# Public Image Ltd — Public Image

Public Image Ltd’s Public Image (1978) appears on 3 of our lists — Post-Punk, Roots, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, highest at No. 2 in Post-Punk. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1978
- **Label:** Virgin
- **On:** Post-Punk, Roots, and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [Public Image Ltd](https://waxonia.com/artist/public-image-ltd/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/public-image-ltd--public-image/

## What 3 lists say

### No. 2 in [Post-Punk](https://waxonia.com/genre/post-punk/)

Lydon's first act after the Sex Pistols is to hire a dub bass player and make the guitar ring rather than chug. A resignation letter from punk, delivered as a single.

### Picked by [Roots](https://waxonia.com/theme/the-desk-roots/)

The guitar stops chugging and starts ringing, the bass takes the tune, and British guitar music spends the next fifteen years working out what to do with the space that left.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/)

A resignation letter from punk delivered as a single: dub bass, ringing guitar, and no interest whatsoever in the audience that came for the last band.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Public%20Image%20Ltd%20Public%20Image) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAZ8unRm2c)

---

Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.