Acclaimed director Danny Boyle takes viewers on an exhilarating ride through seedy mid-seventies London in his new six-part FX on Hulu drama series Pistol. Based on guitarist and founding Sex Pistols member Steve Jones' 2016 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, Pistol covers the formation and eventual disintegration of one of the most influential bands ever to have existed. Although their reign was brief (1975-1978), the Sex Pistols ruled (and some say ruined) Britannia with their fashion statement and unique brand of gritty Punk (topping both the singles and album charts without radio support) before becoming a global phenomenon courtesy of their hits Anarchy in the U.K. and God Save the Queen. Born from a disdain of a morose political climate, the Sex Pistols personified the dissatisfaction of disenfranchised youth, ironically becoming its snotty-nosed poster boys in the process. They also became public enemy No. 1 to most of the world.
"One of the things we did when we started [this] was talk about how incredibly dull Britain/England was," Boyle explained while recently promoting the series. "I can remember trying to explain, because our lives are so full now [with] so many opportunities, there was so little then. [Everything felt] timed. You were young, then you were old -- nothing in between. The Pistols were the fountainhead that changed it for so many other people coming after them. I think they gave a sense of timelessness. They said, 'This is yours; you can do whatever the fuck you want with it. Waste it, be vacant, be futile or not; it's up to you.' Nothing ever seemed the same again, especially for working-class people. You didn't just put your shoes on and follow your dad into the factory anymore. That is proper counterculture, because it is an ignition point about trying to create chaos, and that chaos was the counterculture.
"What grew out of it was some extraordinary music and fashion," he continued. "[The] fashion became almost bigger than the political. It became something you could fearlessly champion your life with. I don't think there was anybody who did it as excessively, extremely and aggressively as [the Pistols], who were so unqualified to tell us so in the sense of what qualification normally means. They were supremely unqualified to do anything. They weren't from art school like the Beatles, they were from the street. So, it was the triumph of street culture, or counterculture, for sure."
Heading the cast as Steve Jones is Toby Wallace (pictured above), who gives an astonishing performance. "I felt very blessed in the sense that I had [Steve's] book as a guide for everything," he shared of inhabiting the larger-than-life character. "I also had the real Steve; I got to meet and hang out with him quite a bit. I got to contact him for anything; like for context in the script. But at the heart of him, and at the heart of our story, was this traumatic experience he'd gone through, one that birthed the type of anger that I think he shared with [Pistols manager] Malcolm McLaren, and out of that anger the Pistols were birthed. A lot of [working class] people could relate to that."
McLaren, an eccentric Svengali whose name was synonymous with the band, is portrayed by Thomas Brodie-Sangster. "I've never played anyone quite as outrageous," he admitted of his character. "He's quite out there, and quite mad, really. So, it was a fun challenge to try and ground that and make that real. Unfortunately, Malcolm's dead so I didn't have the luxury of meeting and hanging out with him. But we had a fantastic team of researchers who supplied all sorts of videos and recordings that really helped me find the nuances of the way he sounded, held and conducted himself. It was fun to dive in and start playing around. Danny really encouraged experimentation, while making it real."
Rounding out the cast is Jacob Slater as Paul "Cookie" Cook, the Pistols' drummer and co-founder; Anson Boon as outrageous front man John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon; Christian Lees as original bassist Glen Matlock, and Louis Partridge as Matlock's replacement Sid Vicious. Sydney Chandler portrays Chrissie Hynde, later to front The Pretenders, who played a big part in Pistols' history. Talulah Riley embodies famed fashion designer Vivienne Westwood (a lynchpin in the counterculture), and Emma Appleton plays Nancy Spungen, Vicious' doomed girlfriend, whom many blame for his own tragic demise.
One person unimpressed with news of Pistol's production was Lydon, who challenged the series happening at all in court. Boyle, a huge Sex Pistols fan, and Lydon had previously collaborated, but his admiration for the singer and a pleasant past experience wasn't to be repeated. "[In the series] Malcolm early on says, 'Oh, it is going really well. They hate each other already'," he shared. "It is a philosophy. I met John while working on the Olympic opening ceremony and talked to him about using his music. He is a wonderful guy, so I did reach out to him before filming and couldn't get past the manager.
"I hope if he does watch the series, he'll realize how much we love his work and in making the series have become more and more aware of his contribution," he concluded. "I think discord is at the heart of the genius of what they did as a group. It's followed them ever since and it will take them to the grave. You can absolutely predict that. Even when they reunite, it's in a kind of discordant way.">