2010 Chronology
Research by Karsten Roekens and Scott M, plus contributors…
January 5
BBC4, John Lydon - A Culture Show Special. Expanded hour long special from the December 3rd 2009 Culture Show interview feature. The show includes archive footage of PiL; along with 'Rise' and 'Religion' recorded at PiL rehearsals in November 2009.
January 9
Morning Star give Manchester, 02 Academy, December 18th 2009 a belated review.
January 20
PiL announce they will continue into 2010 with a headlining appearance at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in California, USA on Friday April 16th, 2010.
January 28
www.pilofficial.com announce PiL will appear at the Benicàssim International Festival in Spain on Saturday, July 17th 2010. PiL will be headlining the 2nd stage.
February 10
www.pilofficial.com announce PiL will headline the Les Ardentes Festival in Liège, Belgium on Sunday, July 11th 2010.
February 15
Magazine keyboard player Dave Formula releases his solo album 'Satellite Sweetheart' via Wire-Sound. The album features previously unreleased recording's from the late John McGeoch which Formula found in his archives.
February 18
PiL guitarist Lu Edmonds issues an appeal to find his stolen Telecaster guitar; which he used on the December 2009 tour. Note: The guitar is still MIA...
February 16
The 'ALiFE 2009' live CD's are re-issued by Concert Live after completely selling out. (See Discography for full info).
February
John Lydon, and manager John Rambo Stevens, travel to Oslo, Norway where Lydon has been cast for a cameo appearance in the film 'Teori og Praksis' (Theory or Practice). The film is based on the book by author Nicolai Frobenius and deals with Nicolai's adolescent relationship with his father as he rebels with music and the Sex Pistols in the suburbs of Norway. The film is scheduled for release in 2011.
February 24
It is announced that PiL will tour North America for the first time in 18 years. The 17 date tour will begin at San Francisco, Regency Center, Grand Ballroom on Saturday April 17th 2010. Closing at New York, Terminal 5 on Tuesday, May 18th 2010. Taking in the likes of Chicago, Boston, Seattle and Washington.
More dates will later be added (see Gig List for all dates).
February
A 'Keith Levene Channel' is launched on YouTube. The channel features "unseen & live 'Keith Levene" videos and music.
March 4
It is announced that PiL will make their first appearance on US TV in 18 years on ABC’s 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' on Wednesday, April 7th.
March 4
The Quietus - John Lydon interview. Their sister website The Stool Pigeon also publish excerpts.
March 4
Three further US Tour Dates are added at Pontiac, Milwaukee and Northampton. It is also announced PiL will headline the Rock Zottegem Festival in Belgium on Saturday, July 10th.
March 5
Tickets for the North American PiL tour go on general sale.
March 12
Billboard - John Lydon interview.
March 15
Keith Levene's post-PiL career hits a new low when he performs an encore of PiL material with a punk-rock tribute act at London's 100 Club. Tracks include 'Death Disco', 'Poptones' and 'Public Image'.
March 16
www.pilofficial.com announce PiL will now start their April / May North American tour with a club show at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on Tuesday April 13th.
March 19
www.pilofficial.com launch the first official North American PiL merchandise webstore; including T-shirts for the upcoming North American tour. The UK / Rest of World store was launched in December 2009.
March 19
www.pilofficial.com announce a further North American show at Providence, Rhode Island, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, USA on May 9th 2010.
March
PiL begin rehearsals for the North American tour in Los Angeles. The set will largely follow the December 2009 shows with a few tweaks.
March 24
www.pilofficial.com announce PiL will headline the 2nd stage at the Electric Picnic Festival, Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois, Ireland on Friday, September 3rd.
March 29
www.pilofficial.com announce PiL have added a second date in Chicago. They will now also play on Saturday, May 1st as well as the previously announced May 2nd show.
March 30
Desert Sun, California - John Lydon interview.
March
Record Collector give Leeds, O2 Academy, December 16th 2009 a belated review.
April 7
NBC, Jimmy Kimmel Live. PiL appear on US TV for the first time in 18 years performing 'This Is Not A Love Song' & 'Rise'. The performance is recorded at the outdoor stage in front of a live audience (free tickets were made available via PiLOfficial). Off camera the band also perform a selection of other tracks including 'Flowers of Romance'.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live website also post an interview with John Lydon recorded after the live performance.
April 6
Jah Wobble and the Nippon Dub Ensemble release the album 'Japanese Dub' via 30 Hertz. (see Wobble Discography for full info)
April 8
Fox News, Red Eye - John Lydon interview via video link from LA.
April 10
Former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren dies of cancer. John Lydon comments: "For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and i will miss him, and so should you" - Johnny Rotten
April 12
www.pilofficial.com announce PiL have added a second date in New York. They will now close the North American tour on Wednesday, May19th.
April 12
In This Week - John Lydon interview.
April 12
Reuteurs - John Lydon interview.
April 12
Suicide Girls - John Lydon interview.
April 12
www.pilofficial.com appeal for fans to send in Tour Reports from the North American shows that will be posted on the site. PiL will also be sending in quotes and updates throughout the tour.
April 13
PiL begin their North American tour at LA, Club Nokia. The 24 date tour takes in the likes of San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Seattle and Washington. Ending in New York on May 18th 2010 (see Gig List for all dates).
The Club Nokia set is largely the same as the December 2009 UK shows. Between 'Disappointed' and 'Religion' John Lydon leaves the stage for a "pee break"!
Set List:
This is Not A Love Song / Poptones / Tie Me to the Length of That / Albatross / Death Disco / Flowers of Romance / Psychopath / Warrior / USLS1 / Disappointed / Religion / Bags / Chant / Memories / Public Image / Sun / Rise / Open Up
April 13
Live Daily - John Lydon interview.
April 13
Orange County Register - John Lydon interview previewing the Coachella appearance and setting out his hopes for PiL in 2010. Lydon: "There’s a whole bunch of new material to be recorded, and we need to go out live first to raise the funds, the appropriate funds, to be able to get ourselves into a recording position, and then release on a proper label. We can’t go out and perform new songs straight away, because we’d be unprotected. We’d have no copyright control. And over the 30 years I’ve been in the music industry, the one thing I can guarantee you is that everybody loves to copy me! So, even though they’re breaking copyright-control law all the time now, I’d still rather be in that position than to give it to ‘em on a platter."
April 13
The Stranger - John Lydon interview.
April 14
Several websites and news agencies review the LA, Nokia show including: Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, LA Record, Sterogum & The Examiner.
April 14
NC Times - John Lydon interview.
April 14
Shockhound - John Lydon interview.
April 14
San Francisco Examiner - John Lydon interview.
April 16
Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in California, USA. PiL headline the Outdoor Theatre Stage and play an 80 minute set (the Festival originally only wanted 50 minutes, but PiL and manager John Rambo Stevens push for as much time as possible). The band play at the same time as Jay-Z prompting some good natured baiting from Lydon. He opens the set by saying: "Nice to see you. And if Jay-Z’s starting to give you a headache, it’s time you take your PiL”
The show is webcast live via the Coachella website. Several clips later surface on YouTube.
The following day on www.pilofficial.com John Lydon states: "We would like to thank Coachella in the furtherance of our quest to lead where others can only dream to follow".
April 17
Reviews of Coachella Festival appear in the likes of LA Times, OC Register and New York Times. Plus countless music websites.
April 21
The Pitch - John Lydon interview.
April 22
Colorado Springs Independent - John Lydon interview.
April 22
Salt Lake City Weekly - John Lydon interview.
April 22
NPR and Spinner review the Portland, Crystal Ballroom show.
April 23
Salt Lake Tribune review Salt Lake City, Depot show.
April
Slug Magazine - John Lydon interview.
April 22
Salt Lake Tribune - John Lydon interview.
April 23
Denver, WestWord - John Lydon interview.
April 24
PiL are forced to cancel tonight's show at Denver, Ogden Theater due to adverse weather. The band and crew were stuck in traffic for over 10 hours on the I-80 outside Rawlins, Wyoming which made it impossible to get to the venue on time. The band apologise to fans and offer full refunds; and also arrange for tickets for the cancelled show to be valid for the following Kansas City show.
April 24
MLive - John Lydon interview.
April 25
Oakland Press - John Lydon interview.
April 26
The Metal Files - John Lydon podcast interview.
April 27
Real Detroit Weekly - John Lydon podcast interview.
April 27
GO&DO - John Lydon interview.
April 27t
Self-Titled Magazine - John Lydon interview.
April 28
Newsweek - John Lydon interview.
April 28
Pontiac, Crofoot Ballroom, USA. The show is filmed in HD for a live webcast. Clips are later posted on YouTube. The clips capture part of a confrontation with Lydon and a bouncer who constantly sits on the stage. The incident is reported in various press agencies. The next day PiL post the following message on www.pilofficial.com.
"All pit security left seconds after this clip ended - to be replaced by a ever-increasing tsunami of PiL fans. Rambo took control of the stage - later gently removing 2 over-enthusiastic fans. The stage belongs to PiL - the dancefloor belongs to you. You policed yourselves. PiL would like to thank the people of Pontiac for their impeccable active participation. Phenomenal show - phenomenal crowd. Thank you Pontiac and goodnight."
April 28
Ultimate Guitar - Lu Edmonds interview.
April 28
Milwaukee Express - John Lydon interview.
April 29
Oakland Press review Pontiac, Crofoot Ballroom show.
April 30
Chicago Sun Times - John Lydon interview.
April 30
Spinner - John Lydon interview.
May 2
Chicago Sun Times review Chicago, House of Blues, May 1st.
May 3
Boston Herald - John Lydon interview.
May 3
Time Out and The Examiner review Chicago, House of Blues, May 2nd.
May 3
Goldmine - John Lydon interview.
May 4
Projo - John Lydon interview.
May 4
It is announced that PiL are set to make a career spanning documentary which will also include footage from the 2010 North American tour. The scheduled second night at New York, Terminal 5 (May 19th) is swapped to a smaller club at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn which will be specially filmed for the untitled documentary.
The documentary is set to be directed by Alex Mar and produced by Artists Public Domain. Various other shows including Boston and LA, Club Nokia are filmed for the documentary. Later in the year the documentary is put on hold after disagreements between the director and the producer.
The company Artists Public Domain are the sole company backing the production of the documentary. One of the company 'Artists Public Domain' co-founders is also a co-founder of DFA Records to whom LCD Soundsystem are signed. However, despite press reports LCD Soundsystem have no direct association with the production of this documentary.
May 4
It is also announced that PiL will appear on NBC TV’s 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Show' on Monday, May 17 2010.
May 4
Boston Metro - John Lydon interview.
May 5
Eye Weekly - John Lydon interview.
May 5
Boston Herald review Boston, Royale, May 4th
May 6
Toronto Sun - John Lydon interview.
May 6
The Hour - John Lydon interview.
May 7
Vancouver Metro - John Lydon interview.
May 7
Globe & Mail - John Lydon interview.
May 7
Montreal Gazette - John Lydon interview.
May 8
Montreal, Olympia, Canada. John Lydon is so blown away by the performance and crowd that he posts the following message on www.pilofficial.com "My body and mind is the Sex Pistols but my heart and soul is P.I.L. Montreal has been one of the most uplifting experiences of my life. This was bar none the best PiL concert ever."
May 8
Reviews of Toronto, Phoenix Concert Theatre appear in the likes of Toronto Sun, Jam, Chart Attack and Eye Weekly. It is also reported that Bob Geldolf was at the show.
May 9
Updated News - John Lydon interview.
May 9
Reviews of Montreal, Olympia appear in French speaking Montreal Gazette and Rue Frontenac.
May 11
Washington City Paper - John Lydon interview.
May 11
NPR, All Songs Considered - John Lydon podcast interview. John picks some of his favourite songs, including PiL. Amongst the picks are Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook; plus 'Rise', 'Poptones', 'Public Image' and 'Disappointed'.
May 12
Washington, 9:30 Club, USA. The show is recorded for a live audio podcast by NPR. It is later available free as a download via iTunes and the NPR website. The band perform a stunning set. The following day the band post the following message on www.pilofficial.com: "Public Image would like to pass on their gratitude to the people of Washington. Absolutely outstanding show. Absolutely outstanding crowd. Absolutely outstanding atmosphere. Thank you and goodnight from Public Image Ltd."
Pearl Jam attend the show and are blown away by the performance. Eddie Veder buys a PiL t-shirt which he is later pictured wearing at Pearl Jam shows.
May 12
Atlantic City Weekly - John Lydon interview.
May 12
Filter Magazine - John Lydon interview.
May 13
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - John Lydon interview.
May 13
Pittsburgh City Paper - John Lydon interview.
May 13
Hartford Courant - John Lydon interview.
May 13
It is announced that PiL will play the Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary on Thursday, August 12th 2010.
May 14
Pittsburgh, Post-Gazzette review Pittsburgh, Club Zoo.
May 14
Philadelphia Inquirer - John Lydon interview.
May 14
Press of Atlantic City - John Lydon interview.
May 16
New York Post - John Lydon interview.
May 16
It is announced that PiL will play a six date German tour in August taking in Dortmund, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Offenbach. The tour is later cancelled due to production scheduling.
May 17
Boston Phoenix review Boston, Royale, May 4th.
May 17
Spinner - John Lydon interview.
May 17
Metro Mix - John Lydon interview.
May 17
NBC 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Show' - PiL perform 'Bags' live. Free tickets for the show were distributed via www.pilofficial.com. The band also perform 'Public Image' which is posted on the Jimmy Fallon website.
May 18
East Village Radio, New York - John Lydon interview.
May 18
New York Press - John Lydon interview.
May 18
It is announced that PiL will headline the Putte Parken Festival in Sweden on Friday, July 30th 2010
May 19
New York, Music Hall of Williamsburg, USA. The final night of the North American show. As previously mentioned (see May 4) the show is filmed for a planned PiL documentary produced by Artists Public Domain.
Former PiL bass player Allan Dias is in the crowd, when John Lydon spots him he calls out: "Here's another one of the PiL members! Hello, Allan! We are many!"
PiL and crew attend a special aftershow party to celebrate the end of the tour. Justin Miller of DFA Records is DJ.
May 19
Reviews of New York, Terminal 5 appear in the likes of New York Times and New York Post.
May
Jah Wobble releases a free download-only single in tribute to the World Cup via 30 Hertz. (see Wobble Discography for full info).
May 20
Reviews of New York, Music Hall of Williamsburg appear in the likes of Time Out, Village Voice and Spinner.
May 28
It is announced PiL will play the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Holland on Tuesday, July 13th 2010.
June 2
It is announced PiL will play a 6 date UK tour in July 2010. The band will play London, Bristol, Oxford, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow (see Gig List for dates).
June 3
It is announced that PiL will headline the Heineken Music Conference 2010 Festival in Tel-Aviv, Israel on Sunday, August 31st 2010. LCD Soundsystem and Leftfield are also scheduled to appear. The announcement sparks criticism from left-wing pro-Palestian groups who urge John Lydon and PiL to cancel. John Lydon point blank refuses explaining that he is playing to the people of Israel - not the Government.
June 4
Tickets go on general sale for the July UK tour.
June
Long deleted on CD and vinyl the 'Happy?' and '9' albums are made available for official download via iTunes and Amazon etc.
June 18
BBC 6 Music - John Lydon interview. He again mentions the possibility of recording new PiL material.
June 25
Clash Magazine - John Lydon interview. Speaking of the set list he comments: "It astounds quite a few. Mostly the hardcore PiL fans that never thought they’d be hearing ‘Albatross’ and ‘Death Disco’ in the same set as ‘Rise and Disappointed’. And the other periods of PiL, that they all work well together. Because they’re all part of a bigger picture. They’re all part of the jigsaw puzzle and you cannot remove any one piece."
June 27
Sunday Mail - John Lydon interview.
July 5
BBC Radio Scotland, Vic Galloway - John Lydon interview.
July 5
Jah Wobble releases his new 21 track album 'Welcome To My World' via 30 Hertz. (see Wobble Discography for full info). The album includes the track 'Blow Up', the video of which was directed by Wobble as a tribute to the cult 60s film.
July 7
BBC1, Breakfast - John Lydon interview.
July 8
Absolute Radio, Christian O'Connell- John Lydon interview. Video clips also appear online.
July 8
Big Issue Magazine Scotland - John Lydon interview and front cover.
July 10
PiL begin the European leg of the 2010 tour with a headlining appearance at Rock Zottegem Festival in Belgium. (see Gig List for all dates).
July 12
It is announced that the 2009 Concert Live 'ALiFE' CD from Brixton Academy, December 21st will be re-issued as a 3 CD set. The CD will also be on sale at several UK / European live dates. See Discography for more info...
July 12
BBC 6 Music - John Lydon interview. When asked about playing Israel, Lydon states: “Of course, there are all sorts of terrible politics going on down there but there is just about all over the world. You cannot separate yourself from your audience because of the political powers-that-be. I mean, I'm anti-government—I have been all my life no matter where I go—and I shall be making that loud and clearly proud once I'm in Israel."
"We've received a lot of hate mail, as it happens, going to Israel is some kind of political faux pas. I say, 'Don't be so ignorant -- it's John speaking here and I'm going there to cause trouble and I will do it musically.”
July 13
Yorkshire Evening Post - John Lydon interview.
July 14
NME - John Lydon interview.
July 14
Daily Star - John Lydon interview.
July 14
Reviews of Amsterdam, Paradiso appear in De Volkskrant and Parool.
July
Word Magazine - John Lydon interview.
July
Time Out London - John Lydon interview.
July
Hammersmith & Fulham News, London - John Lydon interview.
July 15
BBC 6 Music - John Lydon interview. John talks about lack of support from Virgin / EMI and the band's forthcoming show in Israel: "I will play to the people. I don't play to the Government of anything... I'm playing to human beings, and to deny me that right and turn music into some kind of political joystick is quite repulsive to me, and really, really wrong.And hello, Arab countries you ain't inviting me. I've got no prejudices playing both sides of those borders..."
July 15
Bristol Evening Post - John Lydon interview.
July 16
Liverpool Echo - John Lydon interview.
July 16
Daily Mirror - John Lydon interview. "PiL explains me better. I'm not some cold indifferent pop star. The media tried to wrap me up as that with the Sex Pistols, but people who come to enjoy PiL know that I'm more than that. We get old faces and young fans who come with an open heart and they are not disappointed".
July 17
The Independent - John Lydon interview.
July 17
The Guardian - John Lydon interview. "They [Virgin] didn't respond to my calls when I approached them about re-releasing [1979 album] Metal Box. Without that being out there I wasn't able to get the money to do a tour. I've been trying to recoup what we lost on that album with its fancy packaging for 18 years. And then I did the butter ads. We started rehearsing and in the second week of rehearsals they announced they were re-releasing it without telling me."
July 17
FIB Heineken Festival, Benicassim, Spain. The band are plagued by technical problems throughout the set culminating in a breakdown of communications during the final encore of 'Open Up' where the band finish the track early leaving John Lydon still performing. "Thank you from Public image runaway Limited. Looks like I'm all alone as per fucking usual!"
The incident is blown out of all proportion by several music websites incorrectly claiming the band have split up.
A live audio webcast of the show is streamed by the Festival website.
July 18
Sky News - John Lydon interview. Interviewer Adam Boulton is deliberately smug and provocative. Lydon quickly puts him in his place.
July 19
PiL begin their 6 date UK tour at London, Shepherds Bush Empire. The tour takes in London, Bristol, Oxford, Leeds, Liverpool, and Glasgow. (see Gig List for all dates).
On taking the stage Lydon immediately dispels the split rumours from after the previous show at Benicassim in Spain: "Rumours of our demise have been exaggerated! Thank you NME - wrong again!"
July 21
NME.Com - John Lydon video interview recorded as PiL go on stage at Benecassin.
July 20
A pro-Palestinian group protest outside the band's show at Bristol, O2 Academy. A small internet campaign against the band had been building since the announcement PiL would play Israel - with hate mail being sent to the official PiL website. The "protest" is little more than a handful of bourgeois campaigners with flyers and placards. A damp squib. In preparation for the still unannounced 'Mr Rotten's Scrapbook' project John Lydon has a photographer outside the venue to photograph the protests. Members of the PiL road crew pose amongst the campaigners; some of which are included in the finished book.
There are further small 'protests' at the Leeds, Glasgow and Liverpool shows. At Liverpool the campaigners sing a self-penned song "Johnny don't be Rotten" with acoustic guitars. PiL are spotted listening, dancing and singing along! Things take a nastier turn when a protester at the Glasgow show tries to pour a pint of lager over the mixing desk.
July 22
BBC 6 Music - John Lydon interview.
July 22
Guide 2 Bristol magazine review the Bristol show.
July 23
Liverpool Daily Post - John Lydon interview.
July 26
Jah Wobble begins his 8 date 'Japanese Dub' UK tour at Sheffield, O2 Academy 2 (see Wobble Gig List for full info).
July 28
Oxford Times review Oxford, O2 Academy show.
July 28
Monsters and Critics review Liverpool, 02 Academy.
July 28
Daily Star review Glasgow, 02 Academy.
July 29
Reviews of Glasgow, 02 Academy appear in the likes of The Scotsman, The Herald, The Skinny and Clash Magazine. Clash Magazine: ""Bass player Scott Firth decimated any lingering memory of Wobble with his shuddering bass. At the end of the set everyone leaving (the crowd) were electric, fully charged and had a smile on their face".
July
Mojo Magazine - John Lydon interview. "I've got this bizarre situation wrapped around me, with these student union groups, or student hippie bodies, or whatever they are, claiming that if I now go and play in Israel, I am supporting apartheid, which is the most nonsensical point of view. I've been accused of many things in my life, but that now tops it. Some of our songs, like Four Enclosed Walls tonight [a non-judgmental song from inside the head of a Muslim extremist] - you can't be telling me that the Israeli government is sponsoring that."
July
Phantom 105.2 FM, Dublin - John Lydon interview. Also available as a podcast.
August 16
It is announced PiL will play the bespoke Bingley Music Live Festival in Myrtle Park, Bradford on September 4th 2010.
August 29
Jah Wobble spoken word appearance at Edinburgh Book Festival, at Charlotte Square Gardens to promote 'Memoirs of a Geezer'.
August 31
Irish Times - John Lydon interview.
August 31
John Lydon holds a press conference in Tel-Aviv prior to PiL's appearance at the Heineken Music Conference Festival the following day. "People of Israel I support you 100%. As for your government - they can fuck off!" He also berates Leftfield's decision to pull out of the Festival. "I think its disgusting. They shouldn't have agreed in the first place if they were gonna back out in the second".
August 31
Heineken Music Conference Festival, Tel-Aviv, Israel. "I hate all Religion" PiL play to the people of Israel. John Lydon later describes playing the likes of 'Warrior', '4 Enclosed Walls' and 'Religion' in Israel as one of the highlights of his career.
September 3
Irish Independent - John Lydon interview.
September 3
Electric Picnic Festival, Stradbally, Ireland. The first EVER PiL show in Ireland. The band headline the 2nd stage and pull a huge crowd away from Roxy Music. The show is by heralded by fans and band members alike as the best of the tour.
The majority of the show is broadcast live on RTE Radio 2 in Ireland; with certain tracks re-broadcast the following day.
September 4
PiL conclude the 2011 tour at the Bingley Music Live Festival, Myrtle Park in Bradford, UK.
September 5
Reviews of Bingley Music Live Festival appear in The Guardian and Telegraph and Argus.
September 6
Belfast Telegraph review Electric Picnic Festival.
September 27
It is announced via PiLOfficial.Com and JohnLydon.Com that John Lydon will be releasing a strictly limited high-end hardback photographic book of just 750 copies; published by Concert Live (who released the 2009 'ALiFE' live CD's). The book will contain many unseen images of his life, career and include handwritten commentary and quotes; as well as being personally hand-signed and doodled by John Lydon. It will also contain the chance of a "Golden Ticket" that will enable 100 lucky recipients to webchat with John Lydon at a later date.
October 3
Manchester, Un-Convention Festival, Salford, UK. Contrived rumours had been spreading that Keith Levene, Jah Wobble and Martin Atkins would perform together at this low-key music seminar. However, apparently Wobble pulls out over financial concerns. Atkins had tried to organize the appearance after both he and Wobble were booked to perform spoken-word performances.
October 8
Pre-sale for 'Mr Rotten's Scrapbook' begins. The book has attracted criticism for its price tag of £449 (pre-sale £379), however, Lydon defends the price due to the low print run and overheads for the high-quality finishing and production.
It is also announced that book will include a vinyl 12" featuring 2009 live PiL tracks recorded by Concert Live.
October 12
BBC6 Music, 'The First Time With John Lydon'. Special one hour radio interview tracing John Lydon's musical career.
October 14
The Quietus give Electric Picnic Festival a belated review.
October 20
John Lydon announces via JohnLydon.Com and PiLOfficial that his stepdaughter, Arianna Forster (aka Ari Up from The Slits) has sadly passed away from a "Serious illness". She was just 48 years old. RIP Arianna.
October 24
Jah Wobble Japanese Dub - Musicport World Music Festival, Bridlington Spa Theatre, UK. Keith Levene joins Wobble for the encore performing several PiL tracks including: 'Poptones', 'Careering' and 'Public Image'. This is the first time the pair have played live together since 1990 when they appeared twice with the On-U Sound System. In 2009 when Wobble was approached to appear with PiL he told John Lydon that under no circumstances would he ever play with Levene again.
October
Mojo Magazine give Oxford, 02 Academy a belated review.
October 26
ARTE, France 'Sziget, Une Ile de Musique'. Documentary on the August 2010 Sziget Festival in Hungary. A John Lydon interview and live PiL performance of 'Public Image' and 'Open Up' are included.
October 30
It is announced the first 100 copies of 'Mr Rotten's Scrapbook' sold within 24 hours; and that everyone who pre-orders before October 22nd will have their name included in the book by John Lydon.
October 31
Channel 4, 'Genius of British Art' - John Lydon interview. John is interviewed by Janet Street-Porter at the 100 Club in London.
November 5
Dutch National Radio 2 - John Lydon interview. The first interview to promote 'Mr Rotten's Scrapbook'.
November 12
I Like Music - John Lydon interview. John also picks a playlist including PiL tracks. The site also makes 'Mr Rotten's Scrapbook' its "Feature of the week", and PiL at Coachella its "Video of the week", plus '4 Enclosed Walls' its "Song of the Week"!
November 13
Ian Wright's Rock n Roll Football - John Lydon interview.
November 15th
BBC 6 Music, Huey Morgan - John Lydon interview.
November 17th
The Sun - John Lydon interview. John is asked about the just announced Royal Wedding – and in true Lydon style – turns it on its head!
November 22
BBC News Online - John Lydon interview. Special interview looking at John's childhood and previewing some unseen family pictures from 'Mr Rotten's Scrapbook'.
Part 2 of the interview centres on future PiL plans: "We were going to go into the studio but in light of my step-daughter's death [Arianna Forster], I really can't be doing that at the moment. I don't want to leave my wife alone for any length of time right now. So the music side has had to be held."
November 23
Daily Record - John Lydon interview. Lydon reveals that PiL will be touring again in 2011; including some further European Festival dates.
November 25
'Shortlist' and 'Mojo' magazine's publish features on 'Mr Rotten's Scrapbook'. 'Mojo' includes the first ever Sex Pistols picture taken by John's friend John Gray outside the band's first rehearsal in August 1975.
November 30
The Times - John Lydon interview.
November 30
Contact Music - John Lydon interview.…
November 30
The First Post - John Lydon interview.
November 30
WENN - John Lydon interview.
December 10
Spin Magazine - John Lydon interview.
December 1
'Mr Rotten's Scrapbook' goes on general sale via the Concert Live website. Strictly limited edition to just 750 copies. The large format ‘coffee table’ style photographic book (14” x 14” with over 250 colour pages) contains many unseen images of his life, career and includes handwritten commentary and quotes; as well as being personally hand-signed and doodled by Lydon.
A 12" picture disc featuring PiL material recorded live at Brixton Academy on December 21st 2009 – as well as spoken-word entries and "Nursery Rhymes" by John Lydon – is hand built into the back cover of each book. There is also the chance of a "Golden Ticket" that will enable 100 lucky recipients to webchat with John Lydon at a later date.
The book features a chapter on PiL including a huge selection of 2009-2010 shots, plus PiL through the ages. Lydon writes various entries about the band past and present.
Lydon later reveals the book was inspired from the 2010 PiL tour. The original plan was to do a photographic Tour Diary book, which later morphed into a book covering his whole life.
Read Fodderstompf review here...
December 12
San Francisco Chronicle - John Lydon interview.
December 11
PiLOfficial.com announce that PiL will continue touring into 2011. The first shows are announced at Isle of Wight Festival on June 12th and Bazant Pohoda Festival, in Slovakia on July 9th 2011.
December 16th
BBC, World Service, Outlook - John Lydon interview.
December 20th
A further 2011 PiL live date is announced for Brussels, AB (Ancientness Belgique), Belgium on June 4th 2011.
December 21
Beehive City - John Lydon interview.
December 21
Liberation Next - John Lydon interview.
