Public Image Ltd.

Out of the wreckage of the Sex Pistols came one of post-punk's most restless projects. John Lydon, who had sung as Johnny Rotten, joined forces in June 1978 with guitarist Keith Levene, a founding member of the Clash, bassist Jah Wobble and drummer Jim Walker to form Public Image Ltd. Their sound was abrasive and bass-heavy, drawing on dub, noise, progressive rock and disco, and the line-up shifted so often that Lydon is the only constant member across the decades.

The debut single 'Public Image' reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, and the album First Issue followed in December 1978, its recording budget spent before it was finished. The second album, Metal Box (1979), pushed further into the avant-garde and is often regarded as one of the most important records of the post-punk era. After Levene, Wobble and Walker had left by 1984, Lydon steered the group towards a more accessible sound with This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get and Album, both commercially successful. Following a late 1990s hiatus, he revived the band in 2009, and What the World Needs Now... arrived in 2015.