Recommendations of the Editorial team
Four years after guitarist Steve Jones teamed up with director Danny Boyle to tell the story of the Sex Pistols from his perspective – with a looser approach to the facts – in the FX miniseries Pistol, founding bassist Glen Matlock has teamed up with directors Andre Relis and Nick Mead to tell the band’s story as he lived it. The result is the new documentary “I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol.”
The film features new interviews with Matlock, Jones, Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook, Billy Idol, Debbie Harry and many other key figures in the punk scene. It will be available to buy or rent on digital streaming platforms from May 26th. Pre-orders start May 12th on Apple TV. In an exclusive clip, Matlock talks about co-writing “God Save the Queen.”
“I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol” is loosely based on Matlock’s 1996 memoir of the same name. “The book was written as a way of coming to terms with the aftermath of the Sex Pistols’ early fame – and as a way of dealing with the fact that I felt left out of music history,” he says in a statement. “It tells about my contribution to the band, without which I am convinced that the group would never have had this success. It’s about stories behind the scenes, about internal power struggles and intrigues, and about being heard as a young man in the maelstrom that was brewing.”
Matlock’s side of the story
“In the film, a whole series of companions and contemporaries help me to convey my view of things,” he continues. “The band has since reformed in various configurations, and now that I’m back, I feel more than a little rehabilitated. Going through the process of writing down those early days created a kind of cathartic self-awareness that helped me put things in perspective and see where it could go. For anyone interested in the birth of British punk and its influence on the music scene of the time, I’d say it’s a must-see – but of course I would say!”
Matlock contributed to much of the material for the 1977 album “Never Mind the Bollocks! Here’s the Sex Pistols” – the group’s only regular studio album – but was fired before the band recorded most of it. He can only be heard on “Anarchy in the UK”. The FX series “Pistol” portrays him as privileged and alienated from the true punk spirit. It also shows Jones throwing him out in a pub toilet at the instigation of manager Malcolm McLaren.
According to Matlock, this was a gross distortion of the truth. He has always claimed that he made the decision to leave the band himself – worn down by the endless arguments with John Lydon and McLaren. “I told Danny Boyle what really happened and he completely ignored me,” Matlock told Rolling Stone in 2025. “Maybe it’s not a big deal, but to me it’s important. The whole thing seems like some kind of quasi-documentary, and people won’t know any better.”
Jones defends Boyle’s version
Jones certainly understands Matlock’s point of view. “Glen and I have talked about it, but he’ll never be happy with it,” the guitarist told Rolling Stone in 2025. “Yeah, he came across as a bit of a scapegoat, I guess. Danny Boyle wanted it that way, but I was happy with it because it was about my book and I thought it was great. Look: this isn’t a documentary. This is a biopic.”
Well – “I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol” is a documentary. Just don’t expect a new interview with Lydon. He has completely alienated himself from his former bandmates, who now tour with punk musician Frank Carter at the helm. Plans for a US tour were postponed last year after Jones broke his wrist. He’s now fit again, and they’re coming to the States in the fall.
