Public Image Ltd announce
new album

Public Image Ltd. (PiL) has decided to go ahead with announcing the release of their 11th studio album and first in eight years, End of World, following the passing of John Lydon’s wife of over four decades, Nora Forster, on April 5. The album will be released on 11 August 2023, via PiL Official and Cargo UK Distribution, and will be accompanied by a 38-date UK and European tour.

PiL released their latest single, Penge, along with the announcement of the album. John Lydon described the song as “something of a mediaeval Viking epic.” Earlier this year, PiL released Hawaii, a love letter to John’s wife Nora, who passed away from Alzheimer’s. John reflected on their life together, including their happiest moments in Hawaii.

The band started writing and recording End of World in 2018 during their 40th-anniversary tour. After a pause due to the pandemic, the band reunited in the studio, which resulted in 13 of the best tracks they have ever written.

PiL’s music and vision have earned them five UK Top 20 singles and five UK Top 20 albums. Their unique sound fuses rock, dance, folk, pop, and dub, and their shifting lineup is guided by John Lydon. Their debut album, First Issue, was released in 1978, followed by That What Is Not in 1992, before a 17-year hiatus. Lydon reactivated PiL in 2009, touring extensively worldwide and releasing two critically acclaimed albums. In 2015, their 10th studio album, What The World Needs Now…, peaked at #29 in the official UK album charts and picked up fantastic acclaim from both press and public.

John Lydon, Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth, and Bruce Smith continue as PiL, the longest stable lineup in the band’s history. The band is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential of all time. They celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2018 with a career-spanning box set and documentary film called The Public Image Is Rotten, and a 32-date UK/Europe tour, plus dates in Japan.