Vinyl

Anti Social Behaviour Order. Splendid slice of British Rock Rock Rockery. Vinyl is based about a Rock "N" Roll Swindle perpetrated by Mike Peters and his band The Alarm in 2004. With the record companies only interested in imaged driven bands with which to cash in the coin, Peters recorded a single and got some pretty youngsters to pretend it was their song. The record company bought it wholesale, with Peters and chums chuckling away until the reveal caused much mirth in the industry. So a sort of Milli Vanilli meets Blue meets The Sex Pistols! Film is based in Wales and features Phil Daniels, Keith Allen, Perry Benson and Christopher Roy Turner as the middle aged punkers who meet up at a friends funeral. Their band The Weapons of Happiness is a long distant memory, gone are the days when they opened for U2 and toured with The Buzzcocks. Hooking up for drinks after the service, the men, in spite of having different ideals in life, get drunk and lay down a jam session, that amazingly in the morning sounds rather ace. But with the record company only interested in image based bands like The Jammie Dodgers and Bling Bling, Weapons of Happiness can't catch a break, that is until lead singer Johnny Jones (Daniels) hits on novel idea... The whole film pulses with a sense of fun and vibrancy, the cast having a great old time of it acting up as a rock band past their prime but still carrying around a torch for the glory days. Their hangs ups and past differences are still there, and much of the comedy is derived from these scenarios. Once the youngsters arrive to be the fake face of the band, fronted by a superb Jamie Blackley, the age divide also provides scope for humour that is utilised fully. A running thread of Johnny and his frustrated partner (Julia Ford) trying to start a family, also provides mirth, while there's one or two surprises in the story as well. It's no rocket science movie, it's very lighthearted and directed breezily by Sara Sugarman. However, the caustic asides inherent within the narrative (prejudices of the music industry/hanging on to the past being good or bad?) do strike the right chords. The soundtrack is kicking, the "band's" song "Free Rock and Roll" beautifully catchy, the comic performances mightily strong, and the serious undertones never cloy the frivolity. From a Ramones/Buzzcocks/The Saints inspired hit single, to Daniels' ass! Vinyl is a winner and worthy of seeking out by music fans of all ages. 9/10

 “Vinyl” is based on the true events in the 1990’s of rock band The Alarm. Lead singer / guitarist of The Alarm ,Mike Peters , makes a cameo in this light hearted British comedy , music, drama. The music in the film is catchy and the main characters likeable but Vinyl struggles with a lacklustre script. It’s an easy watch that has some notable British talent but also is quite forgettable afterwards. The subject matter is a good premise that explores the truth behind ageism in the music industry during the 1990’s. This is based on true events that led to many artists being dropped by record companies and their music banned from being played on Radio one. ( including new material being discovered by The Beatles ) The subject matter is certainly well worth being told it’s just that the script doesn’t make the most of the real National story.  In conclusion “Vinyl” falls short of being a really good film. This is due to the lack of investigation into why older artists music was considered not relevant and unfortunately a really lacklustre script. That’s not to say I didn’t like it , I just didn’t love it.

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John Chard

tensharpe