SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PUBLIC IMAGE LTD – ALIVE

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD
ALIVE
A WAY WITH MEDIA

Following 2023’s brilliant Public Image Ltd. album, End Of World, Johnny Lydon lost his wife, Nora (with whom he had been since 1979), and his longtime manager, John Rambo Stevens. No one knew what Lydon would do after two devastating losses, but rather than retreating, he toured as a solo act (a speaking show), and Public Image Ltd. hit the road in 2025. This live album, Alive, is from that tour and offers an excellent chance to hear the band live as they continue their tour into 2026.

The songs on this live album were collected from various concerts during their 2025 tour. Lydon and company were (and are) a very tight unit, and they are a seriously brilliant live band. In fact, Public Image Ltd. (PiL) does not get enough credit for their live performances. They are great in the studio, but on stage, they are a force of nature. If you want proof of their astounding live presence, put on this album. From the opening song “Home” through their set, which mixes songs from several PiL albums, one can feel the energy.

Although there are some deep album cuts here, “Know Now ,” “Warrior,” Lydon and company threw in a number of classic PiL songs, such as “This is Not a Love Song,” “Poptones,”and “Death Disco.” Lydon’s introduction to “Public Image” is worth the price of admission alone. This album does a great job of capturing the band’s live sound on record. There appear to be minimal studio augmentations to the live recordings. The band simply chose the best tracks from their 2025 tour to showcase live PiL.

PiL has been around for close to 50 years and has quite a legacy. Of course, Lydon has been the one constant member, but this current lineup has been together for a number of years, with Lu Edmonds (guitar, keyboards, sax, banjo, backing vocals) having been with PiL since 1986. Their drummer, Mark Roberts, recently joined the band as the most recent member, joining in 2025, while Scott Firth (bass, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals) has been a member of PiL since 2009.

This album, Alive, shows a band in its prime, playing some very serious post-punk hard dance music. Lydon sounds like he is in his glory and has no plans to stop anytime soon. In fact, the band is preparing new songs to record a new album when their 2026 tour wraps up. Until there is new studio material, this album is the perfect placeholder. Alive is a fantastic live album.

Artist Links