The Kooks guitarist Hugh Harris shares bold biopic opinion - 'it's inherently bias'

Perth Now

17-05-2025

The Kooks guitarist Hugh Harris doesn't think bands should get biopics made on them until the members are all dead.
In the past 20 years a number of acclaimed biographical movies about music stars have been released to acclaim and success, such as 'Walk the Line' about Johnny Cash, 'Rocket Man' which focuses on the life and career of Sir Elton John and 'Bohemian Rhapsody', which focused on Queen and late frontman Freddie Mercury and earned Rami Malek a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the flamboyant singer.
However, Hugh doesn't think any film should be made about a group or solo artist whilst they're alive because that film will be "inherently bias".
In an interview with website Contact Music, he said: "It's not OK to write your own - you've got to die first!
"You can't be alive and write your own biopic because history is inherently bias towards the people that wrote it.
"I think there's got to be some committee that takes the storytelling of yourself off your hands."
Hugh's bandmate Luke Pritchard doesn't necessarily agree and thinks Timothee Chalamet could play him in a biopic on The Kooks.
Luke said: "Timothee Chalamet can come in and play me!"
The 'Naïve' hitmaker believes Chalamet would be able to play him because he just portrayed Bob Dylan in 'A Complete Unknown' and Luke bears a striking resemblance to the legendary folk musician.
Acknowledging his similar look to Bob, Luke quipped: "Oh, if only I could act! If only I'd gone to RADA!"
The Kooks have just released their seventh album 'Never/Know' and Luke has revealed the uplifting vibe of the songs on the record, such as 'Sunny Baby', were partly inspired by the Dylan biopic 'A Complete Unknown'.
The positive tracks that he and Hugh wrote for 'Never/Know' are a response to the current state of the world.
He said: "[The record] is not unlike the '60s reaction, actually. I watched the Bob Dylan film and I guess the message the director was trying to make and the scriptwriter, is they had their problems then, they thought that nuclear war was going to break out at any time. My mum talks about it, they had drills on the Isle of Wight. The '60s expression was let's take LSD and go get some flowers and let's try and metaphysically change things. That music turned out in that kind of way. Through the modern lens sometimes people see it as a little bit too sunshine-y, but I think that's an interesting parallel."