Public Image Ltd. Announce New Album Dedicated to John Lydon's Late Wife

It's the post-punk band's first LP in eight years

Photo: Andres Poveda Photography

BY Megan LaPierrePublished Apr 11, 2023

Public Image Ltd. have announced a new album — their first in eight years — dedicated to the memory of frontman John Lydon's late wife, Nora Forster.

End of World will be upon us on August 11 via Cargo. It follows the post-punk outfit helmed by the former Sex Pistols frontman's 2015 LP What the World Needs Now.

The band began working on the album amid their 40th anniversary tour in 2018 — the same year Forster, who passed away on April 5, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. "There was just this massive explosion of ideas," Lydon said of the epoch in a press release. In 2020, the singer revealed that he had shelved a PiL album to become his wife's full-time carer.

"Nora loved the album, she wouldn't have wanted us to postpone it or change any of our plans," Lydon continued. Earlier this year, the band released the soul-bearing ballad "Hawaii" in another bid to represent Ireland at Eurovision. The song, which is featured on End of World, was described as a love letter to Forster.

Today, PiL have shared a second taste of the album with sprawling new single "Penge," which Lydon described as "something of a mediaeval Viking epic."

Watch the video for "Penge" below, where you'll also find the album tracklist.


End of World:

1. Penge
2. End of the World
3. Car Chase
4. Being Stupid Again
5. Walls
6. Pretty Awful
7. Strange
8. Down on the Clown
9. Dirty Murky Delight
10. The Do That
11. L F C F
12. North West Passage
13. Hawaii

Pre-order End of World.

Latest Coverage