Pop Will Eat Itself announce ‘Life Begins @ PWEI.40’ for February 2027
Pop Will Eat Itself mark 40 years with the album “Life Begins @ PWEI.40,” out February 19, 2027, and four UK live dates starting November 13.
Pop Will Eat Itself founders Graham Crabb and Adam Mole will release the album “Life Begins @ PWEI.40” on February 19, 2027, marking 40 years of the band. The record reworks tracks from across the band’s catalogue with a cast of guest collaborators, and is accompanied by four UK live dates beginning November 13.
The album draws on PWEI songs including “1000 X No,” “Get the Girl,” “Kill the Baddies,” “There Is a Psychopath in My Soup,” “Mother,” “Dance of the Mad,” “I’m Sniffin’ with You Hoo,” “88 Seconds & Still Counting” and “Bulletproof,” reworked with contributions from Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire, Brian Tatler of Diamond Head and Saxon, Karl Willetts of Bolt Thrower and Memoriam, Mark Gemini Thwaite of The Wonder Stuff and Peter Murphy’s band, Clams Baker of Warmduscher, Fluke, Meryl Streek and Rachel Mayfield. Ken Scott and Rocco Barker of Wasted Youth appear on a reworking of their song “I Wish I Was a Girl.” Two newly written PWEI tracks are also included: “I Don’t Wanna Dance,” featuring Vita of THR0B, and “Night Shift Riot,” featuring guitar from Mark Gemini Thwaite.
A separate 7-inch single reworks “Ich Bin Ein Ausländer,” with interpretations by original PWEI member Clint Mansell and Los Angeles outfit clipping., featuring Sara Taylor of Youth Code and Sharon Udoh. A bonus vinyl collection, “Lost Treasures & Unearthed Gems,” gathers 12 previously unreleased PWEI recordings with sleeve notes by Adam Mole and Paul Snell. The album’s sleeve design comes from Ian Anderson and The Designers Republic, who also designed PWEI’s original 1990s artwork.
‘Life Begins @ PWEI.40’ formats
- Limited edition gatefold double vinyl: the album on hot pink vinyl, with the “Lost Treasures & Unearthed Gems” bonus album on canary yellow vinyl and a PWEI.40 bin sticker
- Limited edition deluxe vinyl: the album on neon magenta vinyl, with the “Ich Bin Ein Ausländer” 7-inch as a bonus disc
- Deluxe CD: the album in a book pack, with two additional previously unreleased recordings not featured on the vinyl bonus release
‘Life Begins @ PWEI.40’ tracklist
Side one – “Sticky,” featuring Karl Willetts – “Night Shift Riot,” featuring Mark Gemini Thwaite – “1000 X No,” featuring Stephen Mallinder – “Just Gotta Say It” – “Mother,” featuring Rachel Mayfield – “Car Chase,” featuring Brian Tatler – “Car Crash,” featuring Brian Tatler – “Dance of the Mad Bastards,” reworked by Fluke
Side two – “Psychopath in My Soup,” featuring Karl Willetts – “Ruff Justice,” featuring Clams Baker – “Don’t Wanna Dance,” featuring Vita – “Poppies Go Boom!,” featuring Mark Gemini Thwaite – “I Wish I Was A Girl,” featuring Ken Scott and Rocco Barker – “Bite the Bullet,” reworked by Meryl Streek
Tour dates for Pop Will Eat Itself
Crabb and Mole take the PWEI.40 project on the road for four UK dates in late 2026:
- November 13: Shiiine On Festival, Minehead
- November 26: 93 Feet East, London, with guest So Good
- November 27: Network, Sheffield, with guest So Good
- December 5: Stourbridge Town Hall, Stourbridge, with Jonn and Rat performing as Neds Acoustic Dustbin, plus a screening of the previously unreleased 1994 tour film “Amalgamation,” filmed at two sold-out Aston Villa Leisure Centre shows
About Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself formed in Stourbridge, England, in 1986, initially known as a grebo act before the band’s sound shifted toward sample-driven indie and industrial rock. Graham Crabb, originally the band’s drummer, moved to vocals and fronted the group until leaving in 1995; Adam Mole has played guitars, keyboards and programming since the band’s formation. Clint Mansell was part of the band’s original lineup before leaving the project; he went on to score films including “Requiem for a Dream,” “The Fountain,” “Moon” and “Black Swan.”
Crabb left Pop Will Eat Itself in 1995 and later ran the ambient side project Golden Claw Musics; he returned as the band’s sole original member in a 2011 lineup, and Mole rejoined in 2018. For the 40th-anniversary project PWEI.40, Crabb and Mole reworked tracks from across the band’s catalogue with an “unlikely cast of collaborators,” among them Cabaret Voltaire’s Stephen Mallinder, Bolt Thrower’s Karl Willetts and original member Clint Mansell. The result is the album “Life Begins @ PWEI.40,” set for release on February 19, 2027, alongside a bonus vinyl collection of unreleased archive recordings and a reworked 7-inch single. PWEI.40 plays four UK dates starting November 13, 2026, ahead of the album’s release.
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