The playhouse is packed. The support band (Black Britain) has just left the stage. The lights dim and Led Zeppelin's Kashmir blasts through the PA. The stage lights flicker and there's a band on. We had no idea who any of them were! Then a figure stalks on from stage right. John Lydon! Then we realise that the band was the new PiL line-up! Well, no one knew until that moment who was backing John on the tour. He's carrying a black bin-liner. He walks up to the mic and simply says "Allo." Then the bag is empted over the heads of a few fans in the front row, and he states, "Thought I'd feel more at home," as PiL launch their set with FFF.

John's new PiL line-up consists of John McGeoch (guitar/vocals), Lu Edmonds (guitar/vocals), Alan Dias (bass/vocals), and Bruce Smith (drums). The second song performed is Annalisa from 1978. Lydon's voice is fantastic live (got to be appreciated live, and not on bootleg). Lydon takes up the whole stage with his manic dancing.

Next up is Fishing, a song from the new LP, which is a ripper of a track. “Aw well, for a second I thought you'd all gone home…. a little mellow I'm finding Edinburgh. There's nobody there. Well I reckon you deserve a really slow number.” The band slide into the fantastic Poptones. “Well you know, dancing ain't against the law.” Lydon taunts with his hands on his hips.

After 2 minutes of Poptones, the band goes into Pretty Vacant, which lifts the roof off the Playhouse (PiL play Vacant in a different key to the Pistols, which makes it sound very different). Next is a haunting version of Banging The Door… a fantastic arrangement. During the song, Lydon asks the band, “By the way…what hotel are we not staying at tonight? Oh yes, we are not staying at the Draganora! Ok slave chicks!!!”

The stage goes dark, then a sitar brings in The Flowers Of Romance. The 20 foot PiL logo which was their back-drop was gone, to be replaced by 16 screens of varying colours, and Lydon goes into a manical spin. Fantastic to see him do his thing live. Bags is up next, and during the song Lydon is pointing out someone 8-10 rows from the front of the stage; “How do you get your hair to do that?” As the song ends he tells the house, “Now, everybody be quiet. What was it you said?” Meanwhile everyone is shouting abuse back at him as John tries to listen to the lads answer. “Shut up, don't be rude! You know I need a little help in the hair department these days. I'm not as young as I used to be!” Then someone at the back screams “It's a wig!”

Then the brilliant Tie Me Too The Length Of That is next. Always a fave of mine. “Are we really bad? Cause then we can go home early. Oh please say yes!” Lydon pleads just as Round kicks in. Lydon's dancing is pure entertainment in itself. Great to see him - go Johnny go! Better Day's Will Never Be!!

The awesome Home explodes around the theatre. Deafening! Fantastic and loaded with apocalyptic promise. “Bleedin hell! If you clap for that mess, you'd clap for anything," states Lydon after a mistake. “Aw come on, we just fucked that song real badly!” (You want perfection? Listen to the record and don't judge anyone who's made an effort).

The classic Public Image is next and the band leave the stage. “Bye bye. Is there anybody there? Where? Over here?” says John as he leaves the stage. The house lights dim, then light up to find the band back on stage and into Rise, which was released as a single 3 months earlier. “I could be wrong, I could be right, I could be worse, I could be shite,” sings Lydon! There's a massive mistake during the song which is total Laurel & Hardy. The band has a laugh about it. A great moment comes at the end of the song, where Smith hammers out the beat to Low Life and us disciples chant “Anger is an energy” to it! And it works perfectly. PiL love it and they all dance to it! One of those moments where it all clicks.

After Low Life, Lydon asks “Can we go off now?” “No” we plead. “Just for that I will” he adds! Within seconds PiL were back out and Lydon states “Someone just informed me why you're so laid back. Is it because you're all on heroin and you've got aids?” Now there's a statement to make from an Edinburgh stage - the world's Aids capitol at the time! Speak About Destruction!!! A perfect intro to World Destruction. Bang! Then Ease, the last song of the night creeps in. Lydon looks so fed up by this point. “You're so normal,” he taunts a section of his disciples on his right.

He starts turning his mic on the monitors causing deafening feedback. The man's bored by it all now. PiL wind the song down with McGeoch playing out Steve Vai's solo while Lydon announces “Goodnight Edinburgh. Thanks for making me a millionaire.” He turns his back and stalks off the stage. The man is a true star.

My two friends and I sat under the Sir Walter Scott monument on Princes Street waiting for our lift back home to Central Scotland. What a night it was! Public Image Ltd are about free thinking, individuality, and personality. Remove your uniforms, put your brain in gear, expose lies where you find them. And it is this way that John Lydon's Public Image Ltd lead the way for us to become leaders in our own lives............

Review and picture by Peter Moffat (Pictured: John outside the Playhouse)