LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Punk rock singer John Lydon, formerly known as Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, is re-forming his band Public Image Ltd -- or PiL -- after a 17 year hiatus with a five-date tour in December, according to media reports.
Lydon told Britain’s Guardian newspaper that the influential band he created in 1978, a year after the disintegration of the Sex Pistols, and which lasted for 14 years, would reform with a new line-up.
He said the new-look PiL will not contain original band members Jah Wobble or former Clash guitarist Keith Levene but will feature guitarist Lu Edmonds, drummer Bruce Smith and a new arrival, multi-instrumentalist Scott Firth.
PiL, which had chart success with singles such as “Public Image” and “This Is Not a Love Song”, will start its tour on Dec. 15 in Birmingham. The band is also launching a new website (www.pilofficial.com).
“We’ll see where we can go,” 53-year-old Lydon told the newspaper. “Some things may be quite similar, some may not.”
Lydon reunited with other members of the Sex Pistols last year for a series of gigs to mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s seminal album “Never Mind The Bollocks”.
But Lydon, who became a figurehead of the short-lived punk revolution in England in 1970s with his anti-establishment stance and attacks on Britain’s class system and the monarchy, appears to have mellowed in recent years.
He starred in British reality TV show “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here” in 2004, has hosted a few animal documentaries, and also starred in an advertisement for butter wearing a tweed-suit.
He also has no tolerance for noisy, opinionated youngsters any more, it seems.
“Younger people at the moment are very mouthy and aggressive,” Lydon told the Guardian.
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