The Metrograph

About THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN film:

The career-spanning, new music documentary on the band THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN from Abramorama and Verisimilitude, tells the story of music icon John Lydon and his pioneering group PiL with a level of depth and intimacy never-before-seen. Following a sold-out screening at Camden London’s Odeon Cinema, the film is now set for release in multiple theaters across the United Kingdom and select European cities throughout the summer, followed by a North American theatrical tour in the fall kicking off at New York City’s downtown Metrograph.

Directed by Tabbert Fiiller and Produced by Tyler Brodie, Hunter Gray, Phaedon Papadopoulos and Tabbert Fiiller, THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN features in-depth interviews with JOHN LYDON, former and current PiL bandmates as well as Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Ad-Rock (Beastie Boys) and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) among others, and the film is loaded with electrifying archival performance and interview footage.

About THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN boxset:

Public Image is Rotten (Songs from the Heart) Box Set will be released on July 20, 2018, coming in the form of a staggering 5CD/2DVD set as well as a 6LP set. The box set features the PiL Singles Collection (1978-2015), B-sides, Rarities and Radio Sessions, 12" Mixes, Unreleased Mixes and Tracks and a Live concert from New York Ritz in July 1989.

The DVD includes PiL promo videos + footage from the BBC's Top Of The Pops and Old Grey Whistle Test. Just in case that isn't enough they've included two legendary live concerts, the first PiL's appearance at the Tallinn Rock Summer Festival in Estonia 1988 (still part of the USSR at the time) and the second from 2013's Enmore Theatre in Australia during the This is PiL tour.

Pre-order The Public Image is Rotten (Songs from the Heart) Box Set go to https://pil.lnk.to/TPIIR.