PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. Announces New Album 'End Of World'

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. will release its 11th studio album and first album in eight years, "End Of World", on August 11 through PiL Official via Cargo UK distribution. The announcement follows the sad passing of singer John Lydon's wife of more than four decades, Nora Forster, on April 5.

Earlier this year, PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. released "Hawaii", the most personal piece of songwriting and accompanying artwork that Lydon has ever shared. The song is a love letter to Nora, who sadly passed away from Alzheimer's disease. A pensive, personal yet universal love song that has resonated with many since its release in January, the song sees John reflecting on their lifetime well spent and in particular one of their happiest moments together in Hawaii.

John said: "Nora loved the album. She wouldn't have wanted us to postpone it or change any of our plans." Previously he has said of "Hawaii": "It is dedicated to everyone going through tough times on the journey of life, with the person they care for the most."

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. began writing and recording "End Of World" in 2018, during its 40th-anniversary tour. After "The Great Pause", the band regrouped in the studio and "there was just this massive explosion of ideas," Lydon says. The result finds PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. set to release 13 of the best tracks they have ever written.

The announcement comes with the release of new single "Penge", which John has described as "something of a mediaeval Viking epic."

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD.'s music and vision has earned them five U.K. Top 20 singles and five U.K. Top 20 albums. With a shifting lineup and unique sound — fusing rock, dance, folk, pop and dub — Lydon guided the band from their debut album "First Issue" in 1978 through to 1992's "That What Is Not", before a 17-year hiatus. Lydon reactivated PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. in 2009, touring extensively worldwide and releasing two critically acclaimed albums "This Is PiL" in 2012 followed by their 10th studio album "What The World Needs Now…" in 2015, which peaked at No. 29 in the official U.K. album charts and picked up fantastic acclaim from both press and public. (The album also peaked at number 3 in the official U.K. indie charts and #4 in the official U.K. vinyl charts). "What The World Needs Now…" was self-funded by PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. and released on their own label PiL Official via Cargo UK distribution. In 2018 PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. celebrated their 40th anniversary with a career-spanning box set and documentary film, both called "The Public Image Is Rotten", and a 32-date Europe tour, plus dates in Japan.

John Lydon, Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth and Bruce Smith continue as PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. They are the longest stable lineup in the band's history.

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. will be touring Europe in September and October 2023.

Track listing for "End Of World":

01. Penge
02. End Of The World
03. Car Chase
04. Being Stupid Again
05. Walls
06. Pretty Awful
07. Strange
08. Down On The Clown
09. Dirty Murky Delight
10. The Do That
11. L F C F
12. North West Passage
13. Hawaii

After fronting the SEX PISTOLS, John Lydon formed PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. in 1978. Outside of PUBLIC IMAGE LTD., John has released several solo records and collaborations. He also brings quality TV to the masses. He has released two autobiographies: "Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs" in 1994, and "Anger Is An Energy: My Life Uncensored" in 2014. He then released "Mr Rotten's Songbook" in 2017, which features never-before-seen artwork as well as annotated song lyric sheets spanning John's entire career, all written in his own hand.

Photo credit: Andres Poveda Photography