331 Hello Public Image Limited - Public Image

Chart  entered :  21  October  1978

Chart  peak : 9

Number  of  hits : 12

Here's  a  band  that  had  fewer  hits  than  you  might  think  because  they  largely  eschewed  the  singles  market , rarely  releasing  more  than  one  track  from  their  albums  in  the  seven  inch  format.

John  Lydon  famously  quit  the  Sex  Pistols  on  14  January  1978  at  the  end  of  a  gig  at   San  Francisco's  Winterland  Ballroom  with  the  on-stage  question  "Ever  feel  like  you've  been  cheated ?". The  band  had  written  virtually  nothing  since  Glen  Matlock's  departure  nearly  12  months  previously, Sid  Vicious  was  a  walking  disaster  area,  and  he  himself  was  ravaged  by  flu. The  timing  was  also  influenced  by  the  knowledge  that  their  next  engagement  was  flying  to  Brazil  to  record  with  escaped  criminal  Ronnie  Biggs, a  Malcolm  McLaren  stunt  that  he regarded  with  nothing  but  distaste. The  band  went  their  seperate  ways  leaving  him  stranded  in  LA  without  even  enough  money  for  the  flight  home. He  was  rescued  by  Richard  Branson  who  saw  him  as  an  asset, brought  him  home  then  sent  him  on  a  company  mission  to  scout  out  some  new  reggae  talent  in  Jamaica. He  also  mooted  the  idea  of  John  joining  Devo  but  neither  party  fancied  the  idea.

When  he  returned  to  London,  John  stopped  using  the  name "Rotten" , started  legal  proceedings  to  cut  loose   any  remaining  ties  to   McLaren ,  and  with  Branson's  encouragement  started  putting  a  new  band  together. His  first  choice  was  an  old  school  friend  John  "Jah  Wobble"  Wardle  ( born  1958 ) . Jah  was  a  bassist  of  uncertain  proficiency  and  something  of  a  volatile  character  but  he  had  the  same  musical  tastes  as  John,  particularly  when  it  came  to  reggae.  They  had  in  fact  been  kicking  some  ideas  around  together  before  the   Pistols  left  for  America . The  guitarist  was  Keith  Levene  who  John  had  met  in  the  early  days  of  The  Clash  but  who had  been  kicking  his  heels  since.  He  had  to  put  an  ad  out  for  a  drummer  and  the  auditions  yielded  Jim  Walker  ( born  1955 )  a  jazz  drummer  who  had  formed  a  short  lived  punk  band  in  his  native  Canada.

"Public  Image "  was  their  first  single. It's  an  extended  rant  against  McLaren,  and  to  a lesser   extent  Cook  and  Jones,  and  a  vindication  of  his  decision  to  quit  the  Pistols  which  makes  it  a  sort  of  negative  cousin  to  Solsbury  Hill  eighteen  months  earlier.  Musically  it's  simple  and  claustrophobic  beginning  with  the  repetitive  rumble  of  Jah's  bass  and  Jim's  minimalist  Moe  Tucker  style  drums  with  John's  repeated  questioning  "Hello ?'s"  as  if  there  were  some  doubt  that  people  would  be  listening  in  to  this  iconoclast's  next  move. Then  Keith's  relentless  riff  comes  in  to  carry  the  song. John  McKay  beat  him  to  taking  that  abrasive  guitar  sound  into  the  charts  but  it's  still  a  classic  riff. John's  wail   rides  along  the  top  of  it  making  this  one  of  the  band's  easier  on  the  ear  singles  and  probably  my  favourite.