In the first music recording studio scene in the movie when the actor Richard Dormer playing Terri Hooley manages to get a slot to record the single Big Time by Rudi there is an accordion player in the recording booth in the background. The accordion player is the real Terri Hooley in a cameo appearance.
The decision to film with anamorphic lenses was to partly reflect Terri Hooley's impaired vision and how he sees the world differently from most people.
Irish band Snow Patrol contributed to the film's budget. They also helped with a crucial scene involving 2,000 extras by advertising the directors' need for extras on their website. They said anyone who showed up dressed as punks to their upcoming gig would get in free.
Writer Glenn Patterson got the idea for the film when he bumped into Terri Hooley in a bar in Belfast and was entranced by the stories he told about his past.
Richard Dormer wore a prosthetic eye without a pinhole so he could see as Terri Hooley sees (Hooley lost an eye as a child).