TALKIN' BOUT A REVOLUTION (PISTOL)

Has there ever been a shortlived band that has had the same cultural impact as the Sex Pistols?

Especially a band with so few albums to their name?

Nirvana, possibly but while 'Nevermind' was good, I'm not convinced it had the same potency as 'Never Mind The Bollocks'.

Forty five years on, the Sex Pistols' only album still has the power to electrify and provoke.

Blander corporate rock, pop and hip hop acts may dwarf punk these days in terms of record sales but let's be honest - most popular artists are afraid to rattle and challenge the way The Sex Pistols, The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers did.

And would anyone really in their right mind argue that Ed Sheeran's 'X' or Coldplay's 'A Rush of Blood To The Head' stirs people in the way 'Never Mind The Bollocks' still does or The Clash's 'London Calling'?

Of course, great music didn't begin and end with punk.

In the years since, there have been great albums from the likes of Talking Heads, Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Smiths, Radiohead, U2, Peter Gabriel, Public Enemy, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, REM, The Police, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Winehouse and Blur.

And before them, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, the Who, The Beachboys, Joni Mitchell, Queen, Simon and Garfunkel, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Neil Young all delivered classics.

However arguably only Oasis have come close to capturing the rebelliousness and sheer energy of the Pistols with their second album 'What's The Story Morning Glory?'

Even then, the Mancunian band's work can't quite hold a candle to 'Never Mind The Bollocks' because of the sheer quality of John Lydon's lyrics which totally outgun Noel Gallagher's more laboured efforts.

It is little wonder that the Sex Pistols continue to fascinate generation after generation.

Sure, they weren't the greatest musicians but they were a brilliant concept who captured the essence of what rock n'roll could be - a youthful challenge to the Establishment.

Their music hasn't dated.

You only have to hear the opening riffs of 'Anarchy in the UK,' 'God Save The Queen' and 'Pretty Vacant' to feel their energy and appreciate their relevance today.

With the UK recently celebrating 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II with the Platinum Jubilee, Disney+ and Hulu have released with impeccable timing 'Pistol' - a six episode FX drama about the band whose most famous single was an alternative British national anthem.

With Oscar winning director Danny Boyle at the helm for all six episodes, the miniseries is a typically raucous affair - racing through the formation, rise and spectacular combustion of the band.

Based on the memoir 'Lonely Boy' by Sex Pistols' guitarist Steve Jones, like most miniseries based on real events it takes some liberties with the truth.

For this, it has been denounced by John Lydon, the former lead singer of the Pistols (AKA Johnny Rotten), who refuses to watch it, as "a middle class fantasy," rewriting key bits of the band's history.

Not that this has rattled the acclaimed director of the 'Trainspotting' movies and 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

Nor have his claims that he was treated disrespectfully in the run-up to the making of the series.

In fact, Boyle has worn Lydon's rebuke like a badge of honour,  claiming he expected nothing less from a genius.

In Boyle and writer Craig Pearce's version of events, English born but Australian raised Toby Wallace plays Sex Pistols' Steve Jones who comes from a dysfunctional home.

Portrayed in the opening episodes as bit like a 1970s twist on the Artful Dodger, he breaks into the Hammersmith Odeon and makes off with equipment from one of the last gigs of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, even swiping a microphone with David Bowie's lipstick on it.

Linking up with Jacob Slater's Paul Cook, he also nicks an open top car, with the two of them legging it before they are caught by two police officers pursuing them.

Apart from thieving and womanising, Steve has another passion - he wants to set up a band called The Swankers.

The problem is he knows very little about fronting such a band.

Going into the SEX fashion boutique run by Tallulah Riley's Vivien Westwood to nick edgy clothes, he is confronted by a cricket bat wielding Chrissie Hynde, played by Sydney Chandler.

Let off the hook by Westwood, he is introduced to her lover and business partner Thomas Brodie Sangster's Malcolm McLaren who is immediately taken with him and involves Steve in various jobs.

With grandiose ideas about sparking a cultural revolution, McLaren is sweet talked into managing Jones' band with Cook on drums, Christian Lees' Glen Matlock on bass and Dylan Llewellyn's Wally Nightingale and turning them into his anti-Establishment battering ram.

Renaming them Kutie Jones and the Sex Pistols, he arranges their first gig which turns out to be a total shambles.

Jones gets stage fright and his voice cannot be heard above the guitars.

Despite this, McLaren is enthused by what the band can offer disaffected youth.

However he insists Jones fire Wally and become the new guitarist, learning to play the instrument with a guitar swiped from The New York Dolls' Sylvain Sylvain.

This disgusts Hynde, who Jones is having an on-off fling while she dates Ferdia Walsh-Peelo's pretentious NME journalist Nick Kent.

Desperate to make her own mark in London as a musician, the American believes an instrument like this should be in the hands of someone more worthy who can actually play it.

McLaren brings Anson Boon's eccentric John Lydon into the Pistols as their frontman and lyricist.

Lydon clashes immediately with Matlock and Jones who think he's all talk and no substance.

With the help of some pills scored from Westwood acolyte Maisie Williams' Pamela 'Jordan' Rooke in Soho, Jones also moves into a rehearsal space McLaren has secured for the band in Denmark Street and spends five days learning the guitar while high.

It pays off and it isn't long before the band starts to click, with Lydon coming up with punchy, provocative lyrics.

Fused with McLaren's flair for publicity, the Sex Pistols' reputation as rock n'roll rebels ignites.

But with success comes squabbling, suspicion, betrayal, excess and the issue of how to accommodate Lydon's friend, Louis Partridge's Sid Vicious and deal with the risks posed by his heroin using girlfriend, Emma Appleton's Nancy Spungen.

Adapted from Jones' memoir by Craig Pearce, 'Pistol' is a suitably in-your-face, pacy, tongue in cheek account of the Sex Pistols legend.

Peppered with music and movie clips which help set the context for many of the events depicted in it, the miniseries is largely faithful to Jones' book.

How accurate it all is will be a matter for the punk historians but as a piece of drama, it is witty, entertaining and extremely well crafted.

As you would expect from Boyle, the story is energetically told with vibrant editing by Jon Harris and striking visuals by the cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle - a frequent collaborator of the director's.

The 70s pop culture references from Ziggy Stardust to Max Bygraves, The Kinks to Shirley Bassey, Elvis Presley to Desmond Dekker and The Aces are spot on - as are the fashion and drab decor of high rise flats, decrepit rehearsal spaces and dark London pubs.

As for the performances, they are what you would hope for.

Wallace is note perfect as the cheeky anti-hero, Jones.

With shades of Renton about him, Wallace's Jones is prepared to shaft good friends in pursuit of fortune and a good time.

But beneath the initial bravado, he is also extremely vulnerable thanks to a dysfunctional upbringing and bullying, molesting stepfather Ron (memorably played by Jay Simpson).

Chandler brings a sassiness to the part of Chrissie Hynde in a way that recalls Kelly McDonald's turn in 'Trainspotting'.

Slater and Lees provide sturdy support as Jones' long time bandmates, while Williams has fun as Jordan.

Llewellyn and Walsh also enjoy their respective roles, while Riley catches the eye as Westwood.

Brodie-Sangster brings a Fagin like quality to the part of McLaren, while Partridge and Appleton do a decent job as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen.

These are arguably two of the hardest parts to play as Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb's portrayal of the doomed couple in Alex Cox's 1986 movie 'Sid and Nancy' remains so vivid.

Nevertheless they impressively catalogue Sid and Nancy's grim descent into destruction and death.

There are amusing turns from Matthew Cottle as the ITN newsreader Reginald Bosanquet and Kai Anderson as Richard Branson, while various actors pop up portraying Siouxsie Sioux, Billy Idol, Helen of Troy, Julien Temple and the BBC broadcasting legend, "Whispering" Bob Harris.

There's also an amusing recreation of the Pistols' infamous sweary appearance on Thames Television's teatime 'Today' show, with Kevin Eldon playing the presenter.

But if you are to pick two outstanding performances from the series it would have to be Bianca Stephens and Anson Boon's. 

Appearing in just one episode, Stephens brilliantly handles the disturbing role of Pauline whose obsession with the band and grim back story informed the song 'Bodies'.

Boon is simply terrific as Lydon - exhibiting all the tics and mood swings of the lead singer while also affectionately capturing his fierce, bolshie intelligence.

While making the biggest impression, Boon is generous and smart enough to know when to step back and allow his fellow cast members to shine.

And for that level of awareness alone, the Cambridge born actor signals he's an actor of considerable guile whose career we should all be keeping a close eye on.

The Sex Pistols' place in rock folklore has never really been in doubt.

Even though their moment was brief, it was so groundbreaking it quickly cemented their reputation as an important band.

They don't need a miniseries to secure their legendary status.

However it is a fitting tribute.

In this age of streaming, there will inevitably be a demand for similar biopics and miniseries.

'Pistol' is so enjoyable that if Boyle signed up to do something about The Clash or the Happy Mondays, I'd be up for it.

But good luck to anyone who goes down this path.

As miniseries about rock music icons go, 'Pistol' will take some beating.

('Pistol' was made available for steaming on Disney+ on May 31, 2022)