Disney+ has released the official trailer and key art for the Sex Pistols biopic, Pistol, which will premiere at the end of this month, alongside re-issued copies of one of their hit singles.
Based on founding Sex Pistols member and guitarist Steve Jones’ 2017 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, the six-part biopic promises to take fans on a hilarious, emotional and at times heart-breaking journey.
Pistol is “the story of a band of spotty, noisy, working-class kids with ‘no future,’ who shook the boring, corrupt Establishment to its core, threatened to bring down the government and changed music and culture forever.”
A longtime passion project of director and producer Danny Boyle, the biopic stars Toby Wallace as Steve Jones, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Anson Boon as John Lydon, Christian Lees as Glen Matlock and Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious.
The cast is rounded out by Sydney Chandler as Chrissie Hynde, Talulah Riley as Vivienne Westwood, Maisie Williams as punk icon Jordan, Emma Appleton as Nancy Spungen and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Malcolm McLaren.
Watch the official trailer for FX’s ‘Pistol’:
John Lydon, AKA Johnny Rotten, has been very vocal about his objection to the film project.
He was sued last year by two of his former bandmates over rights to the Sex Pistols’ music for biopic, and lost the lawsuit under a ‘majority rules’ basis.
Love Classic Rock?
Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“How can anyone think that this can proceed without consulting me and deal with my personal life in this, and my issues in this, without any meaningful contact with me before the project is announced to the world,” Lydon said at the time.
He later said that “cutting him out” was a “shockingly stupid move.”
“It’s so ridiculous. It’s so preposterous. They can all f*** off,” he said.
“I supported them for years and years and years, knowing they were dead wood. None of these f***s would have a career but for me. They did nothing before, they’ve done nothing since.”
Meanwhile, ‘God Save The Queen’ – the band’s second single after ‘Anarchy in the UK’ – is about to be re-issued to mark Elizabeth II’s upcoming platinum jubilee.
Arguably one of the most famous punk rock tracks in history, it reached No. 2 in the UK charts, despite being banned from BBC Radio and television. Rod Stewart hit the coveted No. 1 spot instead.
Now, the song has another chance to reach the top spot, as thousands of physical copies have been repressed for release on May 27th.
Four thousand copies of the version released on Virgin Records will be re-released, with ‘Did You No Wrong’ on the B-side. Another 1,977 copies of the single’s original version on A&M Records will also be released, with its own original B-side, ‘No Feeling.’
All six episodes of the limited series Pistol can be streamed on Disney+ from May 31st in Australia and New Zealand.
