One year after Johnny Rotten reunited the surviving members of the Sex Pistols for a 30th Anniversary Never Mind the Bollocks tour, he is now reforming Public Image Ltd., the band he started in the year following the demise of the original Sex Pistols in 1978. Rotten, who now goes by given name John Lydon, announced his plans in an interview with the Guardian published today.
“It feels clean. It’s refreshing,” Lydon said of the group playing under the Public Image Ltd. moniker for a string of tour dates in December. It’s no surprise that this “reunion” feels new to Lydon, as the lineup does not include Jah Wobble or Keith Levene, two members of the band behind the group’s best Metal Box and First Issue albums. “They’re off on their own tangents,” Lydon said, adding on the question of friendship: “Wobble always, yes. Keith used to be, but he went off into his own little universe and never came back.”
Official Public Image Ltd. reformation dates have yet to be announced, but one thing’s for certain: Bloc Party will not be the opening act.
**Update: UK Tour Dates have been announced:
Dec. 15 Birmingham O2 Academy
Dec. 16 Leeds O2 Academy
Dec. 18 Glasgow O2 Academy
Dec. 19 Manchester Academy
Dec. 21 London Brixton O2 Academy