Public Image Ltd’s ‘This is Not the Last Tour’ arrived at Scarborough Spa on August 8th; Maethelyiah Nash reviews.
I rarely write reviews but Public Image Ltd were absolutely mind blowing at Scarborough Spa Theatre on the 8th August and I must oblige.
As a member of generation x, I grew up being firstly influenced by punk/post punk (as well as opera – but that’s another matter). I was excited to attend this gig with punk legend John Lydon, but I would have NEVER thought I’d witness such greatness. Forget the records and videos… this is the reverse of expectations vs reality.
But before I get too carried away, support band Trampolene were awesome as well. They opened just after 8pm. Direct from Swansea, I am beating myself up for never hearing of them before. Singer and guitarist Jack Jones, Wayne Thomas on bass and vocals, and multi-instrumentalist Kyle “Mr” Williams on drums and vocals rocked the stage for the whole time, supplemented by touring guitarist Josh. Reading here and there, I found out that Trampolene are a band formed in 2013 and have a solid history of support and sold out gigs. They reached the independent charts several times and had two No.1 albums in the UK Official Album Breakers Chart.
This band is tight… they hint mature sounds into a young and unpredictable texture so beautifully crafted you are not sure you’re in 2025. I wish I had their set list, but I can tell you there wasn’t a single song I didn’t enjoy. Their show rocks! I’m not sure if it’s because I am vegan, but ‘Uncle Brian’s Abattoir’ somehow has stayed in my head for quite a while (only for good reasons!). I also really enjoyed ‘Alcohol Kiss’ which was great fun, and also because it was dedicated to John… we all wondered why! I will definitely keep an eye on them and I suggest you do too, because in my opinion there aren’t many original bands of this calibre around, especially if you listen to the mainstream charts.
So back to PIL – It felt a bit like going out for a first date. The guy might look good but you never really know how things might work out until the end of the night … but in terms of his immense stage aura I could compare John Lydon to an Italian Stallion. When he arrived on stage his presence was so huge we could feel it shock waving up to the top of our balcony. I have watched countless videos of him live but WHERE IS THIS HUGE VOICE COMING FROM NOW? Oi! And what a band!
There wasn’t a single moment we could rest and breathe. John on vocals, Lu Edmonds on guitar, Scott Firth on bass and Mark Roberts on drums were on fire and the whole gig was constant high voltage. These guys blew the roof off.
If you buy your tickets expecting to watch echoes of the Sex Pistols you will be smothered by a wall of a shamelessly refined sound like a brick in your face. You haven’t even got the time to taste the cement, then you get another one, and another one, but truth is you want MORE! Too many to mention but songs like Home, Poptones, World Destruction, Death Disco, Warrior, Deeper Water and of course the classics, This Is Not A Love Song and Rise hit you hard, and right when you think you’re ready to collapse, a few “f*** offs” start bouncing in all directions like watching a tennis match and BOOM! I was kicked back to my punk teens, rolling in various expletives like a happy pig in the mud! A whole bunch of ‘WTFs’ later, John decided to have a fag and leave us there, right when we were all breathless and ready for more. A promised 3 minutes later, back on stage, he finally finished us off with 3 huge banging tracks including Public Image and Annalisa. I was left a sweaty mess, greedy to get more; shame I stopped smoking 12 years ago… I didn’t have the classic ciggie (sigh).
Forget cosmetic surgery, if you want to have an inside-out makeover, go get your tickets and sweat off your christening holy water like I did.
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Photos shot exclusively on 35mm by Lee Jones.
