Everything about Public Image Ltd totally explained
Public Image Ltd. (
PiL) are an
English musical group formed in 1978 by
vocalist John Lydon,
guitarist
Keith Levene, and
bassist Jah Wobble.
Rising from the ashes of the pivotal
punk rock group the
Sex Pistols, PiL branched out to a more experimentalist sound, and early work is often regarded as some of the most challenging and innovative music of
post-punk period: the
NME described PiL as "[a]rguably the first post-rock group." Their later music would be somewhat more conventional, and though PiL has been inactive since 1992, Lydon (the band's only constant member) considers the group "on hiatus" rather than broken up.
History
Early career
Following the Sex Pistols' breakup in 1978, Lydon spent three weeks in
Jamaica with
Virgin Records head
Richard Branson, in which Lydon assisted Branson in
scouting for emerging
reggae musicians. Branson also flew American band
Devo to Jamaica, with an aim to installing Lydon as lead singer in the band. Devo declined the offer.
Upon returning to England, Lydon approached
Jah Wobble (
né John Wardle) about forming a band together. The pair had been friends since attending the same school in the early 1970s, and had sometimes 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'd with
Sid Vicious, that Wobble would learn to play
bass guitar as he went. While that had proven a fatal assumption with Vicious (Lydon cites his musical inability as a prime reason for the Pistols' breakup), Wobble would prove to be a natural talent. Lydon also approached guitarist
Keith Levene (né Julian Keith Levene), with whom he'd toured in mid-1976, while Levene was a member of
The Clash. Lydon and Levene had both considered themselves outsiders even within their own bands.
Jim Walker (né James Donat Walker), a Canadian
student newly arrived in the UK, was recruited on drums, after answering an ad placed in
Melody Maker.
PiL began rehearsing together in May 1978, though the band was still unnamed. In July 1978, Lydon officially named the band "Public Image" (the "Ltd." wasn't added until several months later), after the 1968
Muriel Spark novel,
The Public Image.
PiL debuted in October 1978 with "Public Image", a song written while Lydon was still a member of Sex Pistols. The single was well received and reached number 9 in the UK charts, and performed well on import in the US.
First album
In preparing their debut album,
Public Image, the band spent their recording budget well before the record was completed. The members have since admitted that a significant amount was spent on
drugs. 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. Wobble had also beaten up producer
Bill Price's assistant engineer (Price, with
John Leckie, had secured the tight sound of the "Public Image" single), inciting Price to ban the group from their preferred Wessex Studios.
The album was considered groundbreaking on its release in December 1978. Grounded in heavy
dub reggae, Wobble's bass tone was called "impossibly deep" by contemporary reviews. Levene's sharp guitar sound, played on an
aluminium Veleno guitar, was widely imitated, most notably by The Edge of
U2, and Geordie Walker of
Killing Joke. Lydon's vocals were more tuneless and incantatory than in the Sex Pistols, gesturing toward the avant-garde territory of such artists as
Yoko Ono. Despite being widely criticised in the UK press for being
self indulgent and
not rock n' roll, the first album sold well in the UK and Europe, reaching number 22 in the UK charts.
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 closing track "Fodderstompf", heavily influenced by dub, comprises nearly eight minutes of a circular bass riff, played over a Lydon/Levene 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. Subsequently, the first album was renamed as
First Issue.
Disgusted that the album had compromised everything he'd come to the UK to achieve – that is, record accessible music for a youthful audience – Jim Walker walked out in early 1979.
Metal Box
1979's
Metal Box was a more focused effort. In addition to the drugs and disorganization that were the normal condition of the band, Jim Walker had quit from general disillusionment, making way for a series of drummers. Auditions were later held at Rollerball Studios in Tooley Street London Bridge. David Humphrey was their second drummer who went on to record two tracks for Metal Box at Manor Studios in Oxford, namely "Swan Lake" and "Albatross." "
Death Disco" a/k/a "Swan Lake" was released as a single in 1979 and reached no 20 in the charts. David left following other commitments. In one case Wobble set fire to
Karl Burns (formerly and latterly of
The Fall). Following sessions took place in which a star-struck young Martin Atkins 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".
Metal Box was originally released as three untitled
45 rpm 12-inch records packaged in a metal film canister (it was later reissued as a double LP set,
Second Edition), and features the band's trademark hypnotic
dub reggae bass lines, glassy,
arpeggiated 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 synthesizer.
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 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, its American label. For both the Los Angeles and San Francisco appearances, PiL agreed to work with
David Ferguson and his independent
CD Presents 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.
PiL also appeared in New York at the Ritz, playing from behind a projection screen. (Drummer
Sam Ulano had been recruited for the gig from a bar -- the 60-year-old jazz player had 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 furor ignited in New York.
An appearance a short time later on NBC's
The Tomorrow Show with
Tom Snyder had Lydon and Snyder insulting each other on-air. The band soon returned to London.
Flowers of Romance
Martin Atkins, who had initially joined at the tail end of the
Metal Box sessions (most tracks on that album were played by
Richard Dudanski, formerly of The 101ers), was re-recruited to drum on
Flowers of Romance, an album considered much stranger and more difficult than the already strange
Metal Box. Levene had by then largely abandoned guitar in favour of
synthesizer, picking up a technique that was unique, although perhaps owing a debt to
Allen Ravenstine of
Pere Ubu. Atkins' propulsive
marching band-style drumming 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, and
tape loops, with only gestures toward bass (played by Levene) and keyboards. Its drum sound was widely copied, notably by
Phil Collins.
This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get
Atkins, like Levene and Lydon, was a control freak, but Levene had the disadvantage of having repeatedly fired Atkins over apparent trifles, and of being incapacitated on heroin much of the time -- so when conflict arose again, Levene was the one to go. An aborted fourth album recorded in 1982, was later released by Levene as
Commercial Zone. The album included contributions from bass player
Pete Jones. Lydon and Atkins claim Levene stole the master tapes. Atkins stayed on through a live album,
Live in Tokyo -- 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. The band was moving towards a more commercial
pop music and
dance music direction, and while many new fans found PiL, little of their original audience (or sound) remained.
Album/Compact Disc/Cassette
PiL's 1986 release was simply entitled
Album,
Compact Disc, or
Cassette, depending on the format. The cover's blue typeface and spartan design parodied
generic brands; 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, considered by Vai himself to be some of his best work.
Jonas Hellborg, solo bassist and at the time, member of
John McLaughlin's reformed band,
The Mahavishnu Orchestra, played bass on the album. Legendary
Cream drummer
Ginger Baker also played on the album. 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, featured a similarly unadorned sleeve. Flipper retaliated by naming their next album,
Public Flipper Limited. Neil Perry gave
Album a positive review in the
NME: "This is a wonderful, stunning and equally confusing record, and working on the theory that you'd never expect to hear the Lydon sneer backed by prime metal riffing, that's exactly what you get. Not everywhere, of course, as proved by the haunting "Rise." And "Ease", by the way, with its shock-horror two minutes plus guitar solo, is quite beautiful...In short, Lydon and PiL are still breaking barriers. The man has extracted the false phallus from rock's trouser front and is smashing it over our heads."
In the liner notes of PiL's
Plastic Box compilation (1999), John Lydon remarked that "In some ways
Album was almost like a solo album. I worked alone with a new bunch of people. Obviously the most important person was Bill Laswell. But it was during the recording of this album in New York that
Miles Davis came into the studio while I was singing, stood behind me and started playing. Later he said that I sang like he played the trumpet, which is still the best thing anyone's ever said to me. To be complimented by the likes of him was special. Funnily enough we didn't use him..."
Late career
In 1984, Lydon started to put together a new touring band, they auditioned various musicians at The Palace in Pasadena, California. Among the perspective recruits was Flea of
Red Hot Chili Peppers fame. After a storming jam session with Flea was immediately offered the job, however, he declined stating he was a big fan of the ‘Flowers of Romance’ album and only wanted to jam with the band!
PiL manager Larry White, spent around a week trying to persuade him to change his mind, telling him: "Listen, this Chili Peppers thing is going nowhere. The best thing you can do is come out with PiL!" Keith Levene later claimed: "Flea auditioned, but when he found out I wasn't in the band anymore, he just said no. I was quite pleased by that!" However, Flea has stated that he didn't join because he wanted to do his own thing and not be part of a sideshow.
Flea later played with Levene on his 'Violent Opposition' album. 1999 also saw Jah Wobble & Deep Space support the Chili Peppers in France... Documented PiL fans The Red Hot Chili Peppers have also covered 'Religion' & 'Poptones' live.
In 1986, Lydon recruited former
Magazine and
Siouxsie & the Banshees guitarist
John McGeoch, world music multi-instrumentalist (and former
Damned guitarist)
Lu Edmunds, bass guitarist
Allan Dias, and former
The Pop Group and
The Slits drummer
Bruce Smith. 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 in 1988, and Smith left in 1990.
PiL released
Happy? in 1987, and during the spring of 1988 performed throughout the
United States as part of
INXS'
Kick tour. The album was less well received by critics than its immediate predecessor, but still produced the classic single "Seattle". In 1989, PiL toured with
New Order and
The Sugarcubes as "The Monsters of Alternative Rock," an arrangement of disparate alternative bands that predated the
Lollapalooza festival by two years. PiL's ninth album,
9, appeared earlier that year.
The band's last album to date, 1992's
That What Is Not, included a
sample from the Sex Pistols' song
God Save the Queen in which the young Lydon's voice is heard chanting the words, "No future, no future..." 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
September 18 1992 with the lineup of Lydon, McGeoch,
Ted Chau (guitar, keyboards),
Mike Joyce of
The Smiths (drums), and
Russell Webb (bass).
Lydon released a solo album,
Psycho's Path, in 1997. He considers PiL to be "on hiatus," and has spoken of writing a book on his years with the group.
Members and related people
Discography
Studio albums
Live, compilation, bootleg and other albums
All chart positions are UK.
Second Edition (repackaging of Metal Box) - 1979
Paris au Printemps (live) - 1980 #61
Live in Tokyo (live) - 1983 #28
Commercial Zone (bootleg) - 1983
The Greatest Hits, So Far (compilation) - 1990 #20
Box (box set) - 1990
Plastic Box (box set) -1999
Public Image/Second Edition (two-in-one) - 2003
Singles
All chart positions are UK.
"Public Image" - 1978 #9
"Death Disco" - 1979 #20
"Memories" - 1979 #60
"Flowers of Romance" - 1981 #24
"This Is Not a Love Song" - 1983 #5
"Bad Life" - 1984 #71
"Rise" - 1986 #11
"Home" - 1986 #75
"Seattle" - 1987 #47
"The Body" - 1987 #100
"Disappointed" - 1989 #38
"Warrior" - 1989
"Don't Ask Me" - 1990 #22
"Cruel" - 1992 #49Further Information
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