Rock and Roll is an extremely youth oriented business. Like Logan’s Run, you no longer exist when you hit 30. Even established bands that are still making great music find themselves alienated by major labels and radio stations. The classic rock radio station will mention that a band is coming to town, but they’ll never play anything off the new record. So what can an aging band do to get exposure for a great song? Back in 2004, a major hoax was pulled when a hot young band turned out to be an old act. This magic moment is the subject of Vinyl. The Blu-ray and DVD are due out on July 1. Here’s the press release from Shout! Factory:
THE BRITISH COMEDY VINYL TO BE RELEASED ON BLU-RAY AND DVD
BY SHOUT! FACTORY JULY 1, 2014
“Its bitter-sweetness, fine ensemble acting and its sense of time and place are exceptional…”
– Chicago Sun Times
Los Angeles, CA – Shout! Factory will release the film Vinyl on Blu-ray and DVD on July 1, 2014. Based on Mike Peters’, of the Alarm, true rock-and-roll hoax of 2004, this wry film follows a washed-up rocker who hoodwinks top record labels, radio DJs and the entire rock music world by releasing his new pop punk single under a fictitious teenage band’s name.
After a booze-fuelled post-funeral jam session, Johnny Jones (Phil Daniels) and his old band-mates from The Weapons of Happiness come up with a gem of a pop-punk single…that no one is interested in picking up from a bunch of has-been rockers. But Johnny’s got a plan – a hoax that will reveal the sham that the music industry has become. Now he just needs to teach this rowdy bunch of kids what true punk spirit is all about.
The release includes a note by director Sara Sugarman, who grew up with Mike Peters’ band, and brought her knowledge and passion to the screen.
