Sex Pistol John Lydon to play York as Fibbers adds to its hall of legends
One of the true giants of music is to play York this year – John Lydon.
The man who transformed music and fashion with the Sex Pistols will bring his band Public Image Ltd to Fibbers on Tuesday, September 22, 2015.
As Johnny Rotten he and the other Pistols inspired a nation of disaffected teenagers in grim Seventies Britain – and terrified the establishment at the same time.
The band lasted just two and a half years and produced only four singles and one studio album. But such was the power of the music, the message and the media frenzy that followed, nothing was ever quite the same again.
After leaving the Pistols in 1978 he formed Public Image Ltd, fronting it until 1993 and then again from 2009 onwards.
Lydon says
Another Fibbers coup
John Lydon is the latest music legend to be lured to York by Fibbers’ founder Tim Hornsby.
From Kasabian to Kaiser Chiefs to Coldplay, huge names have stepped onto the Fibbers stage. One of the first people to play the venue when it relocated from Stonebow to Toft Green was Peter Hook.
As Tim told YorkMix:
You’re welcome.
None is bigger than Lydon. His raw, angry vocals on singles including Anarchy In The UK, Pretty Vacant and God Save The Queen – issued amid the monarch’s Silver Jubilee celebrations – triggered a cultural earthquake.
He then founded PiL, widely regarded as one of the most innovative bands of all time. They scored five top 20 singles and five top 20 albums in the UK.
With a shifting line-up and unique sound – fusing rock, dance, folk, pop and dub – Lydon guided the band from 1978 debut album First Issue to 1992’s That What Is Not, before a 17-year hiatus.
Lydon reactivated PiL in 2009, releasing the critically acclaimed album This is PiL in 2012.
The band continues to challenge and thrive and is set to release the new album What The World Needs Now… in September 2015.
Outside music
The scourge of the establishment sprung a couple of major surprises in the Noughties.
The first was his appearance on peak-time reality TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2004. Using what the television announcers would deem “very strong language” during a live broadcast, he sparked 91 complaints to ITV.
Four years later he was on ITV again – advertising Country Life butter. His advert boosted sales by 85% and the money he earned enabled Lydon to reform PiL.
His appearance at Fibbers will be the fourth of 13 UK dates, which will also include the 02 Shepherds Bush Empire in London and the Manchester Academy.
Want a place on BBC’s The Voice? Hunt for the next singing star comes to York
How it all began at Fibbers (and how the music venue got its name…)