The song that begat ‘Baby Driver,’ a quasi-musical on wheels

A young Edgar Wright heard a movie 22 years ago in the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion song "Bellbottoms."

When Wright first started obsessively listening to the track in 1995, the British writer-director visualized a car chase set to it. More than two decades later, that epiphany has culminated with his new film, “Baby Driver.”

Actor Ansel Elgort poses for photographs upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Baby Driver’ in London. (AP)

Ansel Elgort plays a fresh-faced getaway driver who obsessively syncs his car chases to the music on his iPod. "Bellbottoms" kick-starts the movie’s first scene.

Director Edgar Wright poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Baby Driver’ in London. (AP)

It’s an especially high-profile role in one of the summer’s best-reviewed releases for a band that has for decades proudly lived in the underground.