On leaving the Sex Pistols in 1978 John Lydon’s
next step would be Public Image Limited
(PiL), and it was a step. PiL were nothing
like the Sex Pistols musically or morally.
This was something completely different.
He recruited Keith Levene on guitar and
his old mate Jah Wobble on bass. Inspired
by the ‘We know how NOT to do it”
ethic, PiL would become a company as well
as a band. They would manage themselves,
they would produce their own records,
and they would take no shit from no one,
not least the fans who wanted Johnny Rotten
back in the Sex Pistols. The public image
would be limited.
PiL would fuse and confuse a variety of
different musical styles, there were no
rules. The change of direction would annoy
many Sex Pistols fans, but equally open
up a variety of kids to more eclectic
tastes. Public Image Ltd are probably
one of the most underrated and misunderstood
bands of all time. Their work is only
now finally beginning to be appreciated,
and in turn abused...
Public Image would continue in one form
or another through three decades, releasing
numerous albums on their travels. Always
chameleons, bar Lydon, the line up would
constantly change, as would the style
and content of the music. Just about every
musical scope and genre was covered. Rock,
Folk, Dance, you name it, it was all there.
There were no labels or limitations, this
was anything you wanted it to be. PiL
would also dip in and out of “pop
structure”, scoring some unlikely
hits along the way. There was no point
hiding in the wings and being an obscure
novelty act, every so often you have to
slap the music industry round the face.
Something PiL became very good at...
An instant classic PiL’s stunning
debut single ‘Public Image’
released in October 1978 would shape the
new approach. Lyrically, it was a bite
back at the Pistols and a warning things
were going to be different ("I'm
not the same as when I began, I will not
be treated as property"). Musically,
it was a pivotal point for punk, this
wasn't three chord trash by any standard…
Wobble
kept the bass simple but dominated the
sound. Keith Levene’s metallic (not
metal) guitar rang out, and Jim Walker's
drums provided a danceable backbeat. Misconception
has it this could almost be a Pistols
song. The Sex Pistols could never
have sounded like this, can you really
imagine a song built round Sid’s
bass?
“Who
listened to the bass in rock music before
Public Image?” - John Lydon
The debut album ‘First Issue’
followed in December 1978. The band had
only been together less than six months
at this point, but such was their enthusiasm
that they got the album out double quick,
warts and all. From the beginning it was
clear that PiL would deal with more than
just convential music, much of their sound
would be drawn from raw emotion. From
the desperation of the opening track 'Theme'
("I wish I could die, I will survive")
to the disco good fun of the last track
'Fodderstompf'. It was a powerful mix
of antagonism,
frustration, anger, but not forgetting
humour! Proper content…
They
also began to play live and set the trend
that every gig would be an event. It’s
safe to say that early PiL shows were
sporadic, but always eventful. There were
some very confused people around…
Recorded with an ever changing set of
drummers ‘Metal Box’ the band’s
second album in 1979 was another massive
step. Gone was the sonic rock of the first
album, and in came a more layered and
textured sound, a mixture of freeform
and structure, though maybe we’re
still not sure which is which… It
wasn’t only the music that was groundbreaking,
‘Metal Box’ was three 45rpm
LP's packaged in a metal canister, but
this was an age long before record companies
played the format game. This was not a
novelty, PiL knew exactly what they were
doing, they were all huge record fans,
and they understood packaging, image,
and high sound quality were a vital ingredient
to what they wanted achieve…
‘Metal
Box’ is often compared to a mixture
of Krautrock and Dub Reggae, and while
it's true PiL were fans of these genres,
it's a VERY LAZY comparison. I can't think
of a single record from those genres that
sounded like ‘Metal Box’, can
you? Or have you just been led to believe
that? There may have been elements of
that sound in the mix (public
image were never scared of their influences),
but ‘Metal Box’ covered far
more.
Passion
and emotion were again huge parts of the
record, not least ‘Death Disco’,
a song written by John to his dying mother.
It’s hard not to be affected by his
vocal. The emotion burns through the song;
confusion, fear, pain. Heavy stuff, even
scary in places, but also a damn fine
dance record! A classic full on Wobble
bass line with Keith doing his best to
bastardise ‘Swan Lake’ on the
guitar. It's hardly "Can meets King
Tubby" is it…?
Jah Wobble would leave before the next
album ‘Flowers of Romance’ was
released in 1981. With no bass player
the band went for a more stripped down
sound, mainly relying on Lydon’s
vocal and what would come to known as
– and later ripped off as –
the dynamic PiL drum sound, together with
the use of more organic sounds, primitive
samples. Dance music would never be the
same again…
Due
to constant police intrusion, not to mention
just plain logistics, PiL regrouped to
New York and reinvented themselves again.
A new album ‘Commercial Zone’
was planned. Perhaps using a more orthodox
sound than ‘Flowers of Romance’,
but no less inspiring. Internal bickering
would see the album never properly finished,
although Keith Levene did later issue
a version on his departure in 1983.
John
Lydon, together with drummer Martin Atkins,
and a new band of mostly session players
– a situation Lydon found himself
virtually forced into due to the departure
of various members – would
later release their own versions of many
of the tracks from ‘Commercial Zone’
as ‘This is What You Want, This is
What You Get...’. In the meantime,
and typically against the run of play,
PiL scored one of their biggest ever hits
with ‘This is Not a Love Song’,
the last record to feature Levene. A massive
slab of disco/pop/funk with tellingly
ironic lyrics, ("I'm crossing over
to the other side, big business is very
wise…").
The release of ‘This is What You
Want…’ in 1984 was a huge turning
point for PiL. With the final departure
of Keith Levene John decided that working
within a (very) loose – and
highly adaptable – rock/pop
format was to be the way forward. The
difference between ‘Flowers of Romance’
and this album is unbelievable, although
that’s not to say the album didn’t
contain some challenging material, such
as ‘The Pardon’. An erie track
maybe more in keeping with the likes of
‘Flowers of Romance’ than is
ever credited. The change of direction
saw PiL alienate a lot of fans, however,
the myth that ‘Commercial Zone’
was the last true PiL album is simply
not true. Ok, ‘This is What You Want...’
was a more commercial move, a move seemingly
against their original philosophy, but
PiL were always chameleons they changed
as it suited them, this was just another
change in direction. In true PiL fashion,
going against the grain, giving the people
what they didn't want, just when
they thought they knew what they wanted…
Produced by Bill Laswell the generic ‘Album’
of 1986 was – you guessed it
– yet another change in direction,
out went the disco/funk and in came guitars
complemented with more natural sounds.
The album would see PiL/Lydon use a variety
of Laswell cohorts, including the likes
of Steve Vai, Ryuichi Sakamoto and even
Ginger Baker! Of course the purists were
outraged, PiL were accused of making heavy
metal. The album may have been more rock(ier)
than anything they had done before, but
it certainly wasn't heavy metal. Ferocious
guitars in places I'll give you that,
but Violin, Conch Shells, Didjeridu? Heavy
metal are you sure? ‘Album’
fused the new approach perfectly with
all the trade mark PiL sounds and qualities.
The big drums, John’s unique vocals,
the Eastern melodies, and most importantly
the content. Not many other “pop”
stars were singing about the constant
threat of the end of the world, were they?
The
aggressive energy of ‘Album’
brought PiL a new section of audience,
including some punk-rock fans who had
been scared off by the first few albums.
PiL were finally making music they could
relate to. PiL/Lydon even found themselves
with a huge hit single in ‘Rise’,
PiL's profile was as high as it ever had
been. It was the start of a new whole
era for the band…
This
period of 1986/1987 saw the birth of PiL
II (for want of a better description),
Lydon finally had a settled line up, a
mixture of friends and contemporaries
featuring the likes of Magazine’s
John McGeoch (RIP) and muti-instrumentalist
Lu Edmonds. The settled “band”
line up paid dividends for the fans, as
(shock horror) in under 18 months they
were back with a new album titled ‘Happy?’
Musically it wasn’t a huge shift
in direction but it was still an onward
move. The big guitars were replaced by
more smoother melodic sounds and in came
a greater use of synth/keyboards. Atmospheric
tracks like 'Save Me' and ‘Fat Chance
Hotel’ were the perfect example that
elements of the old PiL remained, both
styles pulling each other apart to form
a new PiL sound.
Although in their earlier career PiL had
self admittedly “ran away” from
touring this line up toured relentlessly,
building a whole new following. Fans who
knew nothing about the Sex Pistols or
‘Metal Box’, that is, until
they checked out the back catalogue and
opened up a whole new world for themselves.
Of course, some purists preferred the
old to the new and vice versa. Yes, it’s
called variety. Enjoy the choice, that’s
the whole point…
PiL's 9th album for Virgin Records suitably
titled ‘9’ was released in 1989.
It would continue the smoother melodic
approach, but mix it with the fledgling
electronic and dance production of the
time. "Dance!" This was nothing
new to PiL, they had been making “dance”
records since 1978. You were always meant
to dance to PiL, it wasn’t music
for brooding. Yes, it dealt with real
subjects and emotions, but above all you
were supposed to enjoy it!
Although in their earlier career PiL had
self admittedly “ran away” from
touring this line up toured relentlessly,
building a whole new following. Fans who
knew nothing about the Sex Pistols or
‘Metal Box’, that is, until
they checked out the back catalogue and
opened up a whole new world for themselves.
Of course, some purists preferred the
old to the new and vice versa. Yes, it’s
called variety. Enjoy the choice, that’s
the whole point…
PiL's 9th album for Virgin Records suitably
titled ‘9’ was released in 1989.
It would continue the smoother melodic
approach, but mix it with the fledgling
electronic and dance production of the
time. "Dance!" This was nothing
new to PiL, they had been making “dance”
records since 1978. You were always meant
to dance to PiL, it wasn’t music
for brooding. Yes, it dealt with real
subjects and emotions, but above all you
were supposed to enjoy it!
A
year later the record company decided
to release a greatest hits album. Although
reluctant at first PiL eventually took
control of the project and seized the
opportunity to create a decent package.
‘Greatest Hits So far’ was released
as a 14 track double album that featured
a variety of 12" remixes and a new
song ‘Don't Ask Me’, written
especially for the album. A surprise hit
(such a surprise Virgin initially hadn't
pressed enough copies) ‘Don't Ask
Me’ was classic PiL “pop”,
gloriously catchy, mixing strong production
with serious content ("What you gonna
do when the river runs dry, should have
saved those bottles, should have saved
those cans").
Their last studio album (so far) ‘That
What Is Not’ released in 1992 was
a return to a more rockier/funkier, sound.
Popular music was swamped with grunge
at the time. Rock was (largely) horrible.
PiL returned with their own take on things.
Pounding guitars and drums, mixed with
melody, and atmospheric synths. Throw
in some horns for good measure and you've
got a 'rock' record that stood out on
it's own, and perhaps, not for the first
time, PiL suffered for it. It's not easy
being two steps ahead of the game…
The
work of this line up is criminally underrated.
John McGeoch and Allan Dias are vital
elements of PiL as a whole. They were
in the band for six years (that’s
testimonial stuff) releasing some seriously
good records along the way. When you look
how long it's taken for early PiL to be
appreciated, perhaps it will
take the same length of time for this
line up to get the recognition it deserves.
Despite what the music press would have
you believe the band were popular,
they played countless tours throughout
the world, the majority of the albums
and singles went Top 40. They might have
been releasing records that were possibly
more rockier or poppier than the earlier
PiL material, but there is no way you
could call any of it simple rock or pop.
It's not giving the records, or the people,
the respect they deserve…
It
was never decided to disband PiL, and
technically they never did. However, by
the release of ‘That What Is Not’
John had began to think of working on
a solo project all on his own, a record
which would eventually be released as
'Psycho's Path' in 1997. Although PiL
are still on hold as Lydon continues to
work on solo material – together
with numerous other projects outside of
music – I have no doubt at
some point a new PiL will appear, ready
to turn things on their head. They are
sorely needed…
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