John Lydon’s Iconoclastic Band Public Image Ltd (PiL) Announce Major Tour for 2025

John Lydon’s iconoclastic band Public Image Ltd (PiL) has announced a major tour of the UK and Ireland for summer 2025.

The 23-date tour billed as ‘This Is Not The Last Tour’ will start in Bristol on 22^nd May and end in Belfast on 16^th August, and includes dates along the way in Dublin (12^th June) and Cardiff (14^th June).

The tour also include festival appearances at Stone Valley South in Ware (23^rd May), Stone Valley Midlands in Newark (27^th June), Rebellion Festival in Blackpool (7^th August), Stone Valley North in Durham (8^th August) and Putting the Fast in Belfast (16^th August).

Tickets go on sale at 10.00am on Friday 15^th November, available from all venues and via www.pilofficial.com.

PiL’s tour dates for 2025 comes after Lydon thought the band might not tour again. His lifelong friend and manager, John Rambo Stevens passed away suddenly following the last PiL tour, in December 2023, soon after the death of Lydon’s wife, Nora, in April 2023.

Lydon thought that might be the end of his touring days. However, he was overwhelmed by the love and support of fans when he undertook a spoken word tour of the UK in spring this year.

Lydon said: “I thought that might be it. After losing Nora, and Rambo, I couldn’t see a way through. I’d already committed to the spoken word tour, this spring, and I never let anyone down – I always stick to my word – so I had to do those dates.

“The thing is, people were so overwhelmingly positive, and they asked me to tour PiL again. With so many people asking and with the band meaning so much to them, I couldn’t just stay on my sofa and not tour – tempting though that obviously is.”

After fronting the Sex Pistols, John Lydon formed post-punk originators Public Image Ltd (PiL). Widely regarded as one of the most innovative bands of all time, their music and vision earned them 5 UK Top 20 Singles and 5 UK Top 20 Albums.

With a shifting line-up and unique sound – fusing rock, dance, folk, pop and dub – Lydon guided the band from their debut album ‘First Issue’ in 1978 through to 1992’s ‘That What Is Not’, before a 17 year hiatus.

Lydon reactivated PiL in 2009, touring extensively and releasing three critically acclaimed albums, ‘This is PiL’ (2012), ‘What The World Needs Now…’ (2015) and ‘End of World’ (2023).

The full list of PiL’s 2025 tour dates is as follows:

22^nd May      Bristol                   02 Academy

23^rd May      Ware                     Stone Valley Festival South

24^th May      Bournemouth         02 Academy

29^th May      Barnsley                Birdwell

30^th May      Newcastle              Boiler Shop

31^st May      Norwich                Epic Studios

12^th June      Dublin                   3Olympia

13^th June      Limerick                Dolan’s Warehouse

14^th June      Cardiff                  Depot

20^th June      Vitoria-Gasteiz       Azkena Rock Festival

26^th June      Hastings                White Rock

27^th June      Newark                 Stone Valley Festival Midlands

28^th June      Oxford                  O2 Academy

3^rd July        Leicester                O2 Academy

4^th July         Lincoln                  Engine Shed

5^th July         Portsmouth            Guildhall

30^th July       Sheffield                Leadmill

31^st July       Northampton          Roadmenders

1^st August     Holmfirth              Picturedrome

7^th August    Blackpool              Rebellion Festival

8^th August    Durham                 Stone Valley Festival North

9^th August    Coventry               Empire

15^th August   Cork                     City Hall

16^th August   Belfast                   Putting the Fast in Belfast, Custom House Square