Blondie, Placebo, Deep Purple lead enormous Pandemonium Festival line-up for this April

This bill is packed with some of the biggest legends of the game, allowing music fans to tick plenty of incredible artists off their bucket list in one fell swoop.

Blondie were there when punk kicked off in New York City in the late-'70s. They embraced hip hop right from the beginning, at a time where very few bands of their stature gave it the time of day. And they've given us more incredible pop hits than we can even remember.

Fifty years after they formed, and seven years since their last Australian tour, Debbie Harry, Clem Burke and a red-hot band will return to show us how good those songs still sound.

UK rockers Placebo were one of the defining bands of the late-90s and early 2000s with a string of records that really captured both the sound and sentiment of the time.

They're still in incredible touch, releasing their excellent eighth album Never Let Me Go in 2022, and this year they will celebrate 30 years as a band.

What better way to celebrate than with some massive Australian shows?

Frontman Ian Gillan, drummer Ian Paice and bassist Roger Glover first joined Deep Purple in the late-1960s. Now, in 2024, they'll return to Australia for the first time in over a decade.

To call these guys heavy metal royalty feels like an understatement.

They practically turned rock'n'roll on its head in the 60s and 70s and, along with fellow Brits Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, showed us that heavy rock was the way of the future.

Recent setlists suggest they've been playing quite a bit of 1972's Machine Head and 1970's Deep Purple In Rock, here's hoping they keep that up for this tour.

There are few punk rock bands as formidable as the mighty Dead Kennedys.

'Holiday In Cambodia', 'California Uber Alles', 'Police Truck'… their list of punk rock classics goes on.

Jello Biafra hasn't been in the band for almost 40 years, but guitarist East Bay Ray and bassist Klaus Fluoride are still onboard and frontman Skip Greer is by far the longest serving frontman of the band. This will be the band's first Australian tour since the sad death of drummer DH Peligro.

The Psychedelic Furs were only recently in Australia with Icehouse, but we're very happy to welcome them back so soon.

These guys were a big part of the blueprint for alternative rock that was to come, and their songs like 'Love My Way', 'Pretty In Pink' and 'The Ghost In You' are nothing short of anthems.

The Butler brothers are among the most important figures in British post-punk and they'll undoubtedly be a highlight of Pandemonium.

Speaking of British post-punk royalty, Gang Of Four fit that bill perfectly. Their 1979 debut Entertainment! is one of the most influential records of all time, and you can still hear its influence in countless bands today.

We sadly lost guitarist Andy Gill in 2020, his big shoes are being filled by Slint/Tortoise/Zwan guitarist David Pajo. It'll be their first time in Australia since Gill's passing.

Alice Cooper (Above lrft) is a lot of things: a golfer, a restauranteur, a radio DJ… he's also the god of shock rock and that's the capacity in which he returns to his beloved Australia to perform this year.

Honestly, we're running out of steam here and there are so many more bands to cover.

Like Wheatus! Yes, the band who made it to number four in the Hottest 100 with their mega-hit 'Teenage Dirtbag'.

And Cosmic Psychos! Yes, one of the most influential and no-nonsense hard rock bands our country has ever produced.

And Gyroscope! The 2000s punk favourites who remain dear to so many Aussie music fans.

Even Wolfmother will be there! Andrew Stockdale's world-beating rock revivalists will sit beautifully alongside the likes of Deep Purple and Alice Cooper.

Here's the full line-up:

Alice Cooper, Blondie, Placebo, Deep Purple, The Psychedelic Furs, Dead Kennedys, Gang Of Four, Wolfmother, Cosmic Psychos, Wheatus, Gyroscope, Palaye Royale, Petch

Pandemonium Festival happens on the following dates. Tickets are on sale from 9am Tuesday 30 January.

Saturday 20 April – Caribbean Gardens, Melbourne

Thursday 25 April – The Domain, Sydney

Saturday 27 April – Doug Jennings Park, Gold Coast

Sunday 28 April – Sandstone Point Hotel, Bribie Island (Blondie not appearing)