Track 1: The Cloak Of Invisibility – As the first episode of Pistol begins, we see a montage of videos of the queen at Bowie performing. Steve Jones (Toby Wallace) sneaks into the Odeon and finds the guard sleeping. He mimics Bowie’s dance moves as he moves closer to the microphone which still has lipstick on it. He cuts the microphone cord and begins hauling equipment outside. The guard wakes up and chases him outside, but Steve is already gone. He steals a red sports car and catches up with his friend Paul (Jacob Slater). The pair drink before getting pulled over by the police. Paul worries he’ll lose his apprenticeship while Steve claims they’ll kick the crap out of them for having a better motor. Steve floors it and speeds away from the police. He tells his friend they’re going to jump out, throw on the old cloak of invisibility, and scarper. They manage to elude the police.

Steve tells Paul not to forget about rehearsals tomorrow. Phil Nightingale (Robert Whitelock) lets his son Wally (Dylan Llewellyn) and the others rehearse in the building that they’re rewiring. Once they bring the equipment inside, Steve tells everyone he has come up with a new name because The Strand is boring. He wants to call the band The Swankers. Steve believes he should be able to pick the name since he nicked the gear. They call him the Phantom of the Odeon. Steve reveals he has written an original. He has to remind Glen (Christian Lees) and Wally of the chords. Once he finishes, he admits he needs to come up with more lyrics. Glen says it is better than the Beetle since it is theirs. In a bar, they begin discussing their image. John suggests just being themselves. Steve thinks that is a good idea. He says they’re pissed off and bored.

Since no one gives a crap about them, they shouldn’t give a crap about anyone else. Later, Steve goes to the SEX shop to steal clothes, but he gets stopped by Chrissie Hynde (Sydney Chandler). When she threatens to beat his brains out, Steve claims Viv (Talulah Riley) told him he could take whatever he wanted for his band. Vivienne comes out with Malcolm McLaren (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and recognizes him as the mouthy kid who is always trying to steal things. Malcolm says they have their own methods of dealing with felons instead of calling the police. Steve thought Viv said it’d be okay to borrow things for the band because they’re going to be really famous. McLaren asks where they play. Steve reveals they’re in the rehearsal stage right now.

Their influences are Roxy Music, Mott The Hoople, and Bowie. He tells them that he is the guy who stole the stuff at the Ziggy show at the Hammersmith Odeon. Steve thinks thievery is the highest form of flattery. He took the pants because they’re cool. They’re normal trousers, but they’re bondage like a straightjacket for a mental patient. Viv makes him put them on. While doing so, Steve argues everyone is pretending everything is now when it isn’t. All those poor people who have nothing are supposed to just stand there and shut up. Steve calls that mental. Steve tells them the band is called the Swankers and he is not gay. He did pay a guy 50p to please him on a train once when he was coming back from juvenile detention. Malcolm calls him a product of state oppression. He admits ruffians like Steve excite him.

He doesn’t want to screw Steve and instead wants him to screw the world. Malcolm explains that he and Viv want to create a revolution inspired by the raw authenticity of forgotten kids like Steve. Viv says he is welcome here any time, but he needs to ask before taking things. When Steve returns to the band, he tells them how they can borrow clothes and that Malcolm is going to manage them. He goes on to say Malcolm isn’t managing them yet, but he will convince him to do so. Steve goes to a gay club and gets high. In a flashback, his stepdad Ron (Jay Simpson) warns him not to go out of the house again or he’ll get something bad. He remembers his mom Mary (Charlotte Randle) being standoffish with him. One night, Ron runs out of the bedroom and yells for Irene to call the doctor because Mary might be losing the baby.

He blames a young Steve (Toby Woolf) for everything. He says they’re losing a good baby and they’ll be with rubbish like him. Chrissie finds Steve sleeping at the store so she wakes him up to ask if he is going to clear the place out. He claims the window was already broken and he is just trying to inspire Viv and Malcolm like they said last night. He turns on Otis Redding’s Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay and surprises Chrissie. Steve says he heard the song for the first time when he was 13 at the Battersea Fairground. It rewired his brain for some reason. He suggests Otis was like him sitting on the dock wanting to get away to somewhere better. She tells him about her boyfriend Nick who is a famous music journalist. Steve knows Nick Kent (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). He thinks he is Keith Richards and got the heroin part of it right. Steve isn’t jealous because he gets bored of emotions.

She tells him how a Bowie concert in Cleveland, Ohio changed her life forever. Chrissie claims she gave Bowie a ride in her mom’s car. Malcolm joins them and asks Steve if he can drive. As they speed through town, Malcolm says he never had a father to teach him how to drive. Steve learned how to drive on building sites and will drive a car until it runs out of petrol. He is a kid who doesn’t exist so he can use the cloak of invisibility to avoid problems. Malcolm suggests kids like him are going to kick the establishment right in the backside. Steve pitches his idea of promoting the band. Malcolm agrees to come see them rehearse. Steve returns to SEX to tell Chrissie that Malcolm is managing the band. He believes she sings and tries to convince her to sing for him, but Chrissie says no.

They end up singing together. They nearly have sex until Nick interrupts. Steve says hello and tells Nick about Malcolm managing his band. Before he leaves, Steve invites both to the upcoming rehearsals. Paul asks his parents if he can continue practicing on the drums for 15 more minutes before they take their bedroom back. Later that night, Viv tells Malcolm that Steve is very damaged. Malcolm thinks that is good because it makes his mind work in a very original way. She doesn’t think it is a good idea to take on the band after what happened with the New York Dolls and how he dressed them as Chinese communists. It didn’t match their music or ethnicities. Malcolm says he is trying to start a revolution so he needs saboteurs, assassins, and shock troops. He thinks Steve is the real deal because he has nothing else to live for.

When Steve goes home, he argues with his stepdad about getting a normal job. Mary tries to force him to apologize to Ron, but Steve refuses. Steve decides to leave. He tells Steve he finally got what he always wanted which is his mom all to himself. Later that night, Steve tries to steal more music equipment only to be arrested. In a flashback, Ron finds a young Steve with a new toy that he stole. He threatens that his mom will throw him out of this house if he tells any stupid stories. He’d go straight to the orphanage where he belongs and his mom would be happier without him. Nick tells Chrissie about Steve getting arrested and possibly going away for a few years. Nick heard he stole Keith Richards’ coat. Chrissie says at least he didn’t steal his music.

As Steve goes on trial, he is called a miscreant. He pleads guilty as the judge suggests society must ensure that he reforms his ways. Steve doesn’t have anyone to speak on his behalf until Malcolm bursts in and introduces himself as Steve’s employer. He says Steve grew up very poor and was forced to leave school at a very young age to support his ailing mother. He delved into unsavory activities although he has become a shining example of the rehabilitative powers of hard work. Malcolm blames himself because he was away on business in Paris. The only father figure Steve ever had was his great uncle Dicky who was a fighter pilot during the war and shot down over Belgium.

Malcolm promises to make sure Steve reaches his true potential if the judge gives him one more chance. As they leave the courtroom, Malcolm admits he isn’t sure he would’ve done that for his own son. He had to get Steve out so he can play his first gig. He wants to call the band QT Jones and his Sex Pistols. Steve is surprised to learn the gig is tonight even though he just got out of the nick. When he meets with the other band members, Viv has a shirt for him that she calls their declaration of war. She calls Steve the leader of their shock troops and says things are finally going to change. Nick is coming so he can write about it. Steve asks for a few minutes with the lads. They get high and discuss their gig.

During the performance, Steve panics while thinking about the past and says nothing. He remembers Ron abusing him. Steve runs out of the room and begins wrecking stuff outside. Paul goes after him to ask what is wrong with him. Steve doesn’t think he’ll ever be good enough while Paul has good parents and his apprenticeship. Steve says he acts tough but has nowhere to hide when he is up there. It makes him remember what a total waste of space he really is. Steve walks away. We see John Lydon (Anson Boon) writing “I Hate” on his Pink Floyd t-shirt before the episode ends.

 

Pistol Review

After the first episode of Pistol, it is easy to have mixed feelings about this fictional retelling of events. Most of the acting is competent, but I wouldn’t expect a perfect representation of the people the characters are based on. The show does a good job of establishing the time period and mood while the soundtrack was enjoyable. There is plenty to like about Pistol, but it is difficult to ignore some of the issues in the first episode.

The fictionalization truly stands out a bit too much because this started resembling A Clockwork Orange at certain points. Viewers should be able to pinpoint the fiction since it’ll leave them rolling their eyes. Due to the over-dramatization and fictionalization, the story feels like a façade that glanced over the unpleasantries and facts that really mattered. It could get better as it goes on, but too many creative liberties might’ve been taken with the story.

The first episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Pistol will be available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.