The history of the Sex Pistols and the punk movement in the United Kingdom should not be forgotten, because there are still parallels between then and today, said British director Danny Boyle, about the series “Pistol”, a fiction miniseries written by Craig Pierce, produced and directed by Danny Boyle, about the emergence of the Sex Pistols and the genesis of the punk art movement in the United Kingdom in the 1970s.
The series is inspired by the biography “Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol”, by guitarist Steve Jones, one of the founders of the Sex Pistols, but focuses on the creation of the group, precursor of the punk movement in London, and on the political and social context in which it was born.
“I know what punk represented at the time. I was a punk and I lived it [punk] and it freed me. Where I come from, you were young and then you were old and there was almost nothing in between. (…) What the Sex Pistols did was to blow that bridge, (…) they widened that space between being young and being old,” said Danny Boyle, 65, in a collective ‘online’ interview with several media, including Lusa news agency.
“Pistol”, with six episodes, has a large cast of protagonists, all very young, who represent not only the elements of the Sex Pistols but also some of the people who drove and inhabited the punk movement, such as businessman Malcom McLaren, fashion designer Viviane Westwood and singer-songwriter Chrissie Hynde.
The cast representing the Sex Pistols includes Toby Wallace (in the role of Steve Jones), Jacob Slater (Paul Cook), Anson Boon (John Lydon), Christian Lees (Glen Matlock) and Louis Partridge (Sid Vicious).
Thomas Brodie-Sangster plays Malcom McLaren, Sydney Chandler is Chrissie Hynde, Talulah Riley plays Vivienne Westwood, Maisie Williams embodies punk icon Jordan Mooney and actress Emma Appleton plays Nancy Spungen, Sid Vicious’ girlfriend.
“It was fascinating to explain to these actors what life was like then, comparing their lives now. They had no idea what it was like to have no stimuli. Their life is full of stimuli, they have opportunities coming at them from all directions. (…) I tried to explain to them how you suddenly felt you could do whatever you wanted,” Danny Boyle said.
In the process of working on the series, the director put the actors, particularly those playing the musicians, through a kind of apprenticeship to learn how to play and sing. What appears in the series is fully interpreted by the actors.
The director admits that he found in them a “raw authenticity”, similar to the spirit of punk: “I was surprised and shocked at how diligent they were. I thought they would be harder to deal with. It was so much energy! They were like gazelles floating around a room,” he recalled.
Although Steve Jones’ story runs throughout the series, there are other narratives running in parallel, enriching the wider perspective on the emergence of punk, and with Danny Boyle adding real archive footage in the editing.
The production of ‘Pistol’ was embroiled in controversy in 2021 over a legal battle between the band’s musicians over the use of the songs in the series. Former vocalist, John Lydon, wanted to stop the use of the songs, but drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones took the case to court and won.
In the press conference about “Pistol”, Craig Pierce, the screenwriter, defended the relevance of retelling the Sex Pistols’ story, “because there are things that happened at the time that society is dealing with again”, such as revolt movements, economic crises, environmental crises.
“It’s important to tell what it was that they were contesting and to remember that. And to remind society that it’s important to listen to a particular generation, a particular culture and a particular era, because those people should have a voice,” he said.
Danny Boyle, who has signed films such as “Trainspotting” (1996), “The Beach” (2000) and “Who Wants to be a Billionaire?” (2008), explained that he relied on instinct to push with a project that was being turned down by various exhibition platforms except Disney – “It’s bizarre to have the Sex Pistols on Disney.”
The Sex Pistols, who were anti-system, anti-monarchy, who claimed there was no future for young people, lasted just over two years, recorded one album, “Never mind the bollocks, here’s the Sex Pistols” (1977), and are noted as one of the most disruptive bands in popular music.
“I don’t think we should let them fall into oblivion, because they were instrumental in a changing Britain, which was huge and had echoes around the world. (…) The music is still powerful,” said Danny Boyle.
And he gave as an example the song “Bodies”, which is “partly about abortion” in the 1970s. “We see now what’s happening in the United States. That song will live forever. It’s disturbing, it’s angry. It’s a great song that will stand the test of time,” he considered.
08/08/2022
