The post-punk outfit also shared a new song, “Penge,” off their first LP in eight years, End of World
Pioneering post-punks Public Image Ltd. are back with a new song, “Penge,” which will appear on their upcoming album, End of World, out Aug. 11 via PiL Official/Cargo UK Distribution. The album marks the band’s first in eight years and will be dedicated to John Lydon’s late wife, Nora Forster, who died on April 6, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Penge” is an outsized, dramatic track that Lydon described in a statement as “something of a mediaeval Viking epic.” The track definitely boasts that kind of gravitas, both musically and lyrically, even if “Penge” itself is merely a suburb in South East London.
“Penge” is the second song Public Image Ltd. have shared from End of World, following “Hawaii,” which was released back in Jan. Lydon wrote that song for his late wife, and PiL even submitted it in a bid to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest (the spot ultimately went to Wild Youth’s “We Are One”).
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Of going ahead with the album release so soon after Forster’s death, Lydon said, “Nora loved the album, she wouldn’t have wanted us to postpone it or change any of our plans.”
End of World follows PiL’s 2015 album, What the World Needs Now… The group began working on the new album back in 2018 during their 40th-anniversary tour. After a pandemic-mandated pause, they reunited in the studio, where Lydon said, “there was just this massive explosion of ideas.” After the album’s release, PiL will embark on a U.K. tour in Sept., with European shows following in Oct.
