"ALAS.. IT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE
But for what it was -- I considered the whole damn thing pretty fantastic."
You're going to laugh but Ten Pole Tudor was my favorite singer in the Sex Pistols. I know he only sang on the title track and some of the demos and only played with them.... twice? But still he was my favorite. I liked the line up... Sid Vicious, Steve Jones, Ten Pole Tudor and Paul Cook ... that was a good one....
Still, better yet I liked Cook and Jones with the Nazi singer and the Ronnie Biggs,.. the Great Train Robber..... Thats some good entertainment kids......
I felt somewhat ripped off that these strange ensembles couldnt have recorded full albums and went on tour. By this time the joke was completely over and there was no chance for a tour after that San Francisco gig. By 1978, the joke was over.
Ten Pole Tudor was crazier looking than Sid Vicious which was pretty hard to do at the time. He was scary. I had listened to the soundtrack hundreds of time but to see this all unfold visually for the first time was completely explosive. I had no idea this is how they really looked. Seriously, since the Pistols there hasn't been another group of young ruffians with much shock appeal. We're not talking heavy make up or big theatrics. They just looked like malnourished schizophrenic psychopaths.
Here's the Interview:
Was the audition as it was portrayed in the film?
Pretty much. The Sex Pistols weren't there on the initial day. They whittled it down to the final four or something, to do it the next day with the Pistols. The Pistols were miming, with each of us doing (singing) a version of the Rock 'n' Roll Swindle track, and they spliced it up. The audition is as seen in the film, but all cut together.
I was intrigued as to when the lead vocals were recorded. Were they recorded the day before?
They were recorded live over the backing track that was already recorded. When we turned up, they gave us all a cassette to listen to a recording of the song, Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, with just Steve singing it. We had to learn it, we all had a sheet with the words on it. They gave us an hour or two to swot up on it, before we actually did it on stage.
Who auditioned you the day before? Julien Temple?
Yeah. We had to do that. This was the first day, the opening gambit. I'd been at drama school and the audition was in a theatre, therefore I went in through the stage door. All the other lads piled in the front and they were sitting around in the stalls waiting their turn. A man with a clipboard was saying "What's your name, who's next?" So I went in at the stage door and found my way to the stage and made a massive entrance! If you're on stage you've got the attention of the entire theatre.
===============================
It would be the last time Vicious, Cook and Jones would ever see eachother again. Sid left for America right after this was shot. When he came to New York City with Nancy Spungeon the two of them spiraled down lifes ladder on a heroin binge that ended up finishing them both.
On a far lighter note, "The Swindle" takes a big part of what made the punk movement fun in the first place. The opening shots of Picadilly Square were just weeks after the mayhem settled down. I like it because its got kind of a documentary - (you were there....) kinda feeling to it. Even if it was manufactured culture its got an Andy Kaufman approach to it. The joke was on the record companies and the stuck up crowd.
This film stands up even today as a monumental achievement. Especially for the burst of creativity for what it created years after, (not including the 90's of course).
-----------------------------------------
Ted Cantu is the creator of http://www.beautyloungestore.com he has contributed to several blogs and podcasts such as…..http://911copywriters.podomatic.com. He served as a top rated art director for Interactive Web Marketing groups in Chicago and New York City.
But for what it was -- I considered the whole damn thing pretty fantastic."
You're going to laugh but Ten Pole Tudor was my favorite singer in the Sex Pistols. I know he only sang on the title track and some of the demos and only played with them.... twice? But still he was my favorite. I liked the line up... Sid Vicious, Steve Jones, Ten Pole Tudor and Paul Cook ... that was a good one....
Still, better yet I liked Cook and Jones with the Nazi singer and the Ronnie Biggs,.. the Great Train Robber..... Thats some good entertainment kids......
I felt somewhat ripped off that these strange ensembles couldnt have recorded full albums and went on tour. By this time the joke was completely over and there was no chance for a tour after that San Francisco gig. By 1978, the joke was over.
Ten Pole Tudor was crazier looking than Sid Vicious which was pretty hard to do at the time. He was scary. I had listened to the soundtrack hundreds of time but to see this all unfold visually for the first time was completely explosive. I had no idea this is how they really looked. Seriously, since the Pistols there hasn't been another group of young ruffians with much shock appeal. We're not talking heavy make up or big theatrics. They just looked like malnourished schizophrenic psychopaths.
Here's the Interview:
Was the audition as it was portrayed in the film?
Pretty much. The Sex Pistols weren't there on the initial day. They whittled it down to the final four or something, to do it the next day with the Pistols. The Pistols were miming, with each of us doing (singing) a version of the Rock 'n' Roll Swindle track, and they spliced it up. The audition is as seen in the film, but all cut together.
I was intrigued as to when the lead vocals were recorded. Were they recorded the day before?
They were recorded live over the backing track that was already recorded. When we turned up, they gave us all a cassette to listen to a recording of the song, Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, with just Steve singing it. We had to learn it, we all had a sheet with the words on it. They gave us an hour or two to swot up on it, before we actually did it on stage.
Who auditioned you the day before? Julien Temple?
Yeah. We had to do that. This was the first day, the opening gambit. I'd been at drama school and the audition was in a theatre, therefore I went in through the stage door. All the other lads piled in the front and they were sitting around in the stalls waiting their turn. A man with a clipboard was saying "What's your name, who's next?" So I went in at the stage door and found my way to the stage and made a massive entrance! If you're on stage you've got the attention of the entire theatre.
===============================
It would be the last time Vicious, Cook and Jones would ever see eachother again. Sid left for America right after this was shot. When he came to New York City with Nancy Spungeon the two of them spiraled down lifes ladder on a heroin binge that ended up finishing them both.
On a far lighter note, "The Swindle" takes a big part of what made the punk movement fun in the first place. The opening shots of Picadilly Square were just weeks after the mayhem settled down. I like it because its got kind of a documentary - (you were there....) kinda feeling to it. Even if it was manufactured culture its got an Andy Kaufman approach to it. The joke was on the record companies and the stuck up crowd.
This film stands up even today as a monumental achievement. Especially for the burst of creativity for what it created years after, (not including the 90's of course).
-----------------------------------------
Ted Cantu is the creator of http://www.beautyloungestore.com he has contributed to several blogs and podcasts such as…..http://911copywriters.podomatic.com. He served as a top rated art director for Interactive Web Marketing groups in Chicago and New York City.
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