Placebo have announced ‘RE:CREATED’ – a new reworking of their 1996 debut album – as well as a new UK and European tour that will see them perform tracks from their first two albums.
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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 the record had when it first dropped three decades ago.
It 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.
“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,” Placebo said.
“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,” they added. “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.”
They continued: “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.”
The album was recreated by Brian Molko and Rob Kirwan from the original master tapes and mixed by Adam Noble. Visit here to pre-order.
Placebo ‘RE:CREATED’ 2026 artwork. CREDIT: Press
As well as announcing the new version of their 1996 debut album, Placebo have also 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.
The tour dates come following the band playing a one-off show later this month at London’s Royal Albert Hall for Teenage Cancer Trust alongside Garbage, as well as a slot in Switzerland next month as part of Zermatt Unplugged. 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”.
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