Artist Public Image Ltd.

“To me the Pistols were the last rock ’n’ roll band. They weren’t the beginning of anything. Whereas PiL really felt like the start of something new.” So says guitarist Keith Levene, the original guitarist of Public Image Ltd., in Simon Reynolds’ post-punk chronicle, Rip It Up And Start Again. Granted, Levene has a bias—one that John Lydon, the incendiary frontman of both bands, seems to share. After quitting the Sex Pistols, Lydon ditched the Johnny Rotten moniker and formed PiL in 1978 alongside Levene, a former member of The Clash, and bassist Jah Wobble; from there, the group released a string of abrasive, dub-propelled records that reengineered rock’s DNA and instigated the post-punk movement. By the mid-’80s, PiL seemed far less essential, but that hasn’t stopped Lydon from reviving the franchise for this tour. 

Updated 04/19/2010