With one of the biggest musical acts of all time, Michael Jackson, set to get the biopic treatment this month, we started thinking about who deserves the honour next. So, the Bitesize crew has put their brains together to compile Bitesize Breakdown's consensus Top Five Musical Biopics We Want To See.
As per usual, each writer ranks their top 15 selections in the category. Those lists are then weighted on a reverse point system. After all the points are tallied up, the entries with the most total points make up the Bitesize Top Five.
5. FLEETWOOD MAC
There’s plenty of musical acts who’ve given proof to the notion that tension can make for great art. Fleetwood Mac is one of those very acts, with enough drama and plenty of great music spread across their decades-long run that would make for a great biopic all its own. There’s evidence already given that both the bestselling novel-turned-TV miniseries Daisy Jones & the Six and the Tony Award-winning Broadway play Stereophonic were each loosely inspired by the dramatic exploits of the British-American band, most particularly the tumultuous creation of their landmark 1977 album Rumours. It would probably be fulfilling to make a movie or a miniseries that covers that exact same time period, given all the screaming matches, cheating, drug use, and partying that fuelled much of that record’s brutally honest lyrics. But, their legacy doesn’t start or end there. There’s material to be mined from the Tusk era, whose recording sessions were almost as tumultuous and whose concert tour was gruelling from beginning to end. Stevie Nicks herself is such an enigmatic figure with struggles and successes all her own that her life would be worthy of her own biopic. The possibilities are nearly endless with this group. - Bode
4. MARVIN GAYE
Y’all remember the outrage when Eddie Murphy didn’t win an Academy Award for his massive performance as Jimmy Early in Dreamgirls? The character was iconic and interesting and stole damn near every scene he was in. Well, much of the narrative reason why is because the character was largely based on the iconic voice of both intimate relations and social change, Marvin Gaye. Not only would diving into the musical range of his talented vocals and impactful songs be entertaining to relive, but also the high and lows of his personal life. His eclectic sound was a staple of classic Motown, 70s soul, and sensual R&B, and his life was even more tumultuously varied. From a traumatic upbringing, to multiple marriages, financial troubles, and addiction, a biopic would not lack in emotion to connect you to both his soulful successes and disheartening tragedies, all the way through to the dramatically heartbreaking end to his life. - Amarú
3. DAVID BOWIE
Now, for the record, there was an unofficial David Bowie biopic (without any of his music) called Stardust in 2020 that had unanimously bad reviews, and a smattering of documentaries that sum up the enigma of Bowie’s genius pretty well - including the excellent Brett Morgen directed Moonage Daydream. But if we must dramatize another musician, David Bowie doesn’t just have the career, but also the public persona to pull off a fittingly trippy and psychedelic approach to his life. While I don’t need womb-to-tomb, there’s plenty from both his life and career that’s worthy of a feature film, such as his drug rehab trip in Berlin which led to his Low album. That alone is a perfectly ready-to-go movie. Start writing, Hollywood. - Adriano
2. KURT COBAIN
To many, Nirvana’s frontman, Kurt Cobain, was THE reluctant icon. He was an outsider who found an escape through music and became a major influence in pushing the grunge genre into the mainstream with the band’s 1991 album Nevermind. While the band skyrocketed to stardom rather quickly, Cobain never wanted that level of attention and struggled with the fame. A biopic about Kurt Cobain would be compelling because it could go beyond your typical rise and fall musician story. Instead, we’d get a layered take on the cultural shift Nirvana had in the 90s, the internal struggles Cobain faced, and the personal cost of it all. He was more than just a musician. He was an authentic lyrical voice for millions who felt deeply misunderstood in the world. A raw and poetic indie biopic shot in 16mm with a grainy, human touch would be an emotionally fascinating approach I’d love to see this icon get. - Paige
1. PRINCE
When considering a subject for the next great musical biopic, the studios have to not only think about who was widely popular and influential, but also who had a life, or a moment in their life, that either exuded sustainable drama or was a mystery to the greater public. Prince checks all of those boxes and then some as a multi-instrumentalist who came from a broken home of musicians, was devout religiously, and pushed the envelope with racy and overtly sexual lyrics. His tumultuous relationship with his label prompted a moniker change to simply a symbol, and shaped artist/studio relations for the entire industry. His contributions abound under his own music, but he was also heavily involved with writing and producing other notable musicians. He ended up creating one of the greatest music films in history with Purple Rain, and gave what many people believe is the zenith of Super Bowl half-time performances. To do a cradle-to-grave story would almost portend multiple films. Whether you focus on his early years or his apex in the 1980s, everything with The Revolution and him turning into The Artist, or his entire life through to his tragic death, any choice would be consequential. He was an indelible figure in music history. He bucked trends and created a stout discography when traditional institutions tried to stem his popularity. If a Prince biopic is too hot for you, you can always purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka. - Robert
HONORABLE MENTIONS
THE BEASTIE BOYS
OASIS
FRANK SINATRA
PINK FLOYD
STEVIE WONDER