Public Image Ltd.

Formed by John Lydon after the collapse of the Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd. is a shape-shifting musical project in which the singer and lyricist explored his ideas without compromise. Depending on the period of the band's career, Public Image Ltd. could sound like bass-heavy post-punk thunder (1978's Public Image: First Issue), a fusion of Krautrock and dub (1979's Metal Box), muscular alternative rock (1986's Album), or dance-friendly pop (1989's 9), with many other stops along the way. Despite a constantly shifting lineup and musical approach, Lydon's bitter howl gave PiL's many guises a musical and thematic through line. Lydon revived PiL for live work in 2009, and the reunion albums This Is PiL (2012), What the World Needs Now (2015), and End of World (2023) featured some of his strongest work since the '80s.