Public Image Ltd show how to honour the past without living in it…O2 Ritz Manchester

Phil Thorns
Dec 31, 2025
4 min read

O2 Ritz Manchester 28th December 2025

WORDS / IMAGES PHIL THORNS

Public Image Ltd show how to honour the past without living in it…O2 Ritz Manchester — Photo Credit Phil Thorns

The O2 Ritz Manchester is not some shiny new box dropped into the city for touring convenience. It has been doing the job since 1927, originally opening as a ballroom with a sprung dance floor that still earns its keep when the crowd really gets going. Over the decades it has survived shifts in fashion, format and volume, becoming one of Manchester’s most dependable rooms for live music. Long before it was badge stamped and sponsored, it hosted the likes of The Beatles and Frank Sinatra, and later became a regular stop for bands that helped shape the city’s reputation as a place where gigs actually matter. The Smiths, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, Arctic Monkeys and Liam Gallagher have all left their mark here, usually with sweat dripping from the ceiling and the floor bouncing underfoot.

That makes it a fitting room for Public Image Ltd, a band that has never done nostalgia quietly. John Lydon, forever Johnny Rotten whether he likes it or not, has history with Manchester that runs deep. From the infamous Sex Pistols shows at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976, incidentally described by NME as “the most important concert of all time”, to later PiL appearances, this has always been a place where his confrontational streak feels at home. PiL have played the Ritz before, most recently in 2023 on their ‘End of the World’ tour, but this night felt less like a return and more like another chapter in a long, argumentative relationship between Lydon and a city that has never backed down from a fight.

The Gulps kicked things off with a proper shot across the bows. A London based indie-rock band made up of members from across Europe fronted by Javier Sola. No easing anyone in, no polite warm up, just sharp edges, lean riffs and a front-foot attitude that told the early crowd this was not a night for standing around with arms folded. They sound like a band that understands punk as a mindset rather than a uniform, full of tension, sarcasm and hooks that land hard without hanging about. It was the kind of set that quietly wins over the sceptics, even if they would never admit it out loud.

Then The Dualers came on, a 9 piece ska, reggae and Jamaican rhythm and blues band from SE London led by Tyber Cranstoun, and did the unthinkable. They got a room full of hard nosed punks moving. What could have felt like an odd booking turned into one of the smartest moves of the night, as their ska rhythms, horns and working-class stories dragged people out of pint-clutching mode and into full skank. Smiles appeared, shoulders loosened and suddenly half the room was bouncing like it was 2am in 1981. By the end they had clearly picked up a stack of new followers, proving that punk crowds do not need educating so much as reminding that rebellion can still be fun. By the time PiL were ready, the room was loose, loud and properly warmed up.

From the moment PiL hit the stage it was clear this was not going to be a polite history lesson. Kicking off with ‘Religion II’ set the tone straight away, confrontational and uncompromising, with John Lydon sounding sharp and fully engaged. ‘World Destruction’ landed like a reminder of just how far ahead of its time PiL were, still nasty, still relevant, still capable of rattling the room. When ‘This Is Not a Love Song’ arrived the crowd erupted, half pogoing, half shouting every word back with the kind of affection that only comes from decades of living with a song. ‘Poptones’ and ‘Death Disco’ brought that familiar mix of menace and melancholy, the latter hitting especially hard as bodies bounced and fists punched the air in something that felt closer to communal therapy than nostalgia.

The energy never dipped. ‘Public Image’ was met with total devotion, the front packed tight with grins, sweat and people moving like it was their first gig all over again. The encore sealed it. ‘Rise’ was massive, a singalong that felt earned rather than forced, and by the time ‘Annalisa’ and ‘Chant’ closed the night the crowd was fully spent but still begging for more. This was a room full of people who know exactly why these songs matter, feasting on nostalgia without being trapped by it. As the lights came up there was that unmistakable warm glow, the kind you only get from a band that delivers and a crowd that gives everything back. Another PiL night filed away in the memory, to be talked about loudly and fondly for years to come. Brilliant.