Celebrating three decades since the release of their groundbreaking debut album, legendary alternative rock band Placebo announce Placebo RE:CREATED, a powerful new reworking of the record that first introduced them to the world in 1996. The album will be released on 19 June 2026 via Elevator Lady Ltd through AWAL.
Originally arriving at the height of the Britpop era, Placebo stood in stark contrast to the prevailing cultural mood. While much of British guitar music at the time leaned into laddish nostalgia and national identity, Placebo’s debut delivered something altogether more provocative and confrontational. Its songs addressed sexuality, androgyny, addiction and alienation with an honesty rarely heard in mainstream rock at the time, establishing the band as one of the most distinctive voices of their generation.
Thirty years on, Placebo RE:CREATED sees the band return to this pivotal album with a fresh perspective. 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. Among the tracks are the era-defining singles “Nancy Boy” and “36 Degrees”, songs that helped establish Placebo’s reputation for fearless lyricism and genre-defying sound. 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.
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 a way of honouring that innocence, while letting the songs exist with the scale, confidence, and energy of the band we’ve become.”
Later this year Placebo will embark on an extensive UK and European arena tour to celebrate this momentous anniversary. The band will be performing songs from their first two albums, Placebo and Without You I’m Nothing – some of which have not been performed live for over 20 years! The tour kicks off in Portugal before heading across Europe and ending in the UK, seeing them perform to hundreds of thousands of fans across 36 dates.
