The Sex Pistols on Screen

This unique book demonstrates the central importance of visual media to the significance of British Punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols, beginning with their nation-shocking television interview with Bill Grundy in December 1976. Supported by an examination of surrounding documentary and fictional texts, The Sex Pistols on Screen centres on four key film and television/streaming depictions with and about the four-man group across four decades, namely The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (Temple, 1980), Sid and Nancy (Cox, 1986), The Filth and the Fury (Temple, 2000), and Pistol (Boyle, 2022). Though promising an oppositional stance, these works consistently demonstrate how the mainstream media disarm and commodify any genuine sense of mid-1970s anarchy. In addition, their differing personal perspectives exemplify the subjectivity and self-interested advocacy of all historical interpretation. Nonetheless, they still provide a sense of the empowering hit delivered by the Sex Pistols' pugnacious music and galvanic live performances. Accessible yet academically rigorous, The Sex Pistols on Screen is a significant study of the visual media's importance in forging, reworking and reviving both the history and reputation of this seminal band. It will appeal both to the general reader and students of film, television, media and cultural and popular music studies.

Stephen Glynn is a film writer and lecturer, currently based at De Montfort University, UK. His previous writings on the links between music performers and the visual media include Kate Bush and the Moving Image (2025), David Bowie and Film (2022), The Beatles and Film (2021) and The British Pop Music Film (2013).

1. Introduction: Through My Eyes Part 1: Documentary Strand 2. No Future for You: False Film Starts 3. We're Not All There: The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980) 4. We Mean It, Man: The Filth and the Fury (2000) - Plus Other Documentaries Part 2: Biopic Strand 5. Something Else: The Sex Pistols in Fiction Film Roles 6. All Crimes Are Paid: Sid and Nancy (1986) 7. I Wanna See Some History: Pistol (2022) 8. Conclusion: Problems