Kentish Express Ashford & District
Sex Pistols singer loses legal battle over new TV series
Danny Boyle drama was partly filmed in town
Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten has lost a High Court battle with former bandmates over use of their songs in a new TV show partly filmed in Folkestone.
Drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones sued Rotten, real name John Lydon, to allow their songs to be used in the upcoming drama Pistol, directed by Danny Boyle.
The six-part series, which is being made by Disney and is due to air next year, is based on a 2016 memoir by Mr Jones called Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol.
Many scenes from the series were shot in Folkestone, Dover and Deal earlier this year, with The Grand and Grand Burstin hotels both used as backdrops.
And in a ruling on Monday, Sir Anthony Mann found Mr Cook and Mr Jones were entitled to invoke “majority voting rules” against the ex-singer in relation to the use of Sex Pistols material in the series, under the terms of a Band Member Agreement (BMA).
During a week-long hearing at the London court, Mr Jones and Mr Cook argued that, under the terms of the BMA, made in 1998, decisions regarding licensing requests can be determined on a “majority rules basis”.
But Mr Lydon, who has previously told The Sunday Times he thinks the series is the “most disrespectful **** I’ve ever had to endure”, argued that licences cannot be granted without his consent.
His lawyers told the court that the agreement had never been used and that he considered it a “nuclear button” for the claim
ants to “impose their wishes” on him.
In a joint statement after the hearing, Mr Cook and Mr Jones said: “We welcome the court’s ruling in this case. It brings clarity to our decision-making and upholds the band members’ agreement on collective decision-making. It has not been a pleasant experience but we believe it was necessary to allow us to move forward and hopefully work together in the future with better relations.”
The Sex Pistols were formed in 1975 and disbanded in 1978 but have performed live shows together a number of times since then, most recently in 2008.
Filming for Pistol took place in April this year.
Props and equipment was seen being moved into the Grand Burstin Hotel, where a ‘gig’ was reportedly filmed and new signs were erected at The Grand which revealed that Folkestone was in fact representing Whitby, a coastal town in Yorkshire.
One of the signs read: ‘The
Grand Hotel Welcomes you to Whitby’.
Other photos from along The Leas showed filming near The Metropole, with vintage cars and tents and trailers set up.
A garage in Sandgate was also redesigned with a vintage look.
Roads were closed in parts of Dover while filming took place, with some onlookers catching a glimpse of award winning director Mr Boyle.
Meanwhile streets in Deal had a complete makeover to comply with the show’s 1970s setting.
The town was flooded with period-accurate vehicles, while shop signs were changed.
The series will star Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams and The Queen’s Gambit actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster. Toby Wallace, Anson Boon, Louis Patridge, Jacob Slater, Talulah Riley, Fabien Frankel and Dylan Llewellyn will also star.
Danny Boyle is known for Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire and The Beach.