Tracks:
Side 1: Theme / Religion I / Religion II / Annalisa
Side 2: Public Image / Low Life / Attack / Fodderstompf

Release Date:
8.12.78

Label & Catalogue Number:
Virgin. V 2114
Mid-Price Reissue: OVED 160 (4/86)

Highest UK Chart Position:
22

Personnel:
Vox - John Lydon
Guitar - Keith Levene
Bass - Jah Wobble
Drums - Jim Walker

Format Info:
Single LP, with colour inner sleeve featuring pix. Designed to imitate a glossy magazine. Hence, 'First Issue'.

The album was later re-issued without the inner sleeve, with green/red Virgin labels, and then grey Virgin labels.

The sleeve credits state, "Public Image would like to thank absolutely nobody".

Track Info:
'Public Image' is the same mix as the single version. All other tracks were newly written for the album.

Writing / Publishing:
All tracks Written by Public Image Ltd
Published by Warner Chappell Music Ltd / EMI Virgin Music Ltd © 1978 Virgin Records Ltd

Trivia:
When the sleeve was designed PiL had only recorded 5 of the 7 tracks that would appear on the album. 'Fodderstompf' & 'Low Life' were included on the label but not the sleeve.

John Lydon wrote most of the lyrics for 'Religion' & 'Public Image' while still in the Sex Pistols.

Producer:
Produced by 'Public Image Ltd'

Studio:
Wessex, London / Advision, London / The Manor, Oxfordshire / Townhouse Studios 1 & 2, London / Gooseberry Studios, London

Full studio / engineer info etc*

Sleeve Design:
Photography: Dennis Morris
Concept: Terry Jones & Dennis Morris, PiL
Design: Zebulon

Quotes:
The first Public Image album is an all time fave, it’s a ‘Funhouse’ album! Hard as nails, and a seriously, seriously industrial way of mixing, everything sounds like sledgehammers!
- John Lydon, JohnLydon.Com 2005

People never knew if we were serious or playing a joke on them. But we were serious. In 'Fodderstompf' where Wobble says: "We are now trying to finish the album with a minimum amount of effort which we are now doing very suc-cess-ful-ly." It's what we were doing. We had this thing were we only gave the record company exactly the 30 minutes prescribed in the contract because those bastards ripped us off. Those guys played fucking hard ball.
- Keith Levene, Perfect Sound Forever 2001

'Low life' and 'Attack' were meant to be properly made songs but recorded in a basement dungeon of a demo track studio. No live drum sound everything done on the cheap. Appalling result. 'Fodderstompf', the same sad sick story. Not even a song just a wank. Ripping off our fans. It still turns my stomach thinking about it…
- Jim Walker, Fodderstompf 2001

I was very hurt by the reviews of the first album. The flak we took at the beginning was unbelievable. A few people understood it, got it, but a lot of people were seriously offended by it, because they wanted their regular traditional rock.
- Jah Wobble, Fodderstompf 1999

Lyrics:
Public Image: First Issue

Press Reviews:
Sounds, December 1978