A band who played one gig and whose leader Terry had his observations on life punk, TV and fashion captured on the film DOA along with the Sex Pistols, Sham 69, the Dead Boys, Generation X and  X Ray Spex.

How did you first get to know Terry Sylvester?  How did the directors of "DOA" pick him and the band to be in the film?
I met Terry through an old friend Gibbsy who played guitar. The story of the DOA was that the director was in a cab and asked the cab to go the Kings Road but instead the cabby took him down to the Kingsmead Estate Hackney and then met Terry.  He asked if there was a punk band here gigging. At the time Terry didn't have a band and so he arranged with the director that he had a band and would play for him that evening at the Golden Shoe pub. The rest was history in the making.

Did Terry and the Idiots exist prior to the filming of "DOA"?  If so, did you do many gigs are make any recordings/demos?  What songs were part of the band's set?
No! We formed for that one gig got filmed and became an overnight sensation!  The only other song I could remember was 'Ma Sylvester's Apple Crumble Pie'.

When did the filming for DOA take place?  How long were the cameras with you?  Did you have any advanced knowledge on what the film-makers motivations were?  Did you yourself ever get any camera time/interviews that weren't in the finished item? 
We started filming almost instantly there was no knowledge of us being filmed. We did quite a lot of filming round hackney and you know what? I still haven't seen DOA yet I was 15 then? ha ha.

What's your memories of the gig that is in the film?  Why do the band seem to be playing "God Save The Queen" when Terry's singing "Anarchy In The UK"?!!  Did the band split afterwards?
Maybe we were seriously battered and only rehearsed before we went on.  The funniest thing was when Terry got a pint chucked at him from some old boy in the pub and yes we split up after a few days

Did you do anything else in music after the Idiots?
Yes formed my own band 7th Heaven in the 80's then went to play for people like Massive Attack, Neneh Cherry and a few others.  Went into setting up a recording studio and now produce bands and solo artists like The Ulcers

Do you have any contact with Terry or any of the other Idiots now?
Only Gibbsy the guitarist.

Looking back on "DOA" now, what do you think of the film?  Is it a fair picture of what was going on in 77/78?
The vibe is good heard the film was great but back then we got nothing for it and I still haven't seen the film after all these years if you have a copy send one?

All the best Malcolm Joseph 

 Terry & The Idiots | DOA  Script & Pictures | Terry 's Interview