Daniel Radcliffe Compares Sex Pistols to The Beatles

For plenty of Aussies, the festive season means settling in for a marathon of all eight Harry Potter films, usually squeezed in between Christmas and New Year. It’s a bit of a tradition—watching Daniel Radcliffe grow from a nervous kid in the first flick to a seasoned actor by the final showdown. By the end, it’s hard to picture anyone else as the boy wizard, which makes the upcoming HBO series a curious one to watch. Radcliffe’s become so tied to the role, it’ll take some serious magic to change people’s minds.

Since hanging up his Hogwarts robes, Radcliffe’s taken on a mix of theatre and some pretty out-there film roles. Anyone who’s seen him in ‘Swiss Army Man’ (where he plays a flatulent corpse) or ‘Guns Akimbo’ (where his character wakes up with pistols bolted to his hands) knows he’s not afraid to take the mickey out of himself or try something unexpected. That same unpredictability shows up in his taste in music, which ranges from punk pioneers to indie icons and a few left-field choices.

Radcliffe’s Take on British Music Icons

Chatting with KCRW about his favourite tracks, Radcliffe didn’t hold back. He singled out the Sex Pistols as one of the most significant bands ever, even if he admitted it might ruffle a few feathers.

“In my opinion, and I can and will get flak for this I’m sure, but in my opinion they are as important as The Beatles in terms of what they did for British music.”

He went on,

“I feel like the Sex Pistols are often seen as more important for what they stood for and what they brought on than for the actual music, but the actual music is really, really good too.”

While not everyone would put the Sex Pistols on the same pedestal as The Beatles, there’s no denying their cultural impact. The punk movement they kicked off changed the landscape for heaps of bands that followed, even if their actual tunes sometimes get overshadowed by their reputation.

Radcliffe’s Top Tracks and Musical Influences

Radcliffe’s playlist doesn’t stop at punk. He picked Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’, saying,

“I’ve rediscovered it lately and it’s just an amazing song. It’s definitely one, if I could only listen to five songs the rest of my life, it would definitely be one of them.”

He also gave a nod to The Libertines and their track ‘Time for Heroes’, describing them as,

“the Sex Pistols of my generation, I think in some ways. They are a much more lyrical band, they’re a much more romantic band than the Sex Pistols, but they do have the same kind of chaotic, anarchic energy.”

Next up was The Pixies with ‘Broken Face’, a song he reckons is as mysterious as it is catchy.

“What’s great about doing it (looking up meaning of Pixies lyrics) is you look it up and you’re like ‘I still don’t really know what’s going on, but I don’t mind.’”

Rounding out his list, Radcliffe chose Perfume Genius and the track ‘Hood’, noting,

“Always very beautiful… a lot of his songs deal with longing – I think or maybe not, I’m probably putting words into his mouth – it’s a very hard thing to sing about without it sounding whiny.”

Radcliffe’s Eclectic Favourites

So, what are the five songs Radcliffe can’t go past? Lou Reed’s ‘Walk On the Wild Side’, Sex Pistols’ ‘EMI’, The Libertines’ ‘Time For Heroes’, Pixies’ ‘Broken Face’, and Perfume Genius’ ‘Hood’ all make the cut. It’s a line-up that shows he’s got a soft spot for artists who shake things up, whether it’s through raw energy, poetic lyrics, or just a bit of chaos.

Radcliffe’s choices might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but they give a pretty good insight into what gets him going musically—bold, boundary-pushing, and never boring.