Featured In
ALBUMEnd of WorldPublic Image Ltd.
Albums by Public Image Ltd.
ALBUMEnd of WorldPublic Image Ltd.
ALBUMWhat the World Needs Now...Public Image Ltd.
ALBUMThis Is PilPublic Image Ltd.
ALBUMThat What Is NotPublic Image Ltd.
ALBUM9Public Image Ltd.
ALBUMHappy?Public Image Ltd.
ALBUMAlbumPublic Image Ltd.
ALBUMThis is What You Want ... This Is What You GetPublic Image Ltd.
ALBUMThe Flowers of RomancePublic Image Ltd.
ALBUMSecond EditionPublic Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd.'s Popular Music Videos
Double Trouble
Public Image Ltd.
This is PIL
Public Image Ltd.
One Drop
Public Image Ltd.
The One
Public Image Ltd.
Hawaii
Public Image Ltd.
Car Chase
Public Image Ltd.
Penge
Public Image Ltd.
Artist Playlists
Public Image Ltd. Essentials
John Lydon's bitter response to rock success.
Inspired by Public Image Ltd.
Never mind the Pistols—take a PiL.
Public Image Ltd.: Influences
Public Image Ltd.: Deep Cuts
Moving past post-punk gloom into arena rock and tropical pop.
Artist Biography
Tired of the chaos that filled the Sex Pistols’ final tour in 1978, the flame-haired singer formerly known as Johnny Rotten quit in order to create a new band, one whose creative vision was far beyond anything he’d previously attempted. Formed by the punk icon (now using his real name, John Lydon) with guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and drummer Jim Walker, Public Image Ltd. brandished an experimental and decidedly post-punk sensibility, with Lydon drawing from his love of dub reggae and progressive rock to devise the vanguard death-disco that fills 1979’s Second Edition. PiL followed with equally fascinating excursions into dance music on the 1983 club hit “This Is Not a Love Song” and heavy rock on 1986’s Album. Reliably unpredictable, the band has remained Lydon’s primary artistic vehicle in spite of innumerable line-up changes and the occasional hiatus to accommodate Pistols reunions and his sideline career as a reality-TV star.
Hometown
London, England
Genre
Rock