Public Image Ltd’s ‘This Is Not the Last Tour’ at Big Night Live
Design by Sophie Parrish
By Heather Thorn
On Saturday, October 3, Public Image Ltd brought post-punk to Boston at Big Night Live. Tucked beside TD Garden, the luxury music hall oozed with elegance, ricocheting the crowd’s energy and lead singer John Lydon’s searing, seething vocals.
Lydon, also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, was frontman of the Sex Pistols from 1975 to 1978. The Sex Pistols exploded the punk movement of England with the divisively rebellious record Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977) featuring iconic tracks such as “Anarchy in the U.K.” and “God Save the Queen.”
Following the Sex Pistols’ 12-day North American tour in January 1978 that was more of a circus than a proper tour—including rising band feuds, fueled drug addictions, and Malcom McLaren’s capitalistic management—Lydon left the band. He famously closed the group’s final show in San Francisco by posing the audience the question, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”
Despite the Sex Pistols being exactly what Lydon wanted to run away from, the band’s legendary legacy would pave the way for Lydon’s artistic freedom with Public Image Ltd. Rather than attempt to re-create the explosive success and collapse of the Sex Pistols, Lydon rejects it. He created PiL as an “anti-rock project” to subvert the exploitative and capitalist control he’d experienced with the Sex Pistols. Launching Public Image Ltd in October 1978 with their debut single “Public Image,” Lydon used their debut to respond to the media frenzy that had been following him all year.
Public Image Ltd has seen several changes since their original lineup featuring Jah Wobble, early Clash guitarist Keith Keven, and drummer Jim Walker. And perhaps it’s their ever-evolving sound that makes them a stand-out, one-of-a-kind band, earning them acclaim as one of the most innovative bands of all time across their nearly 40-year-long recording history.
PiL’s shape-shifting discography—from their debut record Public Image (1978) to their 11th studio album and latest release End of World (2023)—is one seeping with avant-garde influences, never sitting still long enough to be codified like punk rock was commodified.
Public Image Ltd announced This Is Not the Last Tour’s North American dates in March earlier this year. The tour marks PiL’s first stateside tour in eight years—and shows that fans are still just as desperate to see the band live.
Originally planned for the Royale, PiL’s October 3 date in Boston was upgraded to Big Night Live, over twice the size of the former venue. With the current lineup of longtime guitarist Robert ‘Lu’ Edmonds, drummer Mark Roberts, and bassist Scott Firth, Lydon gave fans their money’s worth with a roaring rendition of Public Image Ltd’s best songs.
The setlist spanned Public Image Ltd’s catalogue: “Home,” “Know Now,” “This Is Not a Love Song,” “Poptones,” “Death Disco,” “Warrior,” and “Shoom.” And despite being an early show—did I mention the band thundered on stage at seven P.M.?—it was everything a fan of Lydon could’ve asked for.
Did Lydon physically flip through the lyrics in front of him on stage? Yes. But by the end of the night my biggest takeaway was that, at age 70, Lydon proved that there’s nothing more punk than performing this long into his career—long after people have expected or perhaps wanted him to. Take Morrissey and Iggy Pop: iconic rock ‘n’ roll stars whose legacies follow in their every move. Rather than feed into fan nostalgia from the comfort of their own homes, Morrissey and Iggy Pop, like Lydon, honor the music by continuing to perform even when it’s clear age isn’t just a number (whether they have to perform shirtless is another question).
Not only did Public Image Ltd blow Big Night Live away with thudding instrumentals and Lydon’s screeching vocals—they proved that their tour is more than a legacy act; and they even teased new music at the show, too.