Exclusive! PiL For Christmas!

9:50 AM GMT 07/09/2009

In a bid to repeat their first ever performances of 1978 which took place at London's Rainbow Theatre on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Public Image Limited have reformed and are set to play a series of festive shows in the UK.

Led by John Lydon, PiL formed in 1978 after the latter had quit the Sex Pistols. This time around Lydon has reformed the group following last year's hugely successful Pistols world tour. So why has he elected to resurrect PiL now?

"Basically, I'd never split PiL. I always felt we were taking a break," explains Lydon on the phone to MOJO from his home in Los Angeles. "The time felt right to me (to reform the band) because PiL is a very personal thing for me and I'd been through a lot of personal things recently. PiL is the one band in which I can really express myself and I can be myself, so I decided to do it."

The ex-Pistols frontman has assembled a new line-up of the band that consist of former PiL members Lu Edmonds (guitar), Bruce Smith (drums) as well as newcomer Scott Firth (bass).

While the band's return is loosely linked with celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band's seminal second album, Metal Box, Lydon is keen to point out that the band's set will span the band's entire catalogue.

"Metal Box is an important album but we don't want to limit ourselves," he says. "PiL is all about being unlimited, so to speak, so we'll be playing a lot of different material. There may even be something new in the set."

The new incarnation of PiL will play the following UK shows:

Birmingham O2 Academy (December 15)
Leeds O2 Academy (16)
Glasgow O2 Academy (18)
Manchester Academy (19)
London Brixton O2 Academy (21)

Tickets will go on sale on September 11 at 9.00am and are available via www.livenation.co.uk or by calling 0844 576 5483.

Read more on John Lydon's new adventures in PiL in the next issue of MOJO magazine - on sale September 25.

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 9:50 AM GMT 07/09/2009

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