Looking for Johnny – The legend of Johnny Thunders

Spanish film maker Danny Garcia, who has previously released “The rise and fall of the clash” has made a documentary about former Heartbreakers and New York Dolls guitarist, Johnny Thunders.  To make the film he interviewed around 50 former bandmates and friends and has put together a film that tells the story of Johnny Thunders from the early days leading up to the formation of the New York Dolls, right through his career till his death aged just 38 in 1991.

It’s a fascinating documentary that fans of the New York Dolls or the Heartbreakers are going to enjoy watching as it covers the history of the band in a detailed way with many of the interviews being brutally honest when talking about the problems the band had – drug addiction in particular.  The story is told by cutting together the interviews to form a strong narrative, so rather than it being a series of interviews, it’s a story being told by multiple people, and it works extremely well.

Along with the interviews the film contains plenty of music with around 40 songs featured.  There’s video footage of both bands in concert, some of it previously unseen and photos from Johnny Thunder’s time with both bands.  The soundtrack will be released on CD to coincide with the release of the film on DVD.

This is an excellent documentary and is highly recommended.

Looking for Johnny – The legend of Johnny Thunders, will be released on DVD on 24th November 2014