Rated : Suitable for 15 years and over
Director : John Woods
Media Format : PAL
Run time : 5 hours
Release date : 24 Dec. 2001
Actors : Gillian Kearney, Emma Cooke, Sue Johnston, Phil Daniels, James Callis
Studio : Acorn
Producers : Gina Cronk, Liz Trubridge
Country of origin : United Kingdom
Writers : Debbie Horsfield
Number of discs : 2
Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll spins a complex web of secret loves and twisted ambitions against the backdrop of the early British music scene. It's a rock n' roll soap opera, but it's smartly written and engagingly acted, full of subtle commentary on the cultural changes cutting across British society.
Manchester in 1965 seems like a dead end to two sisters, flirty Arden (Emma Cooke) and bookish Ellie Brookes (Gillian Kearney). They ache to get out from under the thumb of their domineering grandmother (Sue Johnston), and when their cousin Norman (David Threlfall) proposes to Ellie, she accepts. But just then the sisters meet a struggling band called the Ice Cubes, who grudgingly play back-up for a smarmy singer named Larry B Cool (Phil Daniels) while trying to land a record deal. Arden throws herself at the group's leader, Dallas (Joseph McFadden), but Dallas finds himself drawn more to Ellie, who's also an aspiring songwriter. From there the multi-dimensional characters take unexpected turns, and you'll quickly find yourself drawn into their lives.