SEX PISTOLS - I WANNA BE ME
DAVE SIMPSON
Publisher: Palazzo
Editions Ltd
The
‘Pistol’ TV series was bound to prompt a book or two hoping to tap into
the swell of new interest and resultant new market. That’s the key
here - a new market.
The
book is a good looking tome with some excellently produced pictures and
smart graphics. Within its lavish pages the aim is to tell the
story of the Pistols and to touch upon their influences, the musical
and cultural revolution they directly inspired, and
other
contemporary ‘punk’ bands that emerged during the same period.
The
author has delved into the written archives and diligently compiled
material from a wide range of sources. Using quotes from all the key
individual players gives a balance and an air of impartiality. Where it
comes unstuck is that some material is taken from back in the day and
in other instances, from more recent times. This should be a plus due to
the perspective the passing of time allows, but it jars in places. The
emotions and feelings of a 20-something caught in the eye of a storm
are not the same as those of a reflective 50/60 year old.
Undoubtably
a lot of effort has gone into pulling it together but it all seemed so
familiar. And safe. A reliance on already available interviews and
documentation is perhaps the biggest disappointment to an old-timer
like myself who was hoping for a fresh viewpoint or two, something
thought-provoking. Having said that, a new audience could find the
book invaluable; it’s easy to read, informative, and there is little it
doesn’t touch upon, winding things up as the band splits in January 78.
There’s a little bit of ‘what happened next’, but it’s sketchy at best.
Paul Cook is apparently “an active drummer… most recently with Edwyn
Collins”. Hmmm…
Basically,
if you are new to the Pistols this will hit the spot, you will embrace it, I’m
sure. It’s an entertaining accurate history book; the Sex Pistols story
in 192 eye-catching pages. Personally, I always use Jon
Savage’s England’s
Dreaming as the high water mark by which to judge
any retrospective. Nothing, I Wanna Be Me
included, has yet to touch it.
Review
by Phil
Singleton (October 2022)
Spitting
and Screaming >
©Phil
Singleton / www.sex-pistols.net 2022
All rights reserved. Not
to be
reproduced without permission