Danny Boyle’s Pistol
Anarchy on Hulu: Sex Pistols' Series
Director Danny Boyle’s Pistol almost wasn’t the new series coming to Hulu. John Lyndon, aka Johnny Rotten, took them to court to try to stop the limited series of the short life of the greatest punk band ever -The Sex Pistols. Lyndon said of the series,” I think that’s the most disrespectful shit I’ve ever had to endure.” Danny Boyle won and the series, adapted from band member Steve Jones’ memoir is filming. Steve Jones tells a different story than we have heard about the frontman which may be part of John Lyndon’s unhappiness.
The casting is genius but we will see if they can live up to the legend of the most outrageous band of all time. From what we have seen Maisie Williams will blow you away as the punk icon Jordan. They have cast the role of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren as well so they better have those safety pins and rips in all the right places and the anything from Vivienne Westwood perfect.
I do hope they include Malcolm McLaren’s inspiration to form a punk band after traveling to NYC to see Richard Hell and the Heartbreakers play,”I Belong to the Blank Generation.” He brought it home to his motley crew and had them listen and told them to write and play like that. Richard Hell also tore his clothes first and used safety pins out of necessity when he had no buttons.
Anyone who lived through that time will have a very critical approach to the series even though Danny Boyle has hired all the surviving London punks he could to consult on the show. London was in dire straits at the time and the young did not take well to being on the dole and having “No Future”. “Anarchy in the UK” broke out in London music, and the street and fashion scene.
Sid Viscous’ story is told as well as his stripper, groupie girlfriend Nancy Spungen, who was yet to be knifed to death and Sid would soon after die of an overdose of heroin his dear Mom got for him. It was a bleak time for NYC and many cities like Detroit where Punk kind of started but there was a kind man named Hilly Krystal who had a club on the Bowery who gave these earnest fuckups in NYC and eventually all over the world a chance to play, a home of sorts and a chance to find an audience and a movement at CBGBs.
