It’s a bitter “pil” to swallow, but Public Image Ltd does indeed turn 40 this year. Happy? Disappointed?
After quitting the Sex Pistols in January 1978, Johnny Rotten reverted back to his birth name—John Lydon—and immediately formed PiL with guitarist Keith Levene (Clash), bassist Jah Wobble and drummer Jim Walker. By the end of 1980, only Levene remained from Lydon’s original lineup, a sign of the countless personnel changes to follow during the band’s initial 14-year run. Lydon “reunited” PiL in 2009 with guitarist Lu Edmonds (Damned), drummer Bruce Smith (Slits) and bassist Scott Firth (Spice Girls, John Martyn, Elvis Costello), and the quartet has self-released two albums, the last being What The World Needs Now… in 2015.
What comes next for Lydon and Co. is both a brave new world and the same old story: On Friday, UMe will release The Public Image Is Rotten (Songs From The Heart), a five-CD/two-DVD boxed set also available as a six-LP collection. The former contains Singles 1978-2015 (CD1), B-sides, Rarities & Radio Sessions (CD2), 12″ Mixes & Dance Tracks (CD3), Unreleased Mixes & Tracks (CD4) and Live @ New York Ritz: July 16th 1989 (CD5) and Promo Videos And Tallinn Rock Summer Festival, Estonia August 26th 1988 (DVD1) and BBC TV Performances: Archive And Sydney, Enmore Theatre, Australia, April 10th 2013 (DVD2). The LP set has all the singles, b-sides and 12-inch mixes and dance tracks, plus some of the unreleased material.
PiL’s public image will be bolstered even more this year when the Tabbert Fiiller-directed The Public Image Is Rotten documentary hits theaters and the band hits North American for a four-week tour this fall.
Back in 2012, Lydon told MAGNET that PiL was about “personal politics. Looking inwards and solving your own problems. You can go a long way toward helping others if you can get ahead of that game. When I started, the targets were institutions and governments, not easy targets, not in the social landscape of that time. Groundbreaking on my part, really. PiL is about clearing yourself up inside and, by example, hoping that lifestyle improves the lifestyle of others. My general principle, and that goes for PiL as well, has always been to not tell lies. Cheat no one. I never have.”
That’s no selfish rubbish.
Live dates and track listings for both boxed sets after the jump.
LIVE DATES
10/09 New Orleans, Civic Theatre
10/10 Atlanta, Variety Playhouse
10/12 Washington, D, Black Cat
10/13 Asbury Park, NJ, Asbury Lanes
10/15 Brooklyn, Brooklyn Steel
10/16 Philadelphia, Union Transfer
10/18 Montreal, Club Soda
10/19 Toronto, Lee’s Palace
10/21 Detroit, Majestic
10/22 Chicago, Thalia Hall
10/24 Dallas, Granada Theatre
10/25 Austin, Mohawk
10/28 Portland, Wonder Ballroom
10/29 Seattle, Showbox
10/31 San Francisco, Chapel
11/01 San Francisco, Chapel
11/03 Los Angeles, Rey
11/06 Mexico City, Pepsi Centre
CD/DVD VERSION
CD1: Singles 1978-2015
1. Public Image
2. Death Disco
3. Memories
4. Flowers of Romance
5. This is Not a Love Song
6. Bad Life
7. Rise
8. Home
9. Seattle
10. The Body
11. Disappointed
12. Warrior
13. Don’t Ask Me
14. Cruel
15. One Drop
16. Reggie Song
17. Out of the Woods
18. Double Trouble
CD2: B-sides, Rarities & Radio Sessions
B-sides
1. The Cowboy Song
2. Half Mix / Megga Mix
3. Another
4. Home is Where the Heart is
5. Blue Water
6. Question Mark
7. Selfish Rubbish
8. USLS1 (mix)
9. Turkey Tits
Rarities
10. Pied Piper
11. Criminal
Radio Sessions
12. Poptones – BBC, John Peel Sessions (1979)
13. Careering – BBC, John Peel Sessions (1979)
14. Chant – BBC, John Peel Sessions (1979)
15. Cruel – BBC, Mark Goodier Live Session 1992
16. Acid Drops – BBC, Mark Goodier Live Session 1992
17. Love Hope – BBC, Mark Goodier Live Session 1992
CD3: 12″ Mixes & Dance Tracks
1. Death Disco (12”)
2. Flowers of Romance (Instrumental)
3. This is Not a Love Song (12”)
4. Rise (Bob Clearmountain Mix)
5. Seattle (US Remix 12”)
6. The Body (US Remix Extended 12”)
7. Disappointed (12”)
8. Happy (US Remix 12”)
9. Warrior (Extended 12” Mix)
10. Lollipop Opera
11. Shoom (from What The World…)
Bonus Tracks
12. Death Disco (Original Monitor Mix)
13. This is Not a Love Song (12” Remix)
CD4: Unreleased Mixes & Tracks
1. Annalisa (“New Mix” – Townhouse 1979)
2. Albatross (“Monitor Mix” 1979)
3. Careering (Live Paris 1980) (Previously Unreleased)
4. Banging The Door (Alternative Mix, Townhouse 1980) (aka The Door)
5. Vampire (Unreleased Track – Townhouse 1981)
6. Nineteen Eighty One (Original Version, Townhouse 1981)
7. Bad Night (Unreleased Track – Park South 1983)
8. Things in E (aka Ease) (Alternative Laswell mix 1985)
9. Can you Feel the Fours (Unreleased Instrumental – Farmhouse 1987)
10. Open and Revolving (Alternative Mix – Farmhouse 1987) (aka Spy Thriller)
11. Kashmir (Unreleased Renovations Mix 1987) (Instrumental)
12. Cajun (Unreleased Bill Laswell Instrumental 1988)
13. Worry (“Ruff Mix” – Advision 1988)
14. Think Tank (“Outtake” – Eldorado 1991)
CD5: Live @ New York Ritz – July 16th 1989
1. Warrior (with intro)
2. Happy
3. This is Not a Love Song
4. Home
5. Round
6. Brave New World
7. Same Old Story
8. The Body
9. Open & Revolving
10. Rise
11. Disappointed
12. Public Image
13. Seattle
14. World Destruction
DVD 1
Promo videos
1. Public Image
2. Death Disco
3. This is Not a Love Song
4. This is Not a Love Song (live in Tokyo)
5. Bad Life
6. Rise
7. Home
8. Seattle
9. The Body (uncensored)
10. Disappointed
11. Warrior
12. Don’t Ask Me
13. Cruel
14. Covered
15. One Drop
16. Reggie Song
17. Out of the Woods
18. Lollipop Opera (unreleased)
19. Double Trouble
20. Bettie Page
21. The One
Tallinn Rock Summer Festival, Estonia August 26th 1988
1. Public Image
2. FFF
3. Seattle
4. Home
5. Bags
6. Rise
7. Hard Times
8. Religion
9. Rules & Regulations
10. Angry
11. Open & Revolving
12. Holidays In The Sun
13. The Body
14. World Destruction
DVD 2
BBC TV Performances: Archive
1. Death Disco – BBC, Top of the Pops 1979
2. Poptones – BBC, Old Grey Whistle Test 1980
3. Careering – BBC, Old Grey Whistle Test 1980
4. Flowers of Romance – BBC, Top of the Pops 1981
5. Rise – BBC, Top of the Pops 1986
6. Home – BBC, Old Grey Whistle Test 1986
7. Round – BBC, Old Grey Whistle Test 1986
8. Disappointed – The Late Show 1989
Sydney, Enmore Theatre, Australia, April 10th 2013
1. Four Enclosed Walls
2. Albatross
3. Deeper Water
4. Memories
5. Reggie Song
6. Disappointed
7. Warrior
8. Flowers of Romance
9. One Drop
10. Death Disco
11. This is Not a Love Song
12. Public Image
13. Out of the Woods
14. Rise
15. Open Up
LP VERSION
LP 1: Singles 1978-1989
A
1. Public Image
2. Death Disco
3. Memories
4. Flowers of Romance
5. This is Not a Love Song
6. Bad Life
B
1. Rise
2. Home
3. Seattle
4. The Body
5. Disappointed
LP 2: Singles 1989-2015
A
1. Warrior
2. Don’t Ask Me
3. Cruel
4. One Drop
B
1. Reggie Song
2. Out of the Woods
3. Double Trouble
LP 3: B-sides
A
1. The Cowboy Song
2. Half Mix / Megga Mix
3. Another
4. Home is Where the Heart is
B
1. Blue Water
2. Question Mark
3. Selfish Rubbish
4. USLS1
5. Turkey Tits
LP 4: 12” Mixes & Dance Tracks
A
1. Death Disco (12”)
2. This is Not a Love Song (12”)
3. Flowers of Romance (instrumental)
4. Rise (Bob Clearmountain Mix)
B
1. Seattle (US Remix 12”)
2. The Body (US Remix Extended 12”)
3. Disappointed (12”)
LP 5: 12” Mixes & Dance Tracks
A
1. Happy (US Remix 12”)
2. Warrior (Extended 12” Mix)
3. Lollipop Opera (from This is PiL)
B
1. Shoom (from What The World Needs Now…)
Bonus Tracks
2. Death Disco (Original Monitor Mix)
3. This is Not a Love Song (12” Remix)
LP 6: Unreleased Mixes and Tracks
A
1. Annalisa (“New Mix” – Townhouse 1979)
2. Banging The Door (Alternative Mix, Townhouse 1980) (aka The Door)
3. Vampire (Unreleased Track – Townhouse 1981)
4. Nineteen Eighty One (Original Version, Townhouse 1981)
5. Bad Night (Unreleased Track – Park South 1983)
B
1. Can you Feel the Fours (Unreleased Instrumental – Farmhouse 1987)
2. Open and Revolving (Alternative Mix – Farmhouse 1987) (aka Spy Thriller)
3. Kashmir (Unreleased Renovations Mix 1987) (Instrumental)
4. Cajun (Unreleased Bill Laswell Instrumental 1988)
5. Think Tank (“Outtake” – Eldorado 1991)
