In 1979, Clarke played guitar in an Ultravox -influenced band, the Plan, with friends Robert Marlow and Paul Langwith.
“PiL was the simple thing of four different people doing different drugs at different times,” Wobble observed to Select . “It was only in any way together for the first two months of its existence. We had a fuckin’ good drummer called Jim Walker, but he fucked off after a…
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In preparing their debut studio album, Public Image: First Issue , the band spent their recording budget well before the record was completed. As a result, the final album comprised eight tracks of varying sound quality, half of which were written and recorded in a rush after the money had…
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Upon returning to England, Lydon searched for musicians but it was difficult. He stated in the press: “I’m thinking about going up north for someone. They’ve got bands up there who are trying to be different”. He approached Jah Wobble ( né John Wardle) about forming a band together. The…
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The band began rehearsing together in mid-May 1978, although they were still unnamed. In July 1978, Lydon officially named the band “Public Image” (the “Ltd” was added when the company was incorporated in July 1978), after the Muriel Spark novel The Public Image (1968). PiL debuted in October 1978 with…
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Irish magazine Hot Press was influential in shaping U2’s future; in addition to being one of their earliest allies, the publication’s journalist Bill Graham introduced the band to Paul McGuinness , who agreed to be their manager in mid-1978. With the connections he was making within the music industry, McGuinness…
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Following the Sex Pistols’ break-up in 1978, photographer Dennis Morris suggested that Lydon travel to Jamaica with him and Virgin Records head Richard Branson , where Branson would be scouting for emerging reggae musicians. Branson also flew American new wave band Devo to Jamaica, aiming to install Lydon as lead…
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Bobby Gillespie moved to Mount Florida in southeastern Glasgow, where he attended King’s Park Secondary School , where he first met Robert Young. Another schoolfriend was Alan McGee , who took Gillespie to see his first concert, Thin Lizzy . McGee and Gillespie were heavily influenced by punk rock ,…
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In April 1977, Feedback played their first gig for a paying audience at St. Fintan’s High School . Shortly thereafter, the band changed their name to “The Hype”. Dik Evans, who was older and by that time attending college, was becoming the odd man out of the group. The other…
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Depeche Mode’s origins date to 1977, when schoolmates Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass.