Public Image Ltd (PiL) First North American Tour In 8 Years Begins September 3rd

 

PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED (PiL) FIRST NORTH AMERICAN TOUR IN 8 YEARS

BEGINS SEPTEMBER 3RD

 

ALL TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM VENUES AND VIA WWW.PILOFFICIAL.COM

'ALIVE' LIVE ALBUM AVAILABLE VIA A WAY WITH MEDIA

 

Photo: Paul Heartfield

 

John Lydon’s iconoclastic band, Public Image Ltd (PiL) begin their extensive North American tour on September 3rd. Billed as ‘This Is Not...The Last PiL Tour’, and their first here in 8 years, it includes stops in Pioneertown, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago (Riot Fest), Minneapolis, New York, Detroit, Toronto, Boston, and other major cities, concluding October 9th in Nashville, with a second leg confirmed for February of next year. Plague Vendor will be special guests on all dates. Tickets for all shows are on sale from the venues and via the PiL website.

 

This year’s tour follows the momentum gained in 2025, when the band played a string of shows and festival appearances in the UK and Europe. Following the passing of his wife, Nora, and lifelong friend and manager, John Rambo Stevens, both in 2023, Lydon thought he might retire from touring. However, he was overwhelmed by the response, love, and support of fans and this year is an important one for the band.

 

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Lydon said: ““I think live Public Image is a ferocious band,” And, he adds, he still gets a blast out of performing. “I feel fear, torment, anxiety, self-doubt, all of those things before I actually get onstage. But then once onstage, you drop all the ego and all of that trepidation — there’s a nice word — and you pile into it and you find that that’s where you truly belong.”

 

A new live album, ‘Alive’, recorded during last year’s tour, is available via A Way With Media, and the band are working on an album of new material for release in early 2027.

 

‘Alive’ artwork by John Lydon

 

After fronting the Sex Pistols, John Lydon formed post-punk originators Public Image Ltd (PiL). Widely regarded as one of the most innovative bands of all time, their music and vision earned them 5 UK Top 20 Singles and 5 UK Top 20 Albums.

 

With a shifting line-up 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 PiL in 2009, touring extensively and releasing three critically acclaimed albums, ‘This is PiL’ (2012), ‘What The World Needs Now…’ (2015) and ‘End of World’ (2023).

 

Following the departure of long-serving drummer Bruce Smith at the end of 2023, his replacement, Mark Roberts, joins John Lydon (vocals), Lu Edmonds (guitar) and Scott Firth (bass).

 

The full list of PiL’s North American dates is as follows: 

 

September 3 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriet’s LOW TICKETS

September 4 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Fremont Theater

September 5 - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre

September 8 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory LOW TICKETS

September 10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco LOW TICKETS

September 11 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues

September 12 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore LOW TICKETS

September 14 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom LOW TICKETS

September 15 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre

September 16 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Hall

September 18 - 20 - Chicago, IL - Riot Fest

September 22 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

September 23 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom

September 25 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrew’s Hall

September 26 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall LOW TICKETS

September 28 - New York, NY - Webster Hall LOW TICKETS

September 29 - Pittsburgh, PA - Roxian Theatre

October 1 - Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club

October 2 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer

October 3 - Boston, MA - Big Night Live LOW TICKETS

October 5 - Richmond, VA - The National

October 6 -- Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre LOW TICKETS

October 8 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse

October 9 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl

 

2027

February 17 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Grand At The Complex

February 18 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre

February 20 - Oklahoma City, OK - Tower Theatre

February 21 - San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theatre

February 23 - Austin, TX - Mohawk

February 24 - Dallas, TX - Echo Lounge & Music Hall

February 25 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall

February 27 - March 6 - New Orleans, LA - The 80’s Cruise 2027

March 8 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live

March 9 - Fort Myers, FL - The Ranch

March 10 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Revolution Live

March 12 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live

March 13 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall

March 14 - Charlotte, NC - The Underground

March 16 - Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom

March 17 - Lexington, KY - Manchester Music Hall

March 19 - St. Louis, MO - The Sovereign

March 21 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s

March 23 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall

March 24 - Cleveland, OH - Globe Iron

 

w/ special guests Plague Vendor on all dates

 

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A CERTAIN RATIO share new mix of 'Tumba Rumba' from forthcoming album, The Joy of Sextet (28 Aug, Mute)

A CERTAIN RATIO  SHARE ‘TUMBA RUMBA (EM)’  FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM, THE JOY OF SEXTET   LISTEN HERE   THE JOY OF SEXTET & FORCE MAJEURE OUT ON LIMITED EDITION VINYL AND CD 28 AUGUST 2026

[A Certain Ratio - Jez Kerr, Donald Johnson, Martin Moscrop, Martha “Tilly” Tilson] A Certain Ratio celebrate two anniversaries this year: 45 years since they went into Revolution Studios in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport to record Sextet (1982) and 40 years since the release of the 1986 album Force, and they will mark the occasion with companion releases for each of the albums - The Joy of Sextet and Force Majeure out on 28 August - and an anniversary tour in October.   Today, the band share a new mix from the original session tapes of sun drenched instrumental ‘Tumba Rumba (EM)’ by Andy Meecham aka The Emperor Machine, taken from The Joy of Sextet. The track was originally the b-side of the 7” version of ‘Knife Slits Water’, and marks the beginning of the band’s journey into Latin-inspired music – a direction that the press berated them for at the time. Talking about the mix, ACR said: “We are immensely proud of this song and Andy has done a great job of bringing it sonically into 2026.  If it doesn't move your feet, and expand your mind, you need to give your head a wobble.”

Listen to ‘Tumba Rumba (EM)’ Sextet and Force are two of ACR’s classic – and beloved – album releases so the band have put together two very different albums to accompany their anniversaries.   Sextet was ACR’s third studio album and showed a whole new side to the band. It was described on release as “… an album of the present, killing the present and agreeably ignoring the future” by Sounds and more recently reappraised by Pitchfork who said it “still sounds like no other record”. The line-up for Sextet features Martha “Tilly” Tilson, who the band had met in New York while they were recording To Each…Tilly’s lyrics, Jez Kerr explains, “reflect her take on life in Manchester, “walk along the waterline, see the ships passing by, grey skies, still water”.   This singular release - which spent 11 weeks in the UK Independent Chart, reaching the #1 slot - has been given a brand-new mix by long-time collaborator Andy Meecham (The Emperor Machine) from the original album session tapes. Talking about the process, Meecham explains, “Taking on an epic album like this involved pushing up the faders again from the original 1981 2” multitracks adding some new dynamics while recapturing the sound of 1981 without losing the original raw energy and feel. The talent, innovation and sheer musicality blew me away every day I worked on this. A labour of love, one I would undertake again in a heartbeat.” Listen to new mix of ‘Lucinda (EM)’, from The Joy of Sextet Force – the band’s fifth studio album - followed in several years later and stands as one of their most commercial albums, recently described by The Quietus as “their purest moment”. Force Majeure is a newly compiled 9-track album that gives fans a deep dive into the world that ACR inhabited 40 years ago, with unreleased original versions of tracks including ‘Force’ the title track, which didn’t appear on the 80s release. The album was produced by ACR and the late Stuart (Jammer) James, who presented the band with long forgotten 4 track recordings he’d made of tracks that would go on to be on the album. Martin Moscrop explains, “Stuart helped us record the tracks to review the songs for a possible album, to work on arrangements and practice playing them live. Listening to the recordings many years later I was surprised at how good they sounded, so we decided to share them with everyone for this Force companion album”. Listen to ‘Naked and White (FM)’, from Force In October 2026, ACR will be touring the UK to celebrate these anniversaries. The tour - which kicks off on 7 October in Birmingham, England, includes a date at London Dingwalls on 9 Oct and finishes at Manchester’s Band on the Wall on 24 October – will see both albums played in full, with an interval in between, and some surprises thrown in.   Sextet and Force are starkly different to each other yet very clearly ACR, making the prospect of hearing both performed live, side by side, especially tantalising.   ACR go on to say, “We’re celebrating these two milestones with this tour, to say we are very excited is an understatement. It will be a real challenge, which we’ve already started preparing for, with nine months to go! We will be playing two sets with no support.”   The Joy of Sextet will be available on limited edition “The Joy of Curacao” coloured vinyl, CD, and digitally Force Majeure will be available on limited edition “Unforced Purple” coloured vinyl, CD, and digitally Both are released on Mute on 28 August 2026 Pre-order The Joy of Sextet  Pre-order Force Majeure  High res artwork and press photograph  The Joy of Sextet tracklisting (cat # STUMM265) Lucinda (EM) Crystal (EM Night Version) Gum (EM) Knife Slits Water (EM) Tumba Rumba (EM) Day One (EM) Below the Canal (EM) Waterline (EM Dub) Knife Slits Water (EM 12” Version) Force Majeure tracklisting (cat # STUMM266) Only Together (FM) Bootsy (FM) Naked and White (FM) And Then She Smiles (FM) Take Me Down (FM) Anthem (FM) The Runner (FM) Force (FM) Nostromo A Go Go (FM)     SEXTET AND FORCE TOUR 7 Oct – Birmingham, Castle and Falcon 8 Oct – Bristol, Exchange 9 Oct – London, Dingwalls 10 Oct – Lewes, Con Club - SOLD OUT 13 Oct – Newcastle, The Cloony 14 Oct – Edinburgh, The Voodoo Rooms 15 Oct – Glasgow, Oran Mor 16 Oct – Blackpool, Bootleg Social 17 Oct – Leeds, Brudenell Social Cub 22 Oct - Hebden Bridge, The Trades – SOLD OUT 23 Oct – Stoke, Sugarmill 24 Oct – Manchester, Band on The Wall – SOLD OUT 25 Oct - Manchester Band on The Wall – NEW DATE ADDED 1 Nov - Nottingham JT Soarfest – NEW DATE ADDED   Sextet personnel: Donald Johnson, Jez Kerr, Martha “Tilly” Tilson, Martin Moscrop, Peter Terrell and Simon Topping   Force personnel: Jez Kerr, Andy Connell, Martin Moscrop, Donald Johnson, Anthony Quigley plus Tom Barnish, and Corrine Drewery