The Filth and the Fury

During a bout of insomnia last night, I turned on the TV and watched the last 45 minutes or so of The Filth and the Fury, a documentary about the Sex Pistols. (Thankfully, it was rerun this morning so I could see the first half of the movie that I missed.) The film was so bizarre. In between shadowed interviews with the members of the band who were/are still alive (the film was made in 2000), there are cuts from various films (Richard III primarily), British TV shows, and actual footage of the Sex Pistols from the late 1970s. One of the weirdest recurring segments in the documentary featured the band's former manager, Malcolm McLaren, talking via gimp mask. You never saw his face, you just heard him talking about the band through this black leather gimp mask. Apparently, he was into leather and bondage wear for a time and ran a store that carried these items. Okay.

My knowledge of the Sex Pistols is not extensive in any way. When they were in their prime, I wasn't even 10 years old, so I can't say I grew up listening to their music. (I was more familiar with Johnny Lydon's second band, Public Image Ltd. who came on the scene in the 1980s.) I remember seeing the Sid and Nancy movie, but I barely remember that. For some reason, I thought Sid and Nancy had OD'd together but, after watching The Filth and the Fury, I realized Sid was accused of killing Nancy and then died himself from a drug overdose soon after that. The band was just a mess. It's a wonder all of them aren't dead by now given the way they lived their lives in the 1970s. I was surprised to see Siouxie Sioux show up in one of the interview clips in the movie.

I saw a clip not long ago of Johnny Lydon on an episode of Judge Judy from the 1990s (I believe). He was being sued for not paying a musician who was touring with him. It's quite entertaining. You can find it on You Tube. I doubt Judy even knew who he was. She doesn't strike me as a Sex Pistols fan.