There's no doubting that mums and dads up and down the land had a small coronary when Placebo's androgynous frontman, Brian Molko, first graced our TV screens back in the '90s. But to be fair, a generation had already passed by since Boy George confused the average provincial parents - Brian Molko may have been a prettier alternative to most rockers of the time, but he could wield a guitar and charm the ladies with the best of them. After all, to quote their big ballsy glam-stomper 'Pure Morning', "A friend in need's a friend indeed, a friend with weed is better/ A friend with breasts and all the rest, a friend who's dressed in leather". Think what that did to your parent's karma. Brilliant.

The rest of the '90s and the early Noughties poured forth a veritable fountain of hits, resultant poster sales and sell-out shows - 'You Don't Care About Us', 'Every You Every Me', 'Taste in Men', 'The Bitter End' and 'Twenty Years' ensured the band would continue their journey through MTV and later cable networks, with last album 'Battle For The Sun' managing impressive sales without the need for heavy promotion.

Not surprisingly, another album (their seventh) is being worked on at present, the fruits of which should see the light of day by late spring. At around the same time, Placebo will perform at the Sundance Festival 2012 at London's Indig02. Tickets for the show on 28th April have long since sold out, although there are some Premium tickets available at higher prices.

For those living further afield, good news - Placebo will be performing two intimate shows prior to the Sundance gig. Edinburgh's Picture House will host the first show on 25th April, followed by Liverpool's Olympia on 26th. We'll have tickets on sale from 9am on Friday 10th February, priced from £28.50 - expect them to sell out fast!

Edinburgh sold out

As predicted, ticket sales were brisk, with face value tickets for Edinburgh selling-out in just minutes. At the time of writing (Friday 10th Feb, 9:30AM) tickets for Liverpool are close to selling out.