Pistol: Inside Chrissie Hynde’s friendship with the Sex Pistols-Louise Griffin-Entertainment – Metro

Chrissie Hynde made her name in the Pretenders (Picture: Getty / FX networks)

Danny Boyle’s Pistol is officially here, with the new series showing the Sex Pistols’ rise to notoriety – and the people who helped them get there.

It’s got a stellar cast, including the likes of Maisie Williams, who plays model Jordan, Thomas Brodie-Sangster who plays the band’s manager Malcolm McLaren and Talulah Riley, who plays iconic designer Vivienne Westwood.

However, other than the Sex Pistols themselves, it’s Sydney Chandler’s Chrissie Hynde who has one of the biggest roles.

Before she became the star she is today, Pretenders singer Chrissie was good pals with the Sex Pistols – and even nearly married two of them.

Now 70, Chrissie acted as a consultant on Pistol and was seen attending the premiere with Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook.

How did Chrissie Hynde know the Sex Pistols?

Chrissie Hynde and Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones attended the premiere for Pistol (Picture: Getty Images for Disney+)

US native Chrissie first moved to London in 1973 where she met musical journalist Nick Kent and began working for NME. However, it wasn’t to last.

Chrissie went on to get a job at Westwood and McLaren’s iconic SEX shop, which played a huge part in the Sex Pistols being founded.

She became friends with the band and, as is depicted in the series, at one point tried to convince Johnny Rotten/John Lydon (played by Anson Boon in Pistol) and then Sid Vicious (Louis Partridge) to marry her to get a work permit.

Chrissie (pictured in 1980) moved to London in 1973 (Picture: Getty Images)

Pretenders recently released their 11th studio album (Picture: Redferns)

Louis worked closely with Chrissie to find out more about Vicious’ life before his death in 1979, telling Metro.co.uk: ‘She spoke very fondly of Sid.

‘I found it really interesting hearing about his relationship with girls versus boys. He seemed quite aggressive and almost challenged by men so I think he resorted to violence as a means of asserting dominance.

‘But with women, it seemed every lady that knew him talked about him as this little sweetheart who would crawl into their bed, not to try anything on but just to sleep next to them because he needed somewhere to stay.

‘It’s really sad because you don’t hear that of him. So I was really, really happy and privileged to be able to be the one showing that side of him. Because the more I learn about him, it’s apparent that he was just a kid.

‘I feel like I can see through the armour and the guard now.’

What is Chrissie Hynde doing now?

Chrissie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 (Picture: Redferns)

Sydney Chandler as Chrissie Hynde (L) and Talulah Riley as Vivienne Westwood (Picture: Miya Mizuno/FX)

Of course, Chrissie ended up founding the Pretenders, the band behind hits like I’ll Stand By You and Brass In Pocket, with Pete Farndon, James Honeyman-Scott, and Martin Chambers.

She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 and, in July 2020, the Pretenders released their 11th studio album Hate For Sale.

Chrissie has been married twice – to Jim Kerr from 1984 to 1990, and then to Lucho Brieva from 1997 to 2002. She has two children.

Pistol is available to stream on Disney+ now.

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