Public Image Ltd:

First US TV Performance in 18 years
3 additional North American Dates

Press Release:
March, 4th 2010

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD (PiL) have announced their first television performance in 18 years to take place on Wednesday, April 7 when they’ll appear on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Bud Light Golden Wheat Outdoor Stage. PiL’s last U.S. TV performance was in 1992 on 'The Dennis Miller Show' where the band played the song “Covered” live in the studio.

This news follows the band’s recently announced North American headlining tour, which gets underway April 17 in San Francisco and now includes three newly added tour dates: April 28 at Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, MI; April 30 at Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, WI; and May 16 at Pearl Street in Northampton, MA.

Immediately prior to the tour launch, PiL perform at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, CA on Friday, April 16, marking their first U.S. show in 18 years. Cited as one of the most innovative and influential bands in music history, PiL return to a country where they enjoyed a special relationship throughout their career for what are set to be stunning shows.

After fronting the Sex Pistols, John Lydon formed Public Image Ltd in 1978. With their experimental sound fusing Rock, Dance, Folk, Ballet, Pop and Dub, PiL are regarded as producing some of the most diverse music of the 70s and 80s. As a band, the music and vision constantly evolved like no other, culminating in an incredible live experience.

They returned in December 2009 for seven monumental concerts in the United Kingdom–their first shows in 17 years. John Lydon (vocals), Lu Edmonds (guitar), Bruce Smith (drums) and Scott Firth (bass) earned critical and public acclaim for these concerts, with many British media outlets championing them as the shows of the year.

John Lydon: "I sound like a bag of kittens thrown down the staircase."

2010 sees the 30th anniversary of the band’s first U.S. tour and also their U.S TV debut on "American Bandstand," where singer John Lydon invited the audience onstage to dance with the band! Host Dick Clark famously introduced their appearance as "a memorable moment in rock n roll, something special and interesting." 

With a wide and varied back catalogue spanning three decades, Public Image Ltd will be showcasing the unique sounds of tracks such as "Public Image," "This Is Not A Love Song," "Rise," and "Disappointed," with many further surprises in store.  

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. Lu is also associated with a variety of eclectic and acoustic bands including The Mekons and Siberian band Yat-Kha.

Bruce Smith: Former drummer in The Pop Group and The Slits became percussionist for PiL also in 1986 playing and recording on the albums Happy? and 9. Seen as a drumming virtuoso, Bruce Smith brought his unique style into the fold. Bruce has also played with the likes of Björk and Terence Trent D’Arby. 

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, Elvis Costello and The Spice Girls. Scott’s arrival into the band in 2009 resulted in John Lydon declaring him "Genius at work!"

The current North American tour dates are as follows, with more shows to be added. These dates will be followed by a series of high-profile summer European Festival appearances.

DATE CITY VENUE
Fri 4/16 Indio, CA Empire Polo Field/Coachella
Sat 4/17 San Francisco, CA Grand Ballroom @ Regency Center
Tue 4/20 Seattle, WA Showbox at The Market
Wed 4/21 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
Fri 4/23 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
Sat 4/24 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
Mon 4/26 Kansas City, MO Midland Theatre
Wed 4/28 Pontiac, MI Crofoot Ballroom
Fri 4/30 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
Sun 5/2 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Tue 5/4 Boston, MA Royale Boston
Wed 5/5 Boston, MA Royale Boston
Fri 5/7 Toronto, ON Kool Haus
Sat 5/8 Montreal, QC Theatre L’Olympia de Montreal
Tue 5/11 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
Wed 5/12 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Fri 5/14 Pittsburgh, PA Club Zoo
Sat 5/15 Atlantic City, NJ The Borgata Music Box
Sun 5/16 Northampton, MA Pearl Street
Tue 5/18 New York, NY Terminal 5

For further PiL information, see: www.pilofficial.com/shows.html

 

U.S. press contacts for PiL:
Mitch Schneider / Libby Coffey (National) and Chelsi Schriver (Tour) at MSO: