Sex Pistols

2022 - 5 - 31

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Image courtesy of "Los Angeles Times"

How 'Pistol' on Hulu rewrites the history of the Sex Pistols (Los Angeles Times)

Danny Boyle's 'Pistol,' based on guitarist Steve Jones' memoir, diverges from the usual emphasis on Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious and 'Sid and Nancy.'

He got into drugs, cleaned up, became a disc jockey — his “ Jonesy’s Jukebox” has been around on various platforms since 2004 — and put out the memoir that became “Pistol.” The Hynde storyline, which includes her messing around with songs on an acoustic guitar, runs as a kind of descant against the personal and professional noise of the Pistols. As played by Wallace, Jones comes off as rather soft and cuddly, a basically sweet, sensitive person saddled with childhood trauma — recall that his memoir is titled “Lonely Boy” — insecurity and learning difficulties. Given the earlier work of the director and writer, it’s not surprising that, notwithstanding cutaways to news clips establishing England as a society in collapse, “Pistol” is a bit of a romantic fantasy, soft- rather than hard-edged. (Cook and Matlock are supporting characters in this telling.) Alongside Lydon, he’s the person most responsible for the sound of the band and, by extension, for the many bands who built on that sound. Tapes of early, messy rehearsals, issued now and then across the years, have been closely studied as well. The horrible stuff is not pictured as being as awful as it must have been; the sweet stuff feels as sweet as it might have been, as when a caring Lydon asks an upset Sid whether he’d like a cup of tea. And by framing it in the standard aspect ratio — like old movies and TV shows — Boyle makes “Pistol” feel at once historical and whimsical, present and distant. … Viv and I want to create a revolution inspired by the raw authenticity of forgotten kids like you.” The director intercuts the action with snippets of contemporary movies and television and advertisements. Even John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, who for many is the Sex Pistol, takes a bit of a back seat. And yet they seem very much with us; the best of their music continues to sound massively huge, outside of time and trend.

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Image courtesy of "CNN"

'Pistol' review: The Sex Pistols story gets told in a Hulu series based ... (CNN)

Johnny Rotten (Anson Boone), while Jones carries on a secret relationship with Chrissie Hynde (Sydney Chandler), destined for fame of her own as the lead singer ...

What there isn't, once you get past the grimy 1970s nostalgia of it all, is much that, dramatically speaking, leaves a significant mark. "Actually, we're not into music," Jones tells a reporter, once the band starts to take off. Nor do the real-life underpinnings prevent the project from exhibiting some of the usual "A Star is Born"-esque show-business cliches.

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Image courtesy of "Complete Music Update"

Sex Pistols mint commemorative jubilee coin | Complete Music Update (Complete Music Update)

Universal Music continues to rinse the Sex Pistols brand off the back of the Queen's platinum jubilee celebrations and the new 'Pistol' TV drama.

Oh, and here’s a new version of the video for ‘God Save The Queen’, as spruced up by original director Julien Temple. It’s one of a number of new Sex Pistols related projects. Now it’s a ‘God Save The Queen’ commemorative coin and some accompanying NFTs that you can get your hands on.

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Image courtesy of "Rolling Stone"

'Pistol': Never Mind the Boyle Tricks, Here's the Tame Version of a ... (Rolling Stone)

Grandiose manager Malcolm McLaren (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) proclaims to guitar player Steve Jones (Toby Wallace) that they are witnessing the birth of a new ...

Still, the show seems overdone in the same manner as the hard and prog rock bands of the era that the Pistols were rebelling against, with a story that moves at a leisurely pace for five hours and then races through the band’s disastrous American tour, the tragic fates of Sid and girlfriend Nancy Spungen (Emma Appleton), and too much else in the final episode. There are moments that work beautifully: the Pistols playing well together for the first time, or Cook (Jacob Slater) changing the “Anarchy in the U.K.” beat until it resembles the defiant anthem we know. (“God Save the Queen” still slaps.) With its rapidly-shifting visual style and other Boyle-ish flourishes, Pistol clearly aspires to bring some of the same anarchy to the calcified state of the modern prestige TV drama. (Cook saving “Anarchy” is basically the same as the inciting incident of That Thing You Do!) And even details drawn directly from real life — the former John Simon Ritchie gets the Sid Vicious nickname after being bitten by Rotten’s pet hamster Sid — play extremely corny here. (The real Johnny Rotten, a.k.a. John Lydon, has disavowed the whole project, and took Jones and drummer Paul Cook to court over it.) A skeptical Jones, noting that the revelers are belting out the innocuous pop hit “Shang-A-Lang,” wonders if a rebellion can be accompanied by a Bay City Rollers soundtrack.

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Image courtesy of "Vanity Fair"

The Sex Pistols Romp Through Rebellion in 'Pistol' (Vanity Fair)

Danny Boyle's new FX series on the birth of punk makes nihilism look fun, but it's pretty vacant.

Apparently McLaren did very briefly toy with the idea of incorporating Hynde into the Sex Pistols—but as Westwood recalled in her own memoir, “in the end, for Malcolm, his ‘gang’ had to be a gang of boys.” But in a conversation with Vanity Fair, even Boyle admits that Hynde, by her own account, only had sex with Jones once. The series is based on Lonely Boy, a candid memoir by Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, one of the less mythologized figures in the chronicling of punk. Hynde (played by Sydney Chandler) serves as Jones’s love interest and a kind of moral center amid all the nihilism and heartlessness, an attempt to modernize the story by making a fearless female into a central figure. That is what director Danny Boyle and writer Craig Pearce set out to do in the FX on Hulu limited series Pistol. The scene involved a confusing maze of impulses and aims, a collision of unlikely and often damaged individuals, each of whom cries out to be characterized and back-storied.

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Image courtesy of "Pitchfork"

Danny Boyle's Sex Pistols Miniseries Is Punk Rock Paint-by-Numbers (Pitchfork)

With its ham-fisted dialogue and gaudy editing, the new FX/Hulu show Pistol offers a sanitized kind of anarchy.

In the leadup to the TV appearance, Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren marches his infantry down the studio corridor like a war general. Sid Vicious, played dull and dopey by Louis Partridge, approaches the door in a banana hammock, primed to pry it open, when Johnny Rotten (the crackling, charismatic Anson Boon) hisses in protest. On December 1, 1976, the freshly hatched Sex Pistols made headlines with a sneering interview on the UK news program Today. Queen were originally booked for the slot, but after an abrupt cancellation, the glowering punks and their misfit entourage were let loose on crotchety anchor Bill Grundy. The ensuing madness became a defining punk document, a widening generation gap rendered in stark relief.

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Image courtesy of "Deadline"

'Pistol' TV Review: Danny Boyle & FX's Sex Pistols Miniseries Is ... (Deadline)

Revolution can come in many forms, but the 6-part would-be punk miniseries from the Oscar winning director is not one of them, says our TV Critic.

With just one real album under the respective belts, and a mere three years total in existence, plus not-so-embarrassing reunions in 1996 and 2007, the Sex Pistols were a cultural paradox. That sort of faux pas and slippage through Boyle and Pearce’s undeniably talented hands is in no small part how Pistol stumbles away from all that was so towering about 1986’s Alex Cox-directed Sid & Nancy, starring Gary Oldman. Where that film went for the iconic, this show leans into dull convention. The Sex Pistols and PiL frontman ultimately was unsuccessful in his legal efforts last year to prevent the seminal band’s music being used in the Danny Boyle-directed miniseries.

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Image courtesy of "Newsweek"

How the Sex Pistols' 'God Save the Queen' Dominated the Silver ... (Newsweek)

When Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 25th year on the throne in 1977, a British punk rock group released a special tribute that resulted in a broadcasting ...

He then went on to add that he holds the queen herself in high regard, stating: "I'm actually really really proud of the queen for surviving and doing so well. PR moves like the timely release of the song and its artwork have been attributed to the band's manager at the time, Malcolm McLaren, a leader of the punk movement. Despite, or perhaps in spite, of this, the establishment took against the song and the Sex Pistols, who were renowned for their cursing during interviews and anti-social behavior. Despite its popularity, the queen's Silver Jubilee came at a turbulent time for Britain, punctuating a period of economic and social unrest. But what was it that made the song such a controversial hit? It wasn't about a specific moment in time or history—I wrote a record about a subject matter that mattered to me, in a personal way, and then all this situation enveloped and unfolded.

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Image courtesy of "Salon"

Hulu's new Sex Pistols series "Pistol" review: A rock 'n' roll swindle ... (Salon)

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? "Pistol" boasts a great premise and cast, but skimps on the insights.

It is a life by proxy, liberated by hindsight, unencumbered by the messy process of creativity." What some of us want is a different peek into a revolution, a taste of something real behind all the photos. Frustratingly this includes a sub-(sub)-plot featuring Sydney Chandler's Chrissie Hynde, one of Westwood's employees at her boutique SEX who has real talent and aspires to be in a band too, but who McLaren willfully ignores to ensure his rock show-ponies take the media lead in punk rock's rise. The content we know less about, i.e. the preamble to Lydon joining the band, lacks focus and energy. Riley's Westwood also is presented as a McLaren satellite, but at least she and Chandler are afforded more character development to work with that Maisie Williams' punk model icon Jordan, a widely recognizable enigma about whom little is commonly known. He's no hero – that makes Brodie-Sangster so watchable – but he is a Machiavellian force who ends up midwifing several rock luminaries to stardom whether directly or, in Hynde's case, as an oppositional springboard. He sued Jones and Cook to prevent the band's music from being used in the series and lost. To some degree, the FX on Hulu series achieves this, only by way of its performances as opposed to the band's history. You'll notice that Sid Vicious isn't mentioned despite being the poster model for punk rock and rebellion. Telling Jones' take on the history, embodied in Toby Wallace's introspective performance, enables Boyle to dance between personal nostalgia and commonly shared memory. There's an appropriateness in that, given that the band's legend is more tied to what it represented than its musicianship. John Lydon, the man behind the Rotten stage moniker, reportedly was unhappy with the way he was portrayed in Jones' memoir.

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Image courtesy of "Rock 92.9"

Sex Pistols Issue 'God Save the Queen' Coin Before Queen's Jubilee (Rock 92.9)

Sex Pistols are truly taking the piss and are issuing a "God Save the Queen" coin in the lead-up to Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.

NFT’s not available in certain territories, please see Additional Terms of Sale below.” The iconic punk band’s Twitter shared images of the “Platinum Jubilee edition” coin which features the artwork from the single in which an image of Queen Elizabeth II is tagged with a safety pin. Per the coin’s listing, “The commemorative coin comes twinned with a bonus digital counterpart in the form of an NFT. The NFT collection features a number of designs, randomly assigned upon minting.

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Image courtesy of "KRMG"

Sex Pistols aim to give queen's jubilee a touch of punk (KRMG)

Queen Elizabeth II and the Pistols have been linked since the punk pioneers released the song “God Save the Queen” during the 1977 Silver Jubilee that marked ...

“It was an important time in music and I’m glad it happened,” Jones said. The Sex Pistols are having their own fact-meets-fiction moment with “Pistol,” a Danny Boyle-directed miniseries based on Jones’ memoir “Lonely Boy.” My musical tastes have changed a lot over the years, you know, and I’m 66 years old. Rival Sotheby’s is offering a lightbox portrait of the queen by Chris Levine and Jamie Reid’s now-iconic artwork for the Pistols' “God Save the Queen,” showing the monarch’s face covered in ransom-note lettering. It nonetheless reached No. 2 in the charts, below Rod Stewart’s “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” — though rumors persist that the Sex Pistols’ song actually sold more copies. It's one of a raft of cultural tie-ins — critics might say cash-ins — spurred by the royal milestone.

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Image courtesy of "Bay to Bay News"

Sex Pistols aim to give queen's jubilee a touch of punk (Bay to Bay News)

FILE - A promotional poster for the 1977 single God Save The Queen by the Sex Pistols on display, during a photo-op ahead of a rock and pop memorabilia ...

“It was an important time in music and I’m glad it happened,” Jones said. The Sex Pistols are having their own fact-meets-fiction moment with “Pistol,” a Danny Boyle-directed miniseries based on Jones’ memoir “Lonely Boy.” My musical tastes have changed a lot over the years, you know, and I’m 66 years old. Rival Sotheby’s is offering a lightbox portrait of the queen by Chris Levine and Jamie Reid’s now-iconic artwork for the Pistols' “God Save the Queen,” showing the monarch’s face covered in ransom-note lettering. It nonetheless reached No. 2 in the charts, below Rod Stewart’s “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” — though rumors persist that the Sex Pistols’ song actually sold more copies. It’s one of a raft of cultural tie-ins — critics might say cash-ins — spurred by the royal milestone.

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Image courtesy of "NPR"

Sex Pistols aim to give Queen Elizabeth's jubilee a touch of punk (NPR)

A certain anti-authoritarian anthem linked to the punk rock pioneers and the British monarch, is being re-released as Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her ...

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Image courtesy of "Billboard"

Here's How You Can Watch the New Sex Pistols Miniseries for Free (Billboard)

Pistol, a biographical FX miniseries about the punk revolution that birthed the Sex Pistols, is now available on Hulu. All six episodes in the series, ...

There is also an option to add Disney+ for $2.99 a month and additional channels like Starz and HBO Max for an extra fee. The ad-free plan is $12.99 a month ($129.99 a year) for everything in the cheaper package but you also get to download programs and stream them offline. Hulu subscribers can create up to six profiles under one account. Bundle Hulu with Disney+ and ESPN+ for $13.99 a month. Click the link below to get started. This limited deal won’t last forever, so if you’ve been curious about Hulu, now’s the time to sign up!

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Image courtesy of "Cinema Blend"

Pistol Cast: Where You've Seen The Actors From Danny Boyle's Sex ... (Cinema Blend)

Toby Wallace (Steve Jones) · Jacob Slater (Paul Cook) · Anson Boon (John Lydon) · Christian Lees (Glen Matlock) · Louis Partridge (Sid Vicious) · Sydney Chandler ( ...

Obviously best known for her portrayal of Arya Stark on the long-running HBO fantasy drama series, Williams has been quite busy on the small screen since her days in Westeros came to an end. If the stars properly align, he will talk about For Love Of The Game being the best baseball movie of all time. For better or worse, Sex Pistols have long been considered one of the most consequential bands of all time and helped usher in one of the first waves of punk rock and took the genre and lifestyle to new heights. And while there have been several books, documentaries, and even a 1986 drama starring the incomparable Gary Oldman as the outfit’s one-time bassist Sid Vicious, the story of how the band formed and changed the world has largely gone untold in terms of mainstream exposure. Well, never mind the bollocks, here’s the Pistol cast… One of the most iconic figures in the history of punk music, Sid Vicious, the young and charismatic bassist who joined up with the Sex Pistols at the height of their fame, is portrayed by Louis Partridge on Pistol.

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Image courtesy of "WGLT News"

Sex Pistols aim to give Queen Elizabeth's jubilee a touch of punk (WGLT News)

A certain anti-authoritarian anthem linked to the punk rock pioneers and the British monarch, is being re-released as Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her ...

"It was an important time in music and I'm glad it happened," Jones said. "I like Steely Dan," he said. It was so dark and horrible at that point." The Sex Pistols are having their own fact-meets-fiction moment with "Pistol," a Danny Boyle-directed miniseries based on Jones' memoir "Lonely Boy." Rival Sotheby's is offering a lightbox portrait of the queen by Chris Levine and Jamie Reid's now-iconic artwork for the Pistols' "God Save the Queen," showing the monarch's face covered in ransom-note lettering. It's one of a raft of cultural tie-ins — critics might say cash-ins — spurred by the royal milestone.

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Image courtesy of "Fox News"

Sex Pistols re-releases banned single for Queen's Jubilee (Fox News)

English punk rock band re-releases its inflammatory 1977 hit, "God Save the Queen," ahead of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations on June 2.

The song was released in 1977 in a band gig the weekend of the queen's silver jubilee. Prince William and Kate Middleton are tapped to lead the celebrations as senior royals. Band members were often attacked on the streets and they were eventually banned from both TV and radio appearances.

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Image courtesy of "VICE"

Danny Boyle's Sex Pistols Show Is All Filler, No Killer (VICE)

The Sex Pistols were a foundational punk band. But what's more interesting than the band is the people that surround them.

The Sex Pistols made an enormous impact on the world, but that was a matter of being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, surrounded and in some cases manipulated by the right people, many of whom formed better and more interesting bands of their own. But the antics and lives of these young artists, the people who would go on to pioneer punk fashion and create a punk scene, all have to fall by the wayside so that the mythology of the Sex Pistols can take center stage. The problem is that watching Jones and crew—Johnny Rotten, played by Ansem Boon, doesn’t show up until the second episode—go from party to party, couch to couch, and basement to basement just isn’t all that interesting. (The various excellent movies about the Pistols and the extensive documentation of the scene they and others did presumably provided excellent reference material, even as their existence raises doubts about the need for Pistol.) Pistol—the new, Danny Boyle-directed miniseries on FX—spends a lot of time trying to convince you that if only for a brief moment, the Sex Pistols were the most important band in the world. Chrissie Hynde—who would go on to form the Pretenders—is also a central character, working at Sex and turning down Jones’s advances.

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Image courtesy of "NBC New York"

Sex Pistols Aim to Give Queen's Jubilee a Touch of Punk (NBC New York)

The band's anti-authoritarian anthem, "God Save the Queen" has been re-released to mark the queen's Platinum Jubilee, her 70 years on the throne ...

“It was an important time in music and I’m glad it happened,” Jones said. The Sex Pistols are having their own fact-meets-fiction moment with “Pistol,” a Danny Boyle-directed miniseries based on Jones’ memoir “Lonely Boy.” My musical tastes have changed a lot over the years, you know, and I’m 66 years old. Rival Sotheby’s is offering a lightbox portrait of the queen by Chris Levine and Jamie Reid’s now-iconic artwork for the Pistols' “God Save the Queen,” showing the monarch’s face covered in ransom-note lettering. It nonetheless reached No. 2 in the charts, below Rod Stewart’s “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” — though rumors persist that the Sex Pistols’ song actually sold more copies. It’s one of a raft of cultural tie-ins — critics might say cash-ins — spurred by the royal milestone.

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