‘Never Say Never’: Glen Matlock Talks New Music, Touring and Doc ‘I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol’
Categoria: Musica
"I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol" begins streaming May 26 on Apple TV and Prime Video.
Por Billboard | 27/05/2026
When Glen Matlock published his memoir I Was A Teenage Sex Pistol in 1996. he “thought I’d never have to talk about (the story) again.” But 30 years later, he’s doing it again. The Sex Pistols ‘ founding bassist — who co-wrote 10 of the 12 songs on 1977’s seminal Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols before parting ways with the band that year — is now the subject of a documentary also titled, wait for it… I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol . Based on the book, of course, the 94-minute film begins streaming May 26 on Apple TV and Prime Video. It’s directed by Andre Relis ( Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon ) and Nick Mead ( Who Do I Think I Am? ). Amidst its reams of vintage footage and images is commentary from Matlock and a wealth of friends and associates, including Billy Idol; Blondie members Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and the late Clem Burke (Matlock’s been touring with the band since 2022); the late Wayne Kramer of the MC5; Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp; Rat Scabies of the Damned; Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats; Kenney Jones (the Faces, the Who); Cheetah Chrome (the Dead Boys, Rocket from the Tombs; L.A. Guns’ Tracii Guns; and members of the Vandals, Bazooka Joe, Doctors of Madness and more. Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), the band’s late manager Malcolm McLaren, and the late Sid Vicious, who replaced Matlock during February of 1977, are represented via archival footage and audio clips. “It’s no real kind of MGM, the big lion thing,” says Matlock, who co-produced the film. “It’s a little bit more of a DIY project. People have been interested over the years; it didn’t come together, and then I met Nick Mead, who introduced me to Andre Relis a couple of years ago, and we slowly went about piecing it all together. I think it’s come together really well.” He adds that, “I think what’s quite good about it is Andre… is sort of a bit late to the punk rock thing. So he asked people questions that may be a bit naive, but he gets a more straightforward answer out of them than somebody who knows it already and asks some tricky question instead.” The point of the I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol documentary is much the same as the book — essentially restoring Matlock’s somewhat obscured contributions and his place in the band’s groundbreaking legacy. “I thought this might make a slightly different take on the Sex Pistols story,” he explains. “I’ve always felt I’ve been passed over a little bit in the public eye. People like to paint me as the guy from the Sex Pistols that nobody knows; there were so many people involved that they’ve all got their own take on the story. This is mine.” That notion is certainly supported throughout the film. As Joe Escalante from the Vandals says on camera, “We’re kind o