Placebo on bringing David Bowie and Robbie Williams together in their “honest and vulnerable” new film
Placebo have discussed how their all-star, warts-and-all new documentary movie paints a bold new picture of the band, driven by “the desire to break the form and to do something new”.Frontman Brian Molko and bassist–guitarist Stefan Olsdal of Placebo took to the stage at the premiere of their new documentary film Placebo: This Search For Meaning on Thursday night (October 3) to discuss the themes of the film – including addiction, mental health, gender politics and the film’s rare and unseen footage following the band’s relationship with David Bowie.The film – directed by BAFTA winner Oscar Sansom and set for cinematic screenings throughout October – features revealing in-depth interviews with the band alongside CCTV-style contributions from celebrity fans including Benedict Cumberbatch, Robbie Williams, Yungblud, Garbage‘s Shirley Manson and IDLES’ Joe Talbot, alongside live performances of tracks from the band’s 2022 album ‘Never Let Me Go’. As well as touching on the band’s history, it delves deeper into the core meaning, purpose, philosophy and impact of Placebo over the band’s 30-year lifespan.“Our reaction was like, ‘OK, but we really can’t make just another bog-standard documentary’,” Molko said in discussion with 6 Music’s Matt Everitt following the premiere screening at Leicester Square’s Vue cinema.“’What are you going to do, Oscar? How are you going to subvert the form itself? How are you going to stop everybody from being bored? We can’t just have a series of talking heads here’.