{"id":45566,"date":"2026-05-09T17:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T21:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45566"},"modified":"2026-05-06T21:29:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T01:29:47","slug":"glen-matlocks-punk-origin-story-gets-the-documentary-treatment-it-deserves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45566","title":{"rendered":"Glen Matlock\u2019s punk origin story gets the documentary treatment it deserves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Glen Matlock finally tells his side of the Sex Pistols story<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s a name that doesn&#8217;t always get top billing in the punk rock mythology: Glen Matlock. The man co-wrote ten of the twelve tracks on <em>Never Mind the Bollocks, Here&#8217;s the Sex Pistols<\/em> \u2014 arguably the most influential punk album ever made \u2014 and yet somehow his story has always been told around the edges. That&#8217;s about to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>VMI Worldwide has announced that <em>I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol<\/em>, the autobiographical documentary based on Matlock&#8217;s own tell-all memoir, drops on all major digital platforms in the U.S. on <strong>May 26<\/strong>. Pre-orders kick off <strong>May 12 on Apple TV<\/strong>. Consider this essential viewing for anyone who&#8217;s ever safety-pinned a jacket or thrown a record across a room in righteous fury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PYyhc9HZniE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-CA&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Man Behind the Riffs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Matlock is a founding member of the Sex Pistols and the guy responsible for a huge chunk of their musical DNA \u2014 including songs like <em>Anarchy in the U.K.<\/em> and <em>God Save the Queen<\/em>. The film traces the band&#8217;s formation through their explosive, chaotic rise: the search for a singer, Steve Jones&#8217; particularly colorful extracurriculars, the raw energy of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood&#8217;s shop SEX, and the bleak-but-electric backdrop of early &#8217;70s Britain that made punk not just possible, but necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Matlock&#8217;s own words: <em>&#8220;For anybody interested in the birth of British punk and its effect on the then wider music scene, I&#8217;d suggest it&#8217;s essential viewing \u2014 but then I would say that!&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Who&#8217;s Who of Punk Royalty<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The documentary brings together an impressive lineup of rock legends and scene veterans to round out the story. Joining Matlock, Steve Jones, and Paul Cook are Debbie Harry, Clem Burke, and Chris Stein of Blondie; Billy Idol; Wayne Kramer of MC5; Fat Mike of NOFX; Rat Scabies of The Damned; Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats; Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys; Kenney Jones of The Who and Small Faces; Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns; and a whole crew of producers, designers, and architects of the era. It&#8217;s basically a punk rock Avengers assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The film is directed by Andre Relis (<em>Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon<\/em>) and Nick Mead (<em>Who Do I Think I Am?<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Oh, and There&#8217;s a World Tour<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The documentary&#8217;s arrival is timed perfectly \u2014 the Sex Pistols (Jones, Cook, and Matlock, featuring Frank Carter on vocals) are heading out on a <strong>50th Anniversary World Tour<\/strong> this year. After international summer dates, the North American leg launches <strong>September 11 in Dallas, TX<\/strong> at the historic Longhorn Ballroom and wraps <strong>October 18 at The Palladium in Hollywood, CA<\/strong>. Tickets are on sale now at the <a href=\"https:\/\/events.seated.com\/sex-pistols-featuring-frank-carter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">band&#8217;s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fifty years of punk. One documentary. Zero apologies. Go watch it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Glen Matlock finally tells his side of the Sex Pistols story Here&#8217;s a name that doesn&#8217;t always get top billing in the punk rock mythology: <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45566\" title=\"Glen Matlock\u2019s punk origin story gets the documentary treatment it deserves\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11,15,22,25,28,30,4165],"tags":[14208,14205,2705,14213,3199,5976,14210,14209,6694,5159,14211,13953,13609,5637,14206,14207],"class_list":["post-45566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-documentary","category-film","category-guitar-rock","category-live","category-music","category-new-release","category-punk","tag-50-years-of-punk","tag-billy-idol","tag-blondie","tag-digital-release","tag-documentary","tag-frank-carter","tag-glen-matlock","tag-i-was-a-teenage-sex-pistol","tag-never-mind-the-bollocks","tag-nofx","tag-paul-cook","tag-punk-documentary","tag-punk-history","tag-sex-pistols","tag-steve-jones","tag-vmi-worldwide"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_0813.png?fit=355%2C215&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-bQW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41693,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=41693","url_meta":{"origin":45566,"position":0},"title":"The Sex Pistols announce groundbreaking 2025 North American tour","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"March 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Get ready to experience punk like never before as the legendary Sex Pistols, now featuring modern punk force Frank Carter, embark on an explosive tour across North America in 2025. In a nod to their revolutionary past, the band will perform the iconic 1977 album \u2018Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Sex Pistols with Frank Carter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4119.jpeg?fit=388%2C381&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21155,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=21155","url_meta":{"origin":45566,"position":1},"title":"The Damned &#8211; Don&#8217;t You Wish That We Were Dead coming to home video","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"April 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"'THE DAMNED: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead'\u00a0is coming to home video on May 20th.\u00a0Filmed around the globe over three years, and world-premiered at SXSW 2015, 'THE DAMNED: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead'\u00a0tells the story of the third prong in the holy trinity of U.K. punk. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;documentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"documentary","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Damned poster","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/The-Damned-poster.jpg?fit=810%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/The-Damned-poster.jpg?fit=810%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/The-Damned-poster.jpg?fit=810%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/The-Damned-poster.jpg?fit=810%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26928,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=26928","url_meta":{"origin":45566,"position":2},"title":"Sex Pistols announce &#8216;Never Mind The Bollocks, Here\u2019s The Sex Pistols&#8217; 40th Anniversary deluxe edition","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"September 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Sex Pistols \u2018Never Mind The Bollocks, Here\u2019s The Sex Pistols\u2019 was released almost 40 years ago. To mark the anniversary, USM\/UMC will revisit the out-of-print super deluxe edition box set of the album, which was originally issued in 2012\u00a0(on 3CD\/DVD \/ eALBUM \/ MFiT out October 27,\u00a02017). Released in limited\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sex Pistols Never Mind The Bollocks cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/578-655-0-Sex-Pistols-NMTB-40th.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/578-655-0-Sex-Pistols-NMTB-40th.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/578-655-0-Sex-Pistols-NMTB-40th.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/578-655-0-Sex-Pistols-NMTB-40th.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/578-655-0-Sex-Pistols-NMTB-40th.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27320,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=27320","url_meta":{"origin":45566,"position":3},"title":"&#8216;D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage&#8217; coming to theatres and Blu-ray + DVD","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"November 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"'D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage'\u00a0is the ground-breaking classic rockumentary about the origin of punk rock. The film will be coming to select theatres in mid-November (dates are listed below), and will also be available in a collector's edition Blu-ray + DVD package. \"High Times is pleased to finally uncover and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;documentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"documentary","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"DOA - Right Of Passage cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MVD0237BR.jpg?fit=1032%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MVD0237BR.jpg?fit=1032%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MVD0237BR.jpg?fit=1032%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MVD0237BR.jpg?fit=1032%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27303,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=27303","url_meta":{"origin":45566,"position":4},"title":"&#8216;Never Mind The Bollocks, Here\u2019s The Sex Pistols&#8217; 40th Anniversary deluxe edition out December 1st","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"November 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It's now almost 40 years to the day since the Sex Pistols \u2018Never Mind The Bollocks, Here\u2019s The Sex Pistols\u2019 was released and to mark this significant anniversary USM\/UMC are reissuing the out-of-print super deluxe edition of the album, which was originally issued in 2012. Released in limited numbers at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sex Pistols cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/15389e8930dc4d73a21bf4c25945b702.png?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/15389e8930dc4d73a21bf4c25945b702.png?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/15389e8930dc4d73a21bf4c25945b702.png?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39562,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=39562","url_meta":{"origin":45566,"position":5},"title":"Watch the first official trailer for &#8216;WE WERE FAMOUS, YOU DON&#8217;T REMEMBER: THE EMBARRASSMENT&#8217;","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"July 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Watch the first official trailer for The Embarrassment documentary, \u2018WE WERE FAMOUS, YOU DON'T REMEMBER: THE EMBARRASSMENT\u2019. A film about a quintessential American post-punk band, who somehow hailed from Kansas + screenings announced in Chicago, Brooklyn, LA & more. Watch the trailer\u00a0via YouTube below. https:\/\/youtu.be\/i8P7Mvv5x2I It was the end of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;documentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"documentary","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Embarrassment screening poster","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/C63B7DF0-9A1D-4642-BE94-EEE03F2C9B6F-e1688903056164.jpeg?fit=899%2C483&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/C63B7DF0-9A1D-4642-BE94-EEE03F2C9B6F-e1688903056164.jpeg?fit=899%2C483&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/C63B7DF0-9A1D-4642-BE94-EEE03F2C9B6F-e1688903056164.jpeg?fit=899%2C483&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/C63B7DF0-9A1D-4642-BE94-EEE03F2C9B6F-e1688903056164.jpeg?fit=899%2C483&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45566"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45570,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45566\/revisions\/45570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}