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And Finally Artist News
Glen Matlock says the Pistol TV series could have been “more truthful”
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 12 April 2023
Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols may not have tried to block the Danny Boyle directed TV series ‘Pistol’ from using the band’s music – unlike a certain John Lydon – but that doesn’t mean he’s a fan of the show.
‘Pistol’ was based on ‘Lonely Boy’, the autobiography of another of Matlock’s former bandmates Steve Jones. Before it arrived on the Disney+ streaming service last year, there was the high profile court battle in which Lydon tried to scupper the project by stopping it from using any of the band’s music.
That dispute centred on whether Lydon had a veto right over the use of Sex Pistols tracks in a TV show. Ultimately the court decided that an old band agreement meant only a majority of the band’s members needed to approve such usage.
Despite not causing any trouble in court, according to the NME, Matlock says in a new interview with The Metal Voice that he was nevertheless “very disappointed” with the series, and that Boyle failed to incorporate input he had provided early on in the production process.
“I’m not disappointed that it came out”, he says, “and I thought it was important that it went ahead because it was based on Steve’s story and take on things. And he was the guy that formed the band – not John, Steve. John was the last one in the band… But my portrayal – and particularly my leaving the band – I left the band, I was not sacked. That whole episode where Steve sacked [me] is just bollocks”.
“I just think it should have been more truthful”, he adds. “And I think the real story is more gritty… I met Danny Boyle again in Los Angeles after it had come out and I had [attended] a private screening. [He said to me], ‘Hey, Glen, how are you doing?’ [And I said], ‘Danny, you’re a cunt’. So he knows where I’m coming from on it”.
While conceding that there were time constraints that stopped the series – with its focus on Jones – from providing more context about the band’s other members, he also notes: “There was a whole episode on Chrissie Hynde not getting married to Steve, which took up an hour of everybody’s lives [and] which never happened”.
So, you know, maybe they could have made more time available to flesh out Matlock’s back story if they’d wanted to.
