Top five music docs to watch this summer

In Belfast on Saturday May 2nd, as part of the city’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, the Irish premiere of music documentary Looking for Johnny takes place (Black Box, 3pm, £4, cqaf.com). The film explores the (brief) life and times of New York Dolls’ guitarist Johnny Thunders, and while it’s a goodie, it got us to thinking what other brilliant music documentaries will hopefully be coming our way over the next few months. Here’s our top five...

All Things Must Pass
Colin Hanks directs this sharply observed movie about the rise and inevitable fall of Tower Records, the American music retail giant that in 1999 recorded earnings of $1 billion, and which by 2005 had entered bankruptcy proceedings. Ouch.

Theory of Obscurity: a film about The Residents
Avant garde US band The Residents have never been identified by name or face. Go figure . . . Don Hardy directs a documentary about one of alt.rock's weirdest and most bewildering bands.

Danny Says
American music industry executive and band manager Danny Fields shares many rich anecdotes about his involvement with the likes of The Doors, Ramones, Velvet Underground, and Iggy Pop. A racy film – and the soundtrack is bliss.

808
From early hip-hop to EDM (via Madonna and Taylor Swift), the Roland TR-808 – a drum machine, no less – is eulogised by the likes of Beastie Boys, Damon Albarn and Afrika Bambaata. Alexander Dunn directs.

Salad Days
Earplugs! Scott Crawford delves into the DIY punk scene of Washington DC from 1980-90. The result is an access-all-areas, warts'n'all look at a highly influential scene. Talking heads include Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl, and Thurston Moore.