Recreating PiL’s ‘The Flowers of Romance’ live w/ Martin Atkins (ex-PiL drummer) (Episode 1114)

About this episode

Martin Atkins discusses the recreation of PiL's 'The Flowers of Romance' and shares insights from his career and museum.

In this episode, Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd., Killing Joke, Pigface) joins the show from his Post-Punk and Industrial Music Museum to discuss the upcoming 45th-anniversary recreation of Public Image Ltd.’s third album, The Flowers of Romance . On Saturday, April 11, Martin returns to Reggie’s in Chicago with a "murderers' row" of talent, including Chris Connelly, Robert Byrne, Leyla Royale, Orville Kline, Alicia Gaines, and Alan Lake, to bring the stark, experimental, and percussive record back to the stage. Martin reflects on the "Music Concrete" nature of the original recording sessions, which were defined by improvisation and disregard for traditional rock structures. He shares fascinating stories behind the album's signature sounds, such as the ticking of a Mickey Mouse watch used for the track "Four Enclosed Walls" and the CO2 fire extinguisher that opens "Under the House". He also sheds light on the band’s internal dynamics during that era, including the departure of bassist Jah Wobble and Keith Levene’s intense focus on a video game. The conversation also covers Martin’s recent performance of Killing Joke’s “Extremities&rdquo…

People in this episode

Host: James VanOsdol

Guest: Martin Atkins

Topics covered

• post-punk
• music history
• album recreation
• live performance
• band dynamics
• experimental music

Keywords

• Public Image Ltd.
• The Flowers of Romance
• Martin Atkins
• post-punk
• live performance
• Killing Joke
• experimental music
• album history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Public Image Ltd., Killing Joke, Pigface

Books & works: The Flowers of Romance, Extremities

Places: Chicago