Public Image Limited O2 Academy Bristol 28th September 2023

 

Okay, like him or loathe him, John Lydon's name is pretty much as synonymous with the term 'post-punk'  as it is with 'punk'. We can argue into the middle of next week whether Lydon was responsible for punk and/or post punk but whichever side of the fence that you sit on it is undeniable that the bands that he was in, the Pistols and PiL, were a huge driving force behind these two musical ideas. Between them, Lydon, Wobble and Levine laid down something of a road map in 'Metal Box' that set the direction of British independent music for several years of the 1980s.

Like many bands Public Image Limited have suffered their trials and tribulations and there have been less than great albums released over the years. But when on form, the band have shone. This was repeated to a certain extent (at least in my opinion) with 'This Is PiL' when a version of the band (essentially the 'Album' era formation minus John McGeogh) reformed, buttered by the proceeds from some TV advertising that Lydon had been involved with.

Thanks to Chatts!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-uCG6rivUBD

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-9STu4HDEw9

Summer Punk All Dayers

 

Well it's no surprise that the three talking Pistols would get some further milage out the recent set up with Frank Carter, but the the appearance of The Stranglers on the bill did surprise me. I am assuming that the Margate gig will get an expanded bill along the lines of the gig in Glasgow. Who's your money on then? I'll put a fiver on it not being PiL! I'll get shot down but 999 would go down a treat! 

Talking of Johnny, I was also surprised to see the bill for SLF's next Belfast shindig, featuring PiL on the same bill as Sham 69. I thought that Johnny and Jimmy harboured a particular animosity towards each other. I do remember fisticuffs between the two at an airport or something... a story that made page 20 of The Sun! I assume this bad feeling stems back to the Sham Pistols thing that was momentarily the big story for the music press in '79.

20 From '87 (6) Public Image Limited Universal Amphitheatre Los Angeles 3rd December 1987

 

PiL's 1986 'Album' gets all of the plaudits, deservedly so, it is a great album. Its 1987 follow up, 'Happy?' as I recall did not get such a warm critical reception. As someone who was seeing PiL at the time I quite liked it. Listening to it now it does suffer from the blight of 1980's production and there is a degree of fret wanking in there too, but I stand by my original opinion of the album. In truth I also think that there was the fact that the 18 year old me was still rather in awe of Mr Lydon at that time.

In 2024 there is no doubt that he has become something of a marmite character, nevetheless, there is no denying that he has a talent having changed the face of music not once but twice. For me the contentious point seems to be his reluctance to recognise the fact that other musicians were also part of that musical transformation, be they a Pistol or a member of Public Image Limited. Any interpretration of of the music in which he has had an involvement, whether that relates to the recent gigs by Cook, Jones and Matlock or the Metal Box In Dub work of Wobble and Levine, seems guaranteed to get Johnny a-skwarking! Shame really.

Many thanks to the original Dime/101Guitars uploader.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-ol6UxrOC2z

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-b2Wy05ZA9L

01. Save Me
02. Rise
03. Seattle
04. Four Enclosed Walls
05. F.F.F.
06. Low Life
07. Open And Revolving
08. Home
09. Rules And Regulations
10. Bags
11. Hard Times
12. World Destruction
13. Angry
14. The Body
15. Public Image
16. Tie Me To The Length Of That
17. This Is Not A Love Song
18. Religion

Johnny Rotten Inked

 

'There's unlimited supply

And there is no reason why

I tell you it was all a frame

They only did it 'cos of fame

Who?....'

Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols)

Linoprint 20cm x 15cm

Black ink on cream card.

Ok, in recent years Mr Lydon may have become something of a marmite character but there can be no denying that between '76 and '80 he and his fellow musicians in his two bands produced some ground breaking stuff that inspired millions.

PiL The Rainbow London 26th December 1978

40 years ago today and the second UK appearance (the previous being the night before at The Rainbow) for this angry young man's second outfit.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-rqNSKB4ce4

10 From '87 (6) Public Image Limited The Astoria London, 28th September 1987

I had completely forgotten about this show and the fact that I was there! (it's my ticket stub on the artwork). Looking back I always had it in my head that I saw 'early' PiL, as in pre-reformation, three times but it would appear to be four times. Three of those gigs were very memorable (Brixton Academy 1986, Kilburn National 1987 and a car crash of a gig at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1989). Maybe it was the venue, I never liked The Astoria, in contrast to the Academy and The National, and I wasn't particularly saddened when it was demolished to make way for the new cross-rail construction. Take a look at the set though and I would say that it should have been a good gig. Promoting the 'Happy?' album at the time, the set admittedly doesn't lay much emphasis on the late '70's and early '80's PiL, but nevertheless it features the best of 'Album' with a few surprises in there as well including Lydon's influential collaboration with Afrika Bambata 'World Destruction' and 'Holidays in the Sun' (who would have thought back in 1987 that the actual Pistols would play again!).

The sound quality on this one is quite good as well.

FLAC: http://we.tl/WEsJApxJ0O

Artwork: http://we.tl/BeIWvVtGDE

1. Save Me
2. Rise
3. Seattle
4. Allah
5. FFF
6. Open & Revolving
7. Low Life
8. Home
9. Rules & Regulations (cut)
10. (continued)
11. Hard Times
12. Fat Chance Hotel
13. World Destruction
14. Angry
15. The Body
16. Round
17. Public Image
18. Holidays In The Sun
19. This Is Not A Love Song (cut)
20. (continued)
21. Religion

20 From '83 (7) Public Image Limited Top Rank Brighton 2nd November 1983

Here's Johnny! In 1983 PiL had their biggest hit in the form of 'This Is Not A Love Song' and the same year the band toured. Touring however was a logistical problem for John Lydon as at this point in time he was PiL. Jah Wobble was long gone and other founding member Keith Levine parted company with the singer earlier in '83. So it was a group of hired guns that toured this year.

Sadly I missed this then local gig for me, although many of my mates did go. Unfortunately this is an incomplete set but on the upside the quality is very good.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-S6bx4pXYTw

MP3: https://we.tl/t-HQGzZQ3XM4

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-oC8qnAqaEh

01. Public Image
02. Annalisa
03. Religion
04. Low Life
05. Bad Baby
06. Memories
07. Flowers Of Romance
08. Chant
09. Encore Break
10. Anarchy In The UK

PiL on The Tube

28th October 1983

Public Image Limited Heaven Under the Arches 1st April 2012

John Lydon at Heaven

1st April 2012

I have a patchy relationship with PiL. I first saw them back in '86 (gig posted on this site) when they were a force to be reckoned with. In 1987, on the 'Happy' promotional tour at the National in Kilburn, they were great once again, but come 1989 on the '9' tour, they were spent and they were very poor, putting in an extremely lacklustre performance at what I consider to be London's worst venue, the Hammersmith Odeon as was.

John Lydon then put PiL on ice for the next 20 years! PiL and I next crossed paths in December 2009 at The Electric Ballroom in old Camden Town. This was a revelation, I could not believe how good they were. This was no take the cash reunion for certain.

Skip forward 18 months and PiL announce 2 nights at Heaven Under the Arches at London's Embankment. A small venue (capacity 500?), with their first new material since 1992's rather weak 'That What Is Not', John and the boys have something to prove. This was gonna be a real treat!

Opening the set with the first of the evenings new material, the pace of the night was set. As yet, I'm not familiar with the new songs, other that next month's vinyl EP release 'One Drop'. What I would say is that the new songs cast an unapologetic over the shoulder look back to 'Metal Box', generally considered to be PiL's finest hour.

With John, Lu and Bruce, the PiL of 2012 have retained the core of their last successful line up from the 'Album' period. On stage, they are comfortable and confident in their work, including the new material.

Whilst the Pistols are public property, Public Image Limited are paradoxically private property and a project that JL will never again compromise. This attitude is certainly reflected in the new material.

'Lollipop Opera' at Heaven

1st April 2012

Of the old material, all the classics were present and correct, 'Death Disco', 'The Flowers of Romance', 'This is Not a Love Song', 'Rise' etc etc. The extreme bass line of 'Religion' was especially bone shaking on the night in such a small venue!

Lu Edmonds

This is Pil is released on 28th May.

Public Image Limited Brixton Academy 27th May 1986

A quick musical diversion from The Stranglers now.

This gig meant a lot to me, it was my second London gig (for those interested, the first, a few weeks before this one was Peter & The Test Tube Babies and The Long Tall Texans at the 100 Club). All gigs prior to this had been in the Brighton area, with an occasional trip to Guildford.

PiL had at this point released 'Album' and were riding high on the commercial success of the classic 'Rise' single. The gig promised to be a good one, besides which as a young punk, I was slightly in awe of John Lydon. The gig was great and certainly not without incident. Then as now Lydon had (an entirely reasonable) aversion to spitting and even as late as 1986 some in the audience had failed to move with the times and persisted in hawking up material to share with the band and with 'Ole man Rotten in particular! He got increasingly frustrated throughout the gig as his attempts to stem the gloopy flow by persuasion failed.

At one point he vowed never to play London again (thankfully he didn't mean it maaaan) and Public Image was cut short as he left the stage. At other times in the gig, I recall someone getting onto the stage to attack him, whilst on the right hand side of the stage someone scaled the rather large PA before dropping his trousers at the top.

In short, a great night, and certainly a far cry from the 'We are not worthy' relationship that we have seen with London audiences at more recent PiL/Pistols gigs.

Album was great and 1987's Happy? had its moments but unfortunately what followed in 9 and That What Is Not had little of the creativity that characterised earlier PiL material. Now, as they are recording a new album with the core of the band as was in 1986, I wait with baited breath hoping for something really memorable.

Thanks to the original uploader, bigboxoftapes.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QCA49DT3

NEW LINK: http://rapidshare.com/files/1307066980/PiL%20Brixton%2027.5.1986.zip

01 Kashmir
02 FFF
03 Low Life
04 Fishing
05 Pop Tones
06 Pretty Vacant
07 Banging the Door
08 The Flowers of Romance
09 Bags
10 Round
11 Home
12 Public Image
13 Rise
14 Annalisa