Placebo to celebrate its 30^th anniversary in Riga this fall

Looking back on their 30-year-long career, British alternative rock stars Placebo will perform at the Xiaomi Arena in Riga on October 16^th. The set will focus on the musical material from the band’s first two albums, “Placebo” and “Without You I’m Nothing”, which many critics and fans consider to be the band’s most creatively attractive.

Nancy Boy, Teenage Angst, 36 Degrees, Every You Every Me, Pure Morning, You Don’t Care About Us, Without You I’m Nothing are the pieces that so directly, poignantly, provocatively addressed thousands back then and now form a significant part of Placebo’s golden hit fund.

Ticket sales throughout the “Biļešu Serviss” network:

Wednesday, March 25^th, from 11AM only for www.ltips.lv subscribers

From Friday, March 27^th, 11AM – general sale

In the mid-90s, Britpop dominated Britain, and Placebo burst into this environment like a draft through a wide-open balcony door. Teenage maximalism, provocative directness, the boundaries of flowing sexuality, mental health, intoxicating substances – the lyrics openly discussed everything that was certainly relevant to young people, but did not dominate the pop music of the time.

Recalling that period, the band’s frontman Brian Molko especially emphasizes the song Nancy Boy: 

“We were reacting very strongly against the machismo, terrace chants and revisionism of Britpop, and the nationalism that we interpreted as xenophobia of the musical kind. We were trying to make a strong political statement about the fluidity of sexuality with the dresses and make-up that we wore. We set out to confuse, and I guess Nancy Boy was the perfect soundtrack to that.”

Brian Molko’s provocatively ambiguous androgynous image added fuel to the rumors and judgments. But the gold status of his debut album “Placebo” and the platinum status of their second album “Without You I’m Nothing” – confirmed sales of more than a million copies – clearly proofed that a new bright star had appeared in the sky of alternative rock.

Celebrating the third decade of their debut, a special remastered version of the album, “Placebo RE:CREATED”, is available to pre-order from March 18^th. The new record features reworked and embellished versions of all ten tracks from the original album plus two bonus tracks from the original release, capturing the way these songs have evolved across decades of performance while retaining the raw spirit that defined them. These new recordings amplify the urgency and attitude that made the originals resonate so strongly, while reflecting the band’s growth and experience in the years since their debut. Speaking about the new record, Placebo explain:

“We think of this record as a director’s cut. We haven’t recreated it from scratch. We went back to the original master tapes and brought 30 years of playing these songs live back into the record.

This project was about finally finishing the record, dragging it into the 21st century sonically, while preserving the integrity and the spirit of the original. It’s not about improving it, there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s about completing it.

Placebo was founded in 1994, when singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Brian Molko met guitarist and keyboardist Stefan Olsdal and the duo is still  the constant core of the band.

Placebo are one of the defining alternative rock bands of the past 30 years, with 14 million albums sold to date worldwide. All 8 of the band’s studio albums have reached at least the top 20 of the UK charts. 15 of their singles have reached at least the top 40. During their career, the band’s musicians have gone on several sold large-scale concert tours, performed headline slots at prestigious festivals on both sides of the Atlantic, and have received acclaim from both critics and fans.

More info:

https://www.placeboworld.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/ltipsagency

Videos:

Nancy Boy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdIIbHwrS1c 

Pure Morning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WVEKBhWS14 

Every You Every Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGcLU-FS1_4 

Without You I’m Nothing (feat. David Bowie) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK5CvJbTaoM