paul cook

Pistol 
Directed by Danny Boyle (DisneyPlus)

Okay, I’ll be first to admit that the trailer looked like a cold turd in a lunch box.  I did, however, persevere and found that I enjoyed this six-episode series enormously. 

Not that everyone will.  Fans of a perfectly delivered chronology are going to be nit picking every scene and episode like bickering zealots at a secular conflict.  Anyone who watched the CBGB movie and complained about how such and such wasn’t in the audience the night so and so did this or that is going to be in for a particularly unpleasant viewing experience.  You know who you are. 

_{Mandy Tzaras photo.}

Glen Matlock's Adelaide show was such a fine, big smile-stretched-across-the-face, hugely enjoyable gig. Not because of the association to THAT band, but because Glen is who he is, likes the kind of music he likes, and brings it into you. 

If you’re hesitating about whether to see this man’s gigs - don’t. 

Just go. 

_{Carolyn Fenech photo.}

Sex Pistols with Frank Carter
Sunday, April 6, 2025
Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide

First and most important: skip whatever preconceptions you may have.

JUST GO.

People will be talking about this tour for decades and believe me, you really don't want to be telling folks how this band were loads better at the 100 Club as they change your colostomy bag in your fucking retirement village.

The squeakers of "sacrilege"  have had their say on the interwebs, and now it's time for Frank Carter's name (and back catalogue) to be on everyone's minds.

The Sex Pistols - featuring Frank Carter 
Teenage Cancer Trust
Royal Albert Hall, London
24 March 2025 

In short, a fantastic, fun show. Frank Carter is an inspired choice as front man. He brings incredible energy and respect to the songs and, to my mind, vanquishes any concerns of the Sex Pistols being a "karaoke act" without John Lydon. 

I was almost reluctant to see the reformed Sex Pistols. I had seen Generation Sex last summer, with Billy Idol supported by Paul Cook and Steve Jones. That was close to karaoke or perhaps closer to cabaret, as Billy Idol himself looked like a wax figure from a Hammer Horror Film. That day Glenn Matlock had played on the same bill with Blondie. I thought that was as close as I would ever get to seeing the Sex Pistols perform. 

Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter
Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Quick summation: They rocked. They were a massive ball of fun. The New Guy was his own man; Frank Carter doesn’t pretend to be anything he’s not. The band behind him is still three-quarters of the Sex Pistols - and monstrously good.

Statement of the obvious: The crowd was old. Sure, there was a sprinkling of curious young millennials who’d been browsing their parents’ record collections, but mostly it was codgers bordering on, or of, pensionable age.  I haven’t this many senior citizens in one place since Oatley RSL had a disability scooter rally on the concrete apron outside the entrance, where the old dears listen to piped music as the clock counts down to the poker machine room’s 10am opening.