Brian Molko: Last News

Placebo have issued a statement aimed at their critics after the band were criticised for technical issues during their recent St Gallen festival performance – see what the band had to say below.On June 30, Placebo were booked to perform at the OpenAir St Gallen festival in Switzerland alongside the likes of the Chainsmokers and Queens Of The Stone Age. During their set, the band experienced a number of technical issues that forced the band to cut their set short, ending much earlier than expected.Since then, the band have been receiving criticism for the performance and fighting within the fanbase, prompting the band’s Brian Molko to issue a statement on social media. Molko began: “We have been noticing a great deal of discussion, arguments, accusations & skirmishes between our fans in relation to our truncated concert at St Gallen festival.

Placebo frontman Brian Molko has been charged with defamation after he allegedly called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a “facist” and “racist”.Videos posted of the incident in 2023 showed the frontman describing Meloni in Italian as “a piece of shit fascist, racist” and then saying “fuck you” during the band’s set in front of 10,000 fans at Sonic Park Festival in Turin in July 2023.At the time, prosecutors in Turin opened an investigation into the claims and filed a lawsuit against Molko for defamation.Now, according to Italian newspaper La Stampa, Italy’s justice ministry has given prosecutors the right to launch legal proceedings against Molko on charges of “contempt of the institutions”, an offence that carries a fine of between €1,000 (£830) and €5,000 (£4,150).During the Stupinigi Sonic Park, the Placebo lead singer Brian Molko calls PM Giorgia Meloni 'racist, fascist', concluding 'fuck you'.July 11, 2023 pic.twitter.com/eqmJLcH4Qp— Crazy Ass Moments in Italian Politics

Robbie Williams has opened up about the impact Placebo‘s ‘Nancy Boy’ had on him.The 1997 track was the fourth single from their self-titled debut album. Using a homophobic insult as its title, it explored fluid sexuality and drugs, something Williams has now said “embraced the confusion” for him.In a short clip taken from his appearance in the documentary film Placebo: This Search For Meaning, he reflected on the significance of the song.

Placebo have discussed how their all-star, warts-and-all new documentary movie paints a bold new picture of the band, driven by “the desire to break the form and to do something new”.Frontman Brian Molko and bassist–guitarist Stefan Olsdal of Placebo took to the stage at the premiere of their new documentary film Placebo: This Search For Meaning on Thursday night (October 3) to discuss the themes of the film – including addiction, mental health, gender politics and the film’s rare and unseen footage following the band’s relationship with David Bowie.The film – directed by BAFTA winner Oscar Sansom and set for cinematic screenings throughout October – features revealing in-depth interviews with the band alongside CCTV-style contributions from celebrity fans including Benedict Cumberbatch, Robbie Williams, Yungblud, Garbage‘s Shirley Manson and IDLES’ Joe Talbot, alongside live performances of tracks from the band’s 2022 album ‘Never Let Me Go’. As well as touching on the band’s history, it delves deeper into the core meaning, purpose, philosophy and impact of Placebo over the band’s 30-year lifespan.“Our reaction was like, ‘OK, but we really can’t make just another bog-standard documentary’,” Molko said in discussion with 6 Music’s Matt Everitt following the premiere screening at Leicester Square’s Vue cinema.“’What are you going to do, Oscar? How are you going to subvert the form itself? How are you going to stop everybody from being bored? We can’t just have a series of talking heads here’.

Placebo have announced details of a second feature-length documentary, This Search For Meaning. Check out the trailer below.The project is an intimate and enlightening portrait of the band, which explores both the meaning and subject matter behind their songs, while also diving into their evolution as a group and as human beings.Created by Scottish award-winning filmmaker Oscar Sansom, the documentary won’t simply present a narrative about the origins of the band, it’ll instead take a deep dive into the legacy they created through their themes of surveillance, culture, scrutiny, sexuality, gender identity, addiction, trauma and more.It’ll also include informal conversations with both vocalist-guitarist Brian Molko and bassist–guitarist Stefan Olsdal, as well as contributions from artists who either admire or have been inspired by Placebo.

EXCLUSIVE: Band Placebo are getting the rockumentary treatment with This Search For Meaning, which will feature new interviews with band members Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal as well as contributions from the likes of Shirley Manson, Yungblud and Robbie Williams.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Placebo singer-guitarist Brian Molko is ruffling political feathers in Italy after lashing out against the country’s right-wing Prime Minster Giorgia Meloni, calling her a “fascist” and a “racist” during a packed concert near Turin. Prosecutors in Turin have now opened an investigation against the U.S.-born frontman of the British alt-rock band following his performance last week in front of 10,000 fans at the Sonic Park festival in Stupinigi outside Turin, according to multiple press reports. Molko’s insults at Italy’s prime minister from the stage also included calling Meloni a “piece of shit.” Meloni leads the Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots and heads Italy’s most right-wing coalition government since World War II. She scored victory last September while running on anti-immigration policies, as well as plans to limit LGBTQ rights. 

Placebo have played ‘Nancy Boy’ live for the first in six years at Download 2023. Watch clips of the performance below.‘Nancy Boy’ was noted as the band’s gender-bending breakthrough hit.

Placebo have announced details of a huge open-air gig in Margate for this summer – find details below and purchase tickets here.The gig comes as part of the Margate Summer Series and will take place at the Dreamland venue on June 9.Also playing the series are Bastille, UB40, Primal Scream and Happy Mondays among others between June and September.Placebo’s show comes as part of Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal’s recently rescheduled 2023 UK and Ireland tour, which came after the band were forced to postpone their remaining tour dates in December last year after frontman Molko lost his voice.The band had initially postponed a single show in Newcastle on December 2, sharing that Molko had ignored his doctor’s advice to “go home and shut up for a week” and that he risked permanently damaging his voice if the tour continued.The Margate show will fall between the tour opener in Newcastle (June 7) and their show at Birmingham’s O2 Academy (12).See the full list of dates below.JUNE 2023 7 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall 9 – Margate, Dreamland12 – Birmingham, O2 Academy15 – Cambridge, Corn Exchange24 – Glasgow, O2 Academy26 – Dublin, 3ArenaLast year, Placebo asked their fans to not film or take photos during the band’s live shows. “Dear Placebo fans, we would like to kindly ask you NOT to spend the concert filming or taking photos with your mobile phones,” they told fans.“It makes Placebo’s performance so much more difficult.

Placebo‘s Brian Molko has spoken about the band’s connection to Kate Bush and the reason they chose to cover ‘Running Up That Hill’.The original song has found renewed popularity after featuring in the fourth season of Stranger Things. The track – which appears on Bush’s 1985 fifth studio album, ‘Hounds Of Love’ – reached Number One on the UK singles chart earlier this month (June 17).In an interview with the Guardian, the frontman revealed how he first came across Bush.

Placebo have opened up about how they “thought the band was over” after their previous “retrospective” tour.The band spoke to NME about how touring since their 2013 album release, ‘Loud Like Love’ left them creatively spent. The tours that followed the release of the album were slated to mark their 20th anniversary as a band and tour a second ‘best of’ collection.“We weren’t particularly comfortable with the prospect of doing a retrospective and retrospective tour,” Brian Molko told NME.

Placebo are back; bolder and more courageous than ever.

Placebo have shared the details behind their first North American tour in almost a decade.The string of dates will follow the release of the band’s eighth studio album ‘Never Let Me Go’ which is set for March 25. Tickets are on sale here.The tour kicks off in Vancouver in September, with stops in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco before it ends in New York.

Placebo have shared an emotive new song, ‘Happy Birthday In The Sky’ – listen to it below.It’s the final single to be released from the band’s upcoming new album ‘Never Let Me Go’, which arrives on March 25. It follows on from previous singles ‘Beautiful James‘, ‘Surrounded By Spies‘ and ‘Try Better Next Time‘.Speaking about the new single, Brian Molko said: “’Happy Birthday In The Sky’, for me, is one of the more heartbreaking moments on the album.

Placebo have shared an official live video for the latest single ‘Try Better Next Time’ – check it out below.The duo – comprised of Brian Molko Stefan Olsdal – released the track earlier this month as the third preview of their forthcoming eighth album, ‘Never Let Me Go’, which arrives on March 22.Today (January 21) Placebo posted an Oscar Sansom-directed live performance of the song to their official YouTube channel.The clip sees Molko and Olsdal – augmented by their touring band members – performing among stacks of old-school television sets, which display the performance in grainy VHS-quality.In keeping with the aesthetic of the ‘Try Better Next Time’ artwork, Placebo are illuminated by flashing red lights as they play on a rectangular stage set up. You can watch the video here:The upcoming ‘Never Let Me Go’ will also feature the previous 2021 singles ‘Surround By Spies’ and ‘Beautiful James’, the latter of which marked the band’s first new material in five years.Placebo are due to showcase the record on a UK and Ireland headline tour in November/December.

Placebo have spoken about their upcoming eighth album ‘Never Let Me Go’ in a new interview, with vocalist Brian Molko hoping he’s been “courageous” with it.Placebo announced ‘Never Let Me Go’ earlier this month, with the followup to 2013’s ‘Loud Like Love’ being released March 25 2022.In a new interview with The Guardian, it’s revealed that ‘Never Let Me Go’ started life while the band were doing a 20th anniversary tour for their 1996 self-titled debut album.For Molko, that run felt like “an extremely commercial exercise.

Placebo have revealed the unusual writing process behind their upcoming new album, explaining how they chose to work “backwards” this time around to beat “boredom”.Last night (September 16) saw the band release their new single ‘Beautiful James’ – the first taster of their upcoming eighth album and long-awaited follow-up to 2013’s ‘Loud Like Love‘.Speaking to Matt Everitt on BBC 6 Music, frontman Brian Molko discussed the making of the album and explained how it was finished in early 2020 before the pandemic struck.“We were basically ready to go on tour: the album was already finished and we spent 2019 in our home studio working on it,” he said.

Placebo are marking the 20th anniversary of ‘Black Market Music’ with a series of behind-the-scenes videos, Black Market Music Stories.The band’s third full-length record was released on October 9, 2000, and contains the singles ‘Taste In Men’, ‘Special K’ and ‘Slave To The Wage’.To mark the two-decade milestone, Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal uploaded the first of four new videos detailing the album’s creation to their YouTube channel yesterday (October 7).“Here I am outside what used to be Matrix Studios in central London,” Olsdal says at the start of the clip.