Top 10 Music Biopics

The world of music is often celebrated in motion pictures, if you are like me and are fascinated with the lives of famous musicians there is an abundance of movies tailored to just you.

Depicting the lives, the trials and tribulations and all too often the sad demise of our heroic musicians isn't an easy job for any movie director or writer, artistic license may be used and the story given a Hollywood makeover.

Sometimes this works and other times it distracts from the true lifestyle, inspiration or life choices witch drove the depicted musician to fame, below in no particular order are my top ten favorite music biopics.

1. Bohemian Rhapsody 2018: Possibly the best music biopic I have ever seen, 2 hours and 13 minutes of epic storytelling, of course it helps that I am a massive fan of the band Queen and I am not ashamed to admit I cried when Freddie Mercury left this world.

Watching this film however I found myself forgetting that they were in fact actors and not actually the band, none more so than Gwylim Lee who played Brian May, his mannerisms, voice, look and overall appearance was so convincing one could be forgiven for mistaking him for the real Dr Brian May.

2. Control 2017: this sad tale of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis tugs at the heart strings every time I watch it, yet I keep coming back to it.

Now I was never a real "fan" of Joy Division but as a musician I can appreciate what they brought to the history of music and the story of a Macclesfield job center worker with epilepsy reaching the heights of stardom may not be on everyone's "one to watch" list but give it a go and you will be surprised to find a much deeper dark poetic story of a troubled mind.

3. Hysteria 2001: The Def Lepard story is exactly that a very close tale of the band from their humble beginnings in the steel mills of Sheffield to dealing with the alcoholism and tragic loss of their late guitarist Steve Clarke but also overcoming their drummer losing his arm in a car accident.

Throughout the whole film the viewer is kept gripped to the storyline, even if you aren't a fan of Def Lepard this is a film that is stripped bare of any Hollywood coloring showing the bare bones of British heavy metal.

4. The Dirt 2019: No biopic list would be complete without this hilarious masterpiece, although some "artistic license" was apparently used in the story, the overall narrative is amusing and captivating both at the same time.

If it wasn't for the fact I know what Motley Crue got up to in the 80s I perhaps would have been shocked at the abundance of naked women, drug abuse and even the tragic car crash in which the singer of Hanoi Rocks was tragically killed, this is not a movie for the faint of heart but it deserves to be on this list as one of the most honest (if not slightly exaggerated in places) movies on this list.

5. La Bamba 1987: Ritchie Valens may not be a household name these days but this movie starring Lou Diamond Phillips as the infamous 1950's singer is for ,me a classic.

As a singer Valens was a pioneer of Rock n Roll and at 17 he sadly died in a plane crash along with two other great pioneers of Rock n Roll, the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly.

6. The Doors 1991: Val Kilmer's portrayal of dark poet Jim Morrison in this 1991 cult classic is possibly one of his best acting roles (second to the movie Willow) the story is a good depiction of the birth and rise of the band the Doors.

7. Straight Outa Compton 2015: Those that know me will probably be surprised to see this film on this list, given that I am not a fan of Hip Hop, with this said this movie is gripping from beginning to end, the story from the ghetto's of the USA is a tale of names that many of us have heard, Ice Cube and Doctor Dre to name just two of the main musicians depicted in this tale of oppression and free speech in the guise of Hip Hop.

8. Jimi, All is By My Side 2013: I was dubious about placing this movie in the top ten but I have to admit it is a pleasant tale of the life of one of the world's greatest guitarists, Jimi Hendrix, the reason I was dubious to place it here is there are some inaccuracies in the story, for example it depicts Hendrix and Eric Clapton as being rivals when in fact they were very close friends.

Inaccuracies aside though this is a good movie for any Hendrix fan or fan of music biopics in general, just don't take it as "Gospel"

9. The Runaways 2010: this one may be controversial among Joan Jett fans, personally I enjoyed the Hollywood depiction of the band the Runaways from their beginnings through to the departure and rise in fame of Joan Jett.

The one thing that I didn't feel was right happened to be the way they depicted Lita Ford as being quite "bitchy", I admit I was a Lita fan back in the 80's and any interview I read about her didn't come across that way, but who knows what went off behind the scenes with the band, all in all though this is a movie I have seen several times and still enjoy each moment.

10. Backbeat 1994: the story of the Beatles and their rise to fame, this biopic shows the early days of the band focusing mostly on their late drummer Stuart Sutcliffe the viewer is given a movie insight into the band behind their clean cut image and catchy pop songs.

I do realize there are many other great music biopics out there such as Sid & Nancy, I saw the Light, Coal miners daughter, the Buddy Holly story, Walk the line and probably others I have forgotten, the above are just a few of the films which I find myself coming back to when I want to watch a music biopic.

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