Plan B Forum

Phil Daniels, Toyah Wilcox and several other actors who appeared in the cult film Quadrophenia are due to reprise their roles in a sequel 37 years later, based on the book To Be Someone.



Daniels, now 57, Wilcox, 58, and two of the other members of the original cast, Mark Wingett, 55, and Trevor Laird, 58, are said to be keen to take part in the film, which will be directed by Ray Burdis, who directed gangster film The Wee Man.

Wilcox told The Mirror her character, Monkey, who was sexually promiscuous in the film, had become something of a cougar in the sequel, and was into swinging.



The cult movie, which had a soundtrack of songs by The Who and was set amid the real-life drama of mods and rockers fighting on Brighton beach in 1964, also starred Sting, now 64, Leslie Ash, now 56, and Ray Winstone, now 59.

They are not thought to be in the sequel but Burdis said: 'People are banging the door down to be in the film, and there are some more big names to be announced.

'We need to have young blood in this film - and young talented bands. Obviously we'll have a couple of classic tracks too, for the original generation.'

The script of the new film is based on a book written by London taxi driver Peter Meadows, who was given permission by The Who's Pete Townshend to use the Jimmy character from Quadrophenia.

In the final scene of the original Daniels' character, Jimmy, steals a scooter belonging to Ace Face (Sting) and rides off along the top of the cliffs near Brighton.

The credits start rolling as the scooter flies off the cliff and crashes onto the rocks below, with Jimmy's fate unclear.

To Be Someone picks up where the action left off and Jimmy is alive and well.

But he spends much of the 60s and 70s in jail and has run-ins with London gangsters and the Russian mafia, while retaining much of the mod culture of the original film.

Burdis said: 'It wasn't difficult to get the cast members signed up as they all loved the script. Now we've got the core main cast in place we're constructing the other characters carefully and slowly.

Wilcox told The Mirror: 'Quadrophenia was really zeitgeist and it’s never really gone away, as every new generation connects with it.

'The natural journey for my character, nearly 40 years on, has seen her become a sexual predator, working in the sex industry as a madam,' she said, adding that her character and her husband were also swingers.

Quadrophenia was based on the eponymous 1972 double-album by The Who.

Daniels, interviewed last year, said he could barely remember filming Quadrophenia.

He said: 'All I can remember about the film is working really hard. We shot it all in six weeks and we did the end first.

'It was quite interesting and it's kind of a nice way of doing a film where you do the end first, so at least you know where you've got to go with the character.'