The documentary delves into punk history and follows The Nightingales and The Prefects frontman Robert Lloyd, who has gone “under the radar for four decades”.
Set to premiere on Sky Arts on February 6 at 9pm, the film features the likes of Lee and a host of well-known faces including Frank Skinner, Duran Duran‘s John Taylor and Samira Ahmed. In it, the comedian journeys with Lloyd as the latter reflects on his legacy and underground status in comparison to his fellow musicians. Watch a trailer here.
The official logline reads: “The anti-rockumentary King Rocker weaves the story of Birmingham’s undervalued underdog autodidact into that of the city’s forgotten public sculpture of King Kong, eschewing the celebrity interview and archive-raid approach for a free-associating bricolage of Indian food, bewildered chefs, vegetable gardening, prescription medicines, pop stardom and pop art.”
Lee himself teased King Rocker during an interview with NME last year, revealing he had worked on the project before the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the year before lockdown I worked on a film with Michael Cumming, who directed Brasseye and Toast Of London,” he said. “It was called King Rocker and was about Birmingham post-punk band The Nightingales. They used to be The Prefects and were on the White Riot tour with The Clash. They’re still going. We funded it ourselves and only the crew got paid, everyone else volunteered.”
During his chat with NME, Lee also spoke about having his Snowflake/Tornado tour pulled due to coronavirus.
King Rocker also features the likes of John Peel, Nigel Slater, Robin Askwith, Gina Birch, Marc Riley, Danny Fields, Paul Morley, Fuzzbox, Kevin Eldon, Nish Kumar, Bridget Christie, Andrew O’Neill and Seann Walsh.
King Rocker premieres on Sky Arts on February 6.