What the World Needs Now...

What the World Needs Now...
Studio album by Public Image Ltd
Released	4 September 2015 [1]
Studio	Wincraft Studios, England [2]
Genre	Post-punk
Length	55:07
Label	PiL Official Ltd
Public Image Ltd chronology
This Is PiL (2012) What the World Needs Now... (2015) End of World (2023)

What the World Needs Now... is the tenth studio album by British rock band Public Image Ltd. It was released on September 4, 2015.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100 [3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Classic Rock	[5]
Drowned in Sound	4/10 [6]
Mojo	[7]
NME	7/10 [8]
The Observer	[9]
Pitchfork	6.8/10 [10]
Q	[11]
Spin	7/10 [12]
Uncut	7/10 [13]

What the World Needs Now... received mostly favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72 based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". ^[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Double Trouble"	3:52
2.	"Know Now"	2:45
3.	"Bettie Page"	3:21
4.	"C'est la Vie"	6:08
5.	"Spice of Choice"	5:43
6.	"The One"	3:42
7.	"Big Blue Sky"	8:14
8.	"Whole Life Time"	3:46
9.	"I'm Not Satisfied"	5:43
10.	"Corporate"	5:23
11.	"Shoom"	6:30

Personnel

Personnel adapted from What the World Needs Now liner notes. ^[14]

Public Image Ltd.

• John Lydon – vocals, production, cover art
• Lu Edmonds – guitar, saz, piano, cümbüs, production
• Scott Firth – bass guitar, keyboards, strings, percussion, production
• Bruce Smith – drums, percussion, programming, production

Other personnel

• John "Rambo" Stevens – production, layout
• James Towler – production, engineering, mixing
• Tom Colwill – assistant engineering
• John Dent – mastering
• Tomohiro Noritsume – booklet photography

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [15]	192
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [16]	104
Scottish Albums (OCC) [17]	23
UK Albums (OCC) [18]	29
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [19]	3

References

1. Soto, Alfred (18 May 2015). "Public Image Ltd. Announce New Album, Tour". SPIN. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
2. Kreps, Daniel (18 May 2015). "Public Image Ltd. Ready New LP 'What the World Needs Now...'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
3. "What the World Needs Now by Public Image Ltd". Metacritic . Retrieved 8 September 2015.
4. Deming, Mark. "Public Image Ltd. - What the World Needs Now..." AllMusic . Retrieved 8 September 2015.
5. Hasted, Nick (4 September 2015). "PiL: What The World Needs Now..." Classic Rock . Retrieved 12 April 2025.
6. Doherty, Jack (3 September 2015). "Public Image Ltd: What the World Needs Now..." Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
7. Mojo magazine. October 2015, p.89
8. Pattison, Louis (26 August 2015). "Public Image Ltd – 'What The World Needs Now…'". NME . Retrieved 8 September 2015.
9. Mackay, Emily (6 September 2015). "PiL: What the World Needs Now review – exhilarating, foul-mouthed fun". The Observer . Retrieved 8 September 2015.
10. Masters, Marc (15 September 2015). "Public Image Ltd.: What the World Needs Now..." Pitchfork . Retrieved 17 September 2015.
11. Q magazine. October 2015, p.113
12. Weiss, Dan (4 September 2015). "Review: Public Image Ltd. Accidentally Make an Enjoyable Record With 'What the World Needs Now…'". Spin . Retrieved 8 September 2015.
13. Uncut magazine. October 2015, p.81
14. "PiL – What the World Needs Now... (2015, Digipak, CD)". Discogs .
15. "Ultratop.be – Public Image Limited – What The World Needs Now..." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
16. "Ultratop.be – Public Image Limited – What The World Needs Now..." (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
17. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
19. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2025.

External links

• Xfm.co.uk