Lock Stock Soundtrack

Lock Stock has a marvelously convoluted and interconnected plot of filled with supporting players and kingpins of London’s seedy underground. However, the main crux of the storyline focuses on four long-time friends, twenty-somethings:  Bacon (Jason Statham in his film debut), Soap (Fletcher), Tom (Flemyng), and Eddy (Moran). Seeking to make a quick buck, the four are able to scratch together £100 grand to enter Eddy into an underground poker tournament.  However, they soon find themselves conned out of their money by London kingpin Harry "The Hatchet" Lonsdale and somehow end up owing him an additional £500,000. They either pay up or Edy’s father, played by music legend Sting, will lose his bar. Oh, and they will each lose a finger each day until the debt is paid.

The foursome’s urgent quest to scrape together Harry’s money unleashes an unlikely but enthralling chain of events. Their pursuit ropes in all types of members from London’s varied underground, from violent robbers, docile marijuana grower, an underground stolen goods dealer named ‘Nick the Greek’, to Samoan gang lord Rory Breaker and many more. Vinnie Jones, the former Welsh footballer with a violent reputation makes a memorable film debut as Big Chris, who with his son Little Chris forms a debt collecting partnership for Hatchet Harry.  

Lock Stock had an ensemble cast featuring a mixture of British cinema icons and upcoming actors. The cast included Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Steven Mackintosh, Vinnie Jones, Nicholas Rowe, Nick Marcq, Lenny McLean, P. H. Moriarty, Stephen Marcus, Vas Blackwood, Alan Ford and Sting. Lock Stock not only introduced Guy Richie to audiences, but launched the acting careers of the aforementioned Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones, both have gone on to carve out a niche in American movies.

The Lock Stock soundtrack, officially titled, ‘Soundtrack from the Motion Picture Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ was released in 1998 in the UK and in February 1999, about six months after the film hit the screen in the UK but a month before it was released in the States.

Island Records released the record in the UK while Maverick Records, Madonna’s label, released the soundtrack in the United States. The US version of the Lock Stock soundtrack was notable for nine of the original tracks, including some of the iconic dialogue clips. Island Record’s UK release had 27 tracks while the US version only had 18.

The soundtrack to Lock Stock is notable for being primarily source-based in that it doesn’t use original music as a score. It has an eclectic mix of reggae, old punk rock, classic Rock n Roll and R&B. It contains some iconic artists of their genre, such as James Brown, Dusty Springfield, The Stooges and Robbie Williams. Brown in particular adds much to the film, his American funk from the 1960’s and 70’s seems to perfectly complement the urban modern environment of inner city London.

As well as highlighting some of the more unknown songs produced by famous artists, the soundtrack will certainly introduce listeners to not only new artists, but new types of music as well such as ‘Zorba the Greek’ by John Murphy and David Hughes. The catchy dialogue will have you dropping cockney slang into your everyday life, and reaching for the Lock Stock DVD in the evenings.

In 2000 Guy Richie followed up Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels with the even more successful Snatch, starring Brad Pitt. This is a must see for anyone who liked Lock Stock. Fans of those two movies will also like RocknRolla, which Richie released ten years after Lock Stock, in 2008. The three movies are British crime comedies with fast pace, slick dialogue and excellent ensemble casts. Richie’s 2005 movie Revolver starring Ray Liotta and Jason Statham is also a similar film, but was not as well received by fans or critics. However, it has developed a cult following of its own.

In recent times Guy Richie has gained prominence for his Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law.

You can order the DVDs for Snatch and RocknRolla below, or download the movies from Amazon to watch instantly using the links on the right.