In Pictures: Post-punk pioneer John Lydon brings Public Image Ltd back to Roadmender

Post-punk pioneer John Lydon brought Public Image Ltd back to the Roadmender on Sunday night, playing to a packed-to-capacity venue.

Lydon, who was recently in the region for the Forever Now festival at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes, played a career spanning set which featured some of the band’s best-known songs alongside a couple of covers.

Joining PIL – and also returning to Northampton – were Welsh alt-rockers Trampolene, fronted by singer-songwriter Jack Jones.

It’s more than 45 years since Lydon originally departed from the band which made him a household name and formed PIL.

More than four decades on – he still has one of the most unique voices and commanding stage presences in punk rock / post-punk.

Joined on stage by guitarist Lu Edmonds, bassist Scott Firth and drummer Mark Roberts, Lydon was joking with the Northampton crowd from the offset about how Sunday’s gig had been brought forward.

Despite Public Image Ltd ignoring their latest album entirely, highlights of the night included set opener Home and Death Disco – with the latter’s guitars and bass hypnotically swirling around the venue.

Dressed in a black shirt adorned with ‘PIL’ buttons and white shorts, Lydon remains one of music’s great icons.

Live, his vocals are showing no sign of losing their ferocity and he retains one of the most piercing glares you’ll see.

Lydon encouraged the Roadmender crowd to sing-along with the wonderfully sweary Shoom but the biggest reaction of the night was reserved for PIL staples Public Image and Rise.

While the post-punk genre has seen a modern resurgence in recent years, PIL continue to prove they’re the masters of the genre they helped to pioneer.

For more information, visit https://www.pilofficial.com

Public Image Ltd played:

Home

Know Now

World Destruction (Time Zone cover)

This Is Not a Love Song

Poptones

Death Disco

Flowers of Romance

The Body

Warrior

Shoom