John Lydon’s reactivated Public Image Ltd. is planning a North American tour later this year, the group announced on its website today. No details have been released about the trek, which comes more than two years after PiL’s post-Coachella tour of North America in the spring of 2010.
This month’s Auto Reverse mixtape includes brand new, live and previously unreleased recordings from Ian McCulloch, Ultravox, David Byrne, Robyn Hitchcock and World Party, plus favorites new and old from The Go-Betweens, Gang of Four, The The, KMFDM, Love and Rockets, The Cure, Orange Juice and more.
This week’s new releases include the first new album in 27 years from Dexys Midnight Runners (now named Dexys), plus reissues from David Bowie (‘Ziggy Stardust’), Propaganda (‘Wishful Thinking’), Germs (‘GI’) and Bob Mould’s Sugar (‘Beaster’), as well as a new collection of Ministry remixes and covers.
Morrissey recently wrapped up a run of dates in the Far East and in the western U.S. and, as he’s known to do, today released a statement in which he ranks his Top 10 tour stops (Jakarta’s No. 1) and once again bemoans his lack of a record label, indicating his finished album is no closer to being released.
Welcome to the Week in Rock, where we round up all of the headlines posted on this site over the past week. This edition includes news about Jah Wobble and Keith Levene, The Cure, The Pogues, The Smithereens, World Party, Bronski Beat and Communards, The Waterboys’ Mike Scott and much, much more.
Last night, Britain’s BBC Four aired the first installment of the new three-part ‘Punk Britannia’ documentary series, billed as a look at the ‘historic cosmology, meteoric impact and smouldering aftermath of the most genuinely transformative force in British popular music history.’ Watch Part 1 here.
The Cure played a 36-song set at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound 2012 peppered with surprises, including the first performance of ‘Fight’ since the ‘Kiss Me’ tour, only the third-ever performance of ‘The Caterpillar,’ a rare airing of ‘Dressing Up’ and the first-ever performance of B-side ‘Just One Kiss.’
Q&A: Daniel Ash on Love and Rockets’ reunion, his new band — and figuring out how to play “So Alive” 
Q&A: Chris Frantz talks Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and new book ‘Remain in Love’ 
Q&A: Steve Wynn on The Dream Syndicate’s first new album in nearly 30 years 
Q&A: Bauhaus’ David J on his ‘accidental’ concept album ‘Not Long For This World’ 
Q&A: Peter Murphy on ‘Ninth,’ Bauhaus’ break-up, reuniting Dalis Car 
Q&A: Joey Santiago on Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ tour, possible ‘Surfer Rosa’ shows, new album talk 
Q&A: Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon on new album, changing the world with music 
Q&A: Peter Hook talks ‘Unknown Pleasures’ tour, re-recording Joy Division 