Of course this isn't the real story of the Sex Pistols, but who cares? It's still a laugh... The opening credit's theme song (Steve on drums and Paul on guitar... Eh?) gave us the wonderful and future host of TV's Crystal Maze, Tenpole Tudor (even Sid is giggling, Tenpole's such a loony), before rocketing into a ridiculously wonderful "Malcolm McLaren as God kissing his own cheeks" slice of film.
It's good fun, but if this is the only Pistols film you ever see, don't take what's said as what happened, this is purely McLaren's fantasy.
Quite a bit of the live footage in this film turned up in the excellent "The Filth & The Fury", but here it uses the actual sound rather than simply overdubbing it with the album versions. Damn they were good when they were on form!
Best bits? The Pistols (with John & Sid) rehearsing "No Feelings" in a studio without the unnecessary album overdub used in Filth & Fury (sounds even better here - see, Vicious can play bass, sort of...) Archive footage of people boycotting Pistols gigs in Wales:
Interviewer: "Excuse me sir, can you tell me why you're here tonight?"
Bloke: "Because I'm recognised as a Christian!"
Bloke 2: "Ive got teenage daughters... I'd let them go and see Rod Stewart but I wouldn't let them see this rubbish!"
Woman: "I think it's degrading and disgusting for our children to hear and see such things. If I thought one of mine was in there I'd go in and drag them out; terrible I think it is, just disgusting" etc. Hilarious!
No more to be said, except a few points of pub trivia to bore your friends with: Lemmy from Motorhead taught Sid to play bass as he was about to join The Pistols over 3 days, before giving up (apparently he was unteachable). Chrisie Hynde from the Pretenders was supposed to marry Sid in order to stay in the country. During the always wrongly quoted Grundy interview, Johnny says "Oh alright, so you're playing games, I'm really impressed" and not that rubbish about "Oh alright, Siegfried" that is given in every transcript.
Couple this with The Filth and The Fury for an entertaining evening's viewing before you dig out Never Mind The B*llocks, play it very loud and realise how good it still sounds...
Tenpole should have joined The Cramps! Would have been comedy central!
The Sex Pistols: an important point in musical history. You gotta love 'em!
It's good fun, but if this is the only Pistols film you ever see, don't take what's said as what happened, this is purely McLaren's fantasy.
Quite a bit of the live footage in this film turned up in the excellent "The Filth & The Fury", but here it uses the actual sound rather than simply overdubbing it with the album versions. Damn they were good when they were on form!
Best bits? The Pistols (with John & Sid) rehearsing "No Feelings" in a studio without the unnecessary album overdub used in Filth & Fury (sounds even better here - see, Vicious can play bass, sort of...) Archive footage of people boycotting Pistols gigs in Wales:
Interviewer: "Excuse me sir, can you tell me why you're here tonight?"
Bloke: "Because I'm recognised as a Christian!"
Bloke 2: "Ive got teenage daughters... I'd let them go and see Rod Stewart but I wouldn't let them see this rubbish!"
Woman: "I think it's degrading and disgusting for our children to hear and see such things. If I thought one of mine was in there I'd go in and drag them out; terrible I think it is, just disgusting" etc. Hilarious!
No more to be said, except a few points of pub trivia to bore your friends with: Lemmy from Motorhead taught Sid to play bass as he was about to join The Pistols over 3 days, before giving up (apparently he was unteachable). Chrisie Hynde from the Pretenders was supposed to marry Sid in order to stay in the country. During the always wrongly quoted Grundy interview, Johnny says "Oh alright, so you're playing games, I'm really impressed" and not that rubbish about "Oh alright, Siegfried" that is given in every transcript.
Couple this with The Filth and The Fury for an entertaining evening's viewing before you dig out Never Mind The B*llocks, play it very loud and realise how good it still sounds...
Tenpole should have joined The Cramps! Would have been comedy central!
The Sex Pistols: an important point in musical history. You gotta love 'em!