Placebo open 30th anniversary tour with rarities and live debut of ‘Helen Keller’

Placebo have begun their 30th anniversary tour, marking three decades since their 1996 debut album, with a set full of songs absent from their shows for years, according to NME. The opening night at Krakatoa in Mérignac, France, ran to 19 songs, starting with “Pure Morning” and “Come Home”, played live for the first time in 20 years.

“You Don’t Care About Us” returned for the first time since 2001, alongside “Drowning by Numbers”, “Bruise Pristine” and “My Sweet Prince”. The band closed with covers of Depeche Mode’s “I Feel You” and Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”.

New single “Helen Keller”, released on September 28, was first played live at the Super Bock Arena in Porto, Portugal. It builds on “H.K. Farewell”, a hidden instrumental from the debut era. The tour reaches the UK and Ireland in late November and early December, then Latin America from February 20, 2027, starting in São Paulo.