Public Image Ltd announce new album and 2023 UK tour

Public Image Ltd have announced their first new album in eight years and an accompanying UK tour for later in the year.

The album, titled ‘End Of World’, is set for release on August 11 and is dedicated to frontman John Lydon‘s late wife Nora Forster, who died last week at the age of 80. She had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for five years and Lydon had been her full-time carer.

‘End Of World’ features the song ‘Hawaii’ as its closing track, which Lydon had written as a “love letter” to Forster. The band had used the song in their bid to represent Ireland at this year’s  Eurovision Song Contest, but they lost out to Dublin quarter Wild Youth.

“Nora loved the album, she wouldn’t have wanted us to postpone it or change any of our plans,” Lydon said in a press release. He had previously said of ‘Hawaii’ that “it is dedicated to everyone going through tough times on the journey of life, with the person they care for the most.”

To coincide with the announcement, Public Image Ltd. released the album’s opening track, ‘Penge’, which John has described as “something of a mediaeval Viking epic.”

Check it out below:

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The tracklist for ‘End Of World’ is as follows:
1. ‘Penge’
2. ‘End Of The World”
3. ‘Car Chase’
4. ‘Being Stupid Again’
5. ‘Walls’
6. ‘Pretty Awful’
7. ‘Strange’
8. ‘Down On The Clown’
9. ‘Dirty Murky Delight’
10. ‘The Do That’
11. ‘L.F.C.F’
12. ‘North West Passage’
13. ‘Hawaii’

In addition, Public Image Ltd. will be embarking on a UK tour in autumn 2023, which kicks off in Swansea on September 11 and will see them play 14 other dates around the country, including a show at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town on September 30.

You can see the full list of dates below and buy your tickets here.

SEPTEMBER
11 – Swansea, Patti Pavilion
12 – Margate, Dreamland
13 – Lincoln, Engine Shed
15 – Blackburn, King George’s Hall
16 – Buckley, Tivoli
18 – Sunderland, Fire Station
19 – Aberdeen, Beach Ballroom
21 – Edinburgh, O2 Academy
22 – Manchester, O2 Ritz
23 – Holmfirth, Picture Dome
25 – Coventry, HMV Empire
26 – Brighton, Chalk
28 – Bristol, O2 Academy
29 – Torquay, Foundry
30 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town