Placebo have today (March 30) shared a new, heavier re-worked version of their classic track, ‘Bruise Pristine’ – check it out below.
The new version of their self-titled debut album is set for release on June 19 via Elevator Lady Ltd through AWAL, and will see the band look back at the huge cultural impact that their music had when it first dropped three decades ago. Visit here to pre-order.
The first track to be shared from the upcoming project is a new re-working of ‘Bruise Pristine’, a song taken from their self-titled debut album in 1996.
The new version was reworked by the band using the original tapes “into something heavier and more dynamic than the original,” a statement says.
You can listen to the track here:
The upcoming album will feature reworked and embellished versions of all 10 tracks from the original album as well as two bonus tracks from the original release. Songs include the era-defining singles ‘Nancy Boy’ and ‘36 Degrees’, which have been reworked to capture how they have evolved across decades of performance, but still retained the raw spirit that first defined them.
Speaking about the forthcoming album, Placebo said: “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.
“When we made the first album, we didn’t yet have the experience or the studio knowledge to fully translate what was in our heads. Over the years, the songs took on a life of their own on stage; they grew, they developed, they kind of completed themselves.
“It’s a celebration of where we began, and a meeting point between who we were then and who we are now. It’s away of honouring that innocence, while letting the songs exist with the scale, confidence, and energy of the band we’ve become.”
Over the weekend, the band made their live return at London’s Royal Albert Hall for Robert Smith’s Teenage Cancer Trust gigs alongside Garbage.
Placebo delivered a stripped-back set at their first live show in nearly two years since the tour for the lengthy tour for 2022’s acclaimed ‘Never Let Me Go‘.
The band opened with a cover Sinead O’Connor‘s ‘Jackie O’ – performed live for the first time in over a decade – before crowd favourite ‘Sleeping With Ghosts’ single ‘Special Needs’
As per Andrew Trendell’s report of the gig, highlights included the band performing classic track ‘Pure Morning’ (performed for the first time since 2018) as well as a reworked ‘Taste In Men.’ The band also played ‘Follow The Cops Back Home’ for the first time in over 15 years and a re-worked version of ‘Slave To The Wage’. The band received a standing ovation at the end of their set.
As well as announcing the new version of their 1996 debut album, Placebo have also recently shared plans for an extensive UK and European arena tour to celebrate the anniversary. It will see them play material from their first album and their sophomore record ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ – and some of those songs have not been performed live for over 20 years.
The dates kick off with two shows in Portugal on September 28 and 29, before continuing throughout Europe in October – with dates including stops in Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and more. More shows in Europe take place in November, before the UK dates commence at the end of that month.
UK and Ireland gigs include slots in Nottingham and Glasgow on November 28 and 30, before shows in Dublin, Manchester, London and Cardiff throughout the first week of December.
Visit here for UK tickets and here for international tickets.
Placebo UK and European 2026 tour dates are:
MARCH
28 – London Royal Albert Hall – Teenage Cancer Trust
APRIL
11 – Switzerland – Zermatt Unplugged
PLACEBO 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR:
SEPTEMBER
28 – Oporto, Portugal – Super Bock Arena
29 – Lisbon, Portugal – Sagres Campo Pequeno
OCTOBER
1 – Madrid, Spain – Movistar Arena (The Ring)
3 – Barcelona, Spain – St. Jordi Club
5 – Toulouse, France – Zenith
7 – Nantes, France – Zenith
9 – Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – Rockhal
12 – Leipzig, Germany – Quarterback Immobilien Arena
15 – Vilnius, Lithuania – Twinsbet Arena
16 – Riga, Latvia – Xiaomi Arēna
18 – Helsinki, Finland – Veikkaus Arena
20 – Stockholm, Sweden – Annexet
22 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum
24 – Copenhagen, Denmark – KB Hall
26 – Hamburg, Germany – Barclays Arena
27 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
29 – Frankfurt, Germany – Festhalle
NOVEMBER
1 – Antwerp, Belgium – Afas Dome
2 – Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena
4 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion
6 – Milan, Italy – Unipol Forum
9 – Munich, Germany – Olympiahalle
10 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle
13 – Budapest, Hungary – Budapest Arena
15 – Prague, Czech Republic – Fortuna Sports Hall
16 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Arena
18 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena
21 – Stuttgart, Germany – Hans-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
23 – Lyon, France – LDLC Arena
25 – Paris, France – Accor Arena
28 – Nottingham, UK – NIC Arena
30 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
DECEMBER
2 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
4 – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live Arena
5 – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley
7 – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
The 2026 tour dates and ‘RE:CREATE’ album come following Placebo teasing some “significant” plans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album at the end of last year. The breakthrough record earned an 8/10 review from NME when it was first released, and peaked at Number Five in the UK charts.
The group previously embarked on a 20th anniversary tour in 2016, where they revisited old classics like ‘Pure Morning’ for the first time “in almost 10 years”, and told fans that they “may not play [them] again”.
Speaking to NME in 2022, Molko reflected on that tour and their 2016 ‘best-of’ compilation, ‘A Place For Us To Dream’.
“We weren’t particularly comfortable with the prospect of doing a retrospective tour,” the frontman explained. “At the time we were on Universal Records, and we had the feeling that we’d lose all support from them if we didn’t embark on this hideously materialistic and mercantile endeavour.”
His bandmate Stefan Olsdal agreed: “That tour lasted for quite a long time, and we started to get this slightly unhealthy relationship with our old material. I started to feel quite disillusioned by the band and what we were doing. I had a crisis of confidence coming into this record. I felt during the last tour that the band was over and that I couldn’t continue with this.”
Placebo’s latest album was ‘Never Let Me Go’, which was released in 2022. In a four-star review, NME hailed it as “a renaissance rock record with an experimental edge”.