BBC archive DVD

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Simpson RX1
[QUOTE]
Don't recall the Hillman programme, but sounds a bit like the series 'Driving Ambition' about the housewife that is pursueded by the ('Days Of Thunder' style) wronged mechanic to race a Modsports Mini which he has built................would love to have that series on DVD [/QUOTE]

Notable if only for the scenes where it's obvious that driving the car is long-time Mini ace Peter Baldwin in a blonde wig!

Originally posted by petefenelon


I've got an MP3 of a very odd demo of Telstar with someone (Meek himself presumably?) humming most of the guitar part -- barking but wonderful.

How on earth did you get hold of that?

Originally posted by ian senior


How on earth did you get hold of that?

It's on a compilation on emusic.com (which I tend to use to get hold of jazz, soul and reggae mp3s to keep me going at work):

http://www.emusic.co...6/10596517.html

Filming at the Handley Page aerodrome St Albans 1983 'Driving Ambition'

Gavin Richards played 'Ken Lark'.......he went on to play the Italian General in 'Allo Allo '

Off topic I know, but dont you agree that the Sierra looked rather sleek for its era?! Just compare to the Cortina on the right

Originally posted by petefenelon


Some of it's naff (mainly because of the banal lyrics and overblown vocals - his beloved Heinz is guilty of a lot of that) but if you ignore the voices and words and listen to Meek's production and work out just what he was achieving and how he was doing it, with cheap, home-made equipment and a lot of imagination, some of his tracks are phenomenal. Phil Spector's Wall of Sound done in a back room in Holloway. If he'd had George Martin's budget..... wow.

I've got an MP3 of a very odd demo of Telstar with someone (Meek himself presumably?) humming most of the guitar part -- barking but wonderful.

How did this thread get on to Joe Meek? Oh well, I was a member of the Joe Meek Appreciation Society, until they asked me to renew my membership at a time when I had no money. Joe was one of the greats of recorded music, who 'wrote' a transatlantic number 1 hit despite not being able to play or sing! And yes Pete, if it's the demo I'm thinking of, that's Joe humming Telstar over a backing track. I personally have an even rarer Meek demo where he actually sings in tune I could go on and on and on about Meek, but a good link for those who are interested is :

http://www.mccready.cwc.net/meek.html

Hmm. Well. Back to racing, then. How much TV broadcast footage of David Purley do you think exists then? (apart from the 1973 Dutch GP, which we all know about)

Originally posted by Lec CRP1



Hmm. Well. Back to racing, then. How much TV broadcast footage of David Purley do you think exists then? (apart from the 1973 Dutch GP, which we all know about)

How about the edition of GO WITH NOAKES (John Noakes of Blue Peter fame) that included Purley's
1976 Shellsport 5000 season with the Chevron B30.... anyone remember that?
I think the whole half hour revolved around this subject and Noakes (amusingly a recent candidate on BRITAINS WORST CELEBRITY DRIVER !)got to test drive the car somewhere (Goodwood?)
Forgive me if the memory is but slight of this programme, I was 9 at the time and it's almost, gulp, 30 years ago!

Simon Lwis
Transport Books
www.simonlewis.com

Originally posted by simonlewisbooks


How about the edition of GO WITH NOAKES (John Noakes of Blue Peter fame) that included Purley's
1976 Shellsport 5000 season with the Chevron B30.... anyone remember that?
I think the whole half hour revolved around this subject and Noakes (amusingly a recent candidate on BRITAINS WORST CELEBRITY DRIVER !)got to test drive the car somewhere (Goodwood?)
Forgive me if the memory is but slight of this programme, I was 9 at the time and it's almost, gulp, 30 years ago!

Simon Lwis
Transport Books
www.simonlewis.com

I vaguely remember a program (which I think was at Donington) with John Noakes in it where he was told not to change out of first gear in the car. Noakes being Noakes decided that was a touch OTT and then promptly spun the car in a very neat 360 upon changing up! He had a lot of respect for people who drove the cars after that.

This could of course all be imagined but it's reappeared from somewhere in the old brain!

Originally posted by Lec CRP1

but a good link for those who are interested is :

http://www.mccready.cwc.net/meek.html

Seen on that (excellent!) article

Since this piece was written, the great Geoff Goddard, Meek's crazy collaborator and author of the unimpeachable 'Johnny Remember Me' , who I spoke to for this article, has died....

“He felt that the sound was as important as the song”, says Geoff Goddard.

So another Geoff Goddard to add to the pantheon as well as Geoff 'Cosworth' Goddard and Geoff 'photographer' Goddard!

I've got the "Alchemist of Pop" two-disc compilation, is the new four-disc box-set worth getting hold of?

Originally posted by mercw125


I vaguely remember a program (which I think was at Donington) with John Noakes in it where he was told not to change out of first gear in the car. Noakes being Noakes decided that was a touch OTT and then promptly spun the car in a very neat 360 upon changing up! He had a lot of respect for people who drove the cars after that.

This could of course all be imagined but it's reappeared from somewhere in the old brain!

Can't recall that bit - think you might be remembering his successor Simon Groom testing the Toleman F2 a few years alter?
As for GO WITH NOAKES there was another episode in which he had a go at hillclimbing at Harewood with a sports racing car. I seeme to recall something in one of the magazines at the time that mentioned endless re-runs up the hill in practice as the single camera was respositioned to give the impression of fully covering a single run! Then he stuck the car into a barrier and crumpled the nose a bit... but give the chap his due he would have a go at anything!

Talking of hillclimbing does anyone recall a one-off report from Shelsley in the late 80s/early 90s on Grandstand ? Archie McPherson was the reporter and had a blast in a saloon car I think. Desmond Lynham slepwalked his way through the intro as if the whole thing got in the way of the football results too much ...

Simon Lewis

Richard, why was your F3 Ensign used for a series about Special Saloons ? As for Noakes, I think the prog was based around the 1975 Oulton Good Friday F5000 race, the one where it snowed. I remember the Hill/Embasssy Shadow documentary from 1973, I'd love to see that again.

Originally posted by Mallory Dan
Richard, why was your F3 Ensign used for a series about Special Saloons ? As for Noakes, I think the prog was based around the 1975 Oulton Good Friday F5000 race, the one where it snowed. I remember the Hill/Embasssy Shadow documentary from 1973, I'd love to see that again.

Dan, the story was 'Ken Lark' was a well known ex-driver in his 40s , been 'on the bottle', been sacked by everyone he had ever driven for, full of angst, bad temper, cynicism about racing , now said he hated it and everone connected with it, still thought he was exceptionally gifted driver but had never been given a proper chance, and was now running an 'under the arches' back street one man road car repair workshop.
These two housewives talked him in to building this mini supersaloon (supposedly from her shopping car, - even though it was a spaceframe ! ) and setting it up on the track. His history was that amongst other successes he had been F3 champion. Despite doing a whole days filming (well for them that was about 2 mins footage ! ) and rolls and rolls of stills, when it came to the final cut , my car was just a still photo pinned to his office wall ! If you had seen the BBC in action then you would be in no doubt why the licence fee was so high !

The producer said to me "I hate doing this low budget stuff where you only have one car to crash and have to get the first take right" All the actors seemed to care about was when they went in to overtime !

The '73 Graham Hill documentary does exist , still in the hands of producer Tony Maylem , but for some unknown reason he will not re-issue it , or allow someone else to either. He did a lot of other motorsport film at the time as well. If anyone knows him , it was great material we would like to see it .

There is a John Leyton fan club page.......so I have asked about the film .....

......he was also in 'The Great Escape' and scores of other films......and is still touring with his own band !

I have a clear mental image of him in - or with - a Lotus 20
Can't remember whether it was a story of him wanting to be a racing driver, or signing up for the MRS school - or both

Just had a reply from the John Leyton fan club, they are seeing John later this week and will ask if he can recall the details

www.johnleytonofficial.com

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Lec CRP1

Glad to see someone else here knows about Joe Meek


That would be because I'm an even bigger music/broadcasting anorak than I am a petrolhead (maybe that's why I'm a radio DJ not a racing historian!).


[Quote] Originally posted by simonlewisbooks


But Meek did practically invent the modern multi-track studio style of recording I believe .



I think that accolade must go to Les Paul, who along with multi-tracking is the Father of the Solid Body Electric Guitar and various production effects such as phase shifting and close mic-ing and pre-dates Joe Meek by a good 15 years (and is, incidentally, still gigging, now well into his 90's)


Bacl OT, I believe Blue Peter did a series covering the building of a kit car (can't remember now if it was for Peter Purves or John Noakes), that would make pretty interesting viewing I would think.

I can only echo previous requests to see a GP with Clark at his peak from start to finish... Alas I wasn't born until '71, so Clark was before my time.

OT:

At a lecture last year, I had the privilege of hearing an early stereo recording engineered by Joe Meek in '58 at Broadhurst Gardens Studios (orchestral, not Pop) - must say it was pretty impressive in terms of clarity and space (Meek has been discussed here before hasn't he?)

Drifting further OT, but it's worth noting that, aside from Abbey Rd, AIR and a handful of elite facilities, recording studios kitted out with the latest equipment are dropping like flies into liquidation, yet studios such as Toerag who implement equipment dating back to the '50s and '60s are booked up months in advance.

Justin

Handley Page's aerodrome was at Radlett. De Havilland/Hawker Siddeley had an airfield at Hatfield (which only closed down in the late 1990s).

Some pictures of HP Radlett here if anyone's interested: http://www.controlto...k/R/Radlett.htm

Justin

hmmmm,

Looks like the vote is for a Joe Meek soundtrack

That's not a bad idea, early 60's motorracing footage backed by the etherial strains of 'Telstar' would be very worthwhile.

Dare I admit at this point that I've been broadcasting long enough to have been involved in the era when DJ's used signature tunes, and one of mine was the aforementioned.........I was born in 1965, but that track still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I think of it in the context of the period..........

Originally posted by flat-16
OT:

At a lecture last year, I had the privilege of hearing an early stereo recording engineered by Joe Meek in '58 at Broadhurst Gardens Studios (orchestral, not Pop) - must say it was pretty impressive in terms of clarity and space (Meek has been discussed here before hasn't he?)

Drifting further OT, but it's worth noting that, aside from Abbey Rd, AIR and a handful of elite facilities, recording studios kitted out with the latest equipment are dropping like flies into liquidation, yet studios such as Toerag who implement equipment dating back to the '50s and '60s are booked up months in advance.

Justin

Apparently, bands are getting bored with the synthetic sound of modern equipment, so they crave the old stuff to try and recreate "the old sound"............been going on for years and just proves that there's nothing new under the sun

Originally posted by flat-16
I can only echo previous requests to see a GP with Clark at his peak from start to finish... Alas I wasn't born until '71, so Clark was before my time.


Drifting further OT, but it's worth noting that, aside from Abbey Rd, AIR and a handful of elite facilities, recording studios kitted out with the latest equipment are dropping like flies into liquidation, yet studios such as Toerag who implement equipment dating back to the '50s and '60s are booked up months in advance.

Justin

Yerrrrrrrs, but places like Toerag that make records that sound like they were recorded under a pile of old coats with a £9.99 mono cassette recorder from Woolworths help to hide the fact that the White Stripes can't play.

Originally posted by petefenelon


Yerrrrrrrs, but places like Toerag that make records that sound like they were recorded under a pile of old coats with a £9.99 mono cassette recorder from Woolworths help to hide the fact that the White Stripes can't play.

Can't deny that, but for some reason I like 'em.

Bringing this thread back on topic : I've had a reply from my man at BBC Worldwide and it seems that Worldwide now don't have ANYTHING to do with releasing BBC Videos or CD's! It's now all in the hands of a company called 2Entertain Ltd., whom I'm now going to have to contact. I'll let you know what happens.

I've got the "Alchemist of Pop" two-disc compilation, is the new four-disc box-set worth getting hold of?

From what I've heard in Meek fandom circles, and looking up the tracklist on Amazon : disc one is mainly dull due to it's soft pop/MOR content (Joe Meek was the sound engineer); disc two is Meek's early productions just after he left the 'rotten pigs' down at Lansdowne Studios - there a some good tracks; disc three is the stuff you'd mostly associate with Meek, 'Johnny Remember Me', 'Telstar', 'Have I The Right' etc. - it's regarded as the best disc of the set; disc four is the mid-to-late sixties freakbeat stuff - not to my taste, but many would like it.

Bringing this thread back on topic : I've had a reply from my man at BBC Worldwide and it seems that Worldwide now don't have ANYTHING to do with releasing BBC Videos or CD's! It's now all in the hands of a company called 2Entertain Ltd., whom I'm now going to have to contact. I'll let you know what happens.

Yes, I remember the fuss that kicked up on Dr Who boards a few months ago. Part of an 'outsourcing for cost benefit' situation. 2Entertain are a company jointly owned by the BBC and another media group who I can't recall. And in the cases of popular or niche items, they even get outside DVD authoring contractors to do it for them, as they can't be bothered. Presumably the BBC archives have a large amount of motor racing in their tape and film library, but since motor sport isn't really part of the Beeb's current schedules, in the archives the the tapes and films will remain...

'jointly owned by the BBC and another media group who I can't recall.'
That would be VCI, who I think, are owned by EMI / Woolworths. So now, instead of having a contact within the company, I'm reduced to cold calling, I'm sure they'll see me as an anorak. Unfortunately, there's no e-mail addresses available for them.

Originally posted by Eric McLoughlin
Handley Page's aerodrome was at Radlett. De Havilland/Hawker Siddeley had an airfield at Hatfield (which only closed down in the late 1990s).

OK it wasn't in St Albans it was 2 miles south of St Albans Flat 16's website link gives comprehensive details

Originally posted by petefenelon


Whatever happened to the (Rendall-produced?) McLaren series The Team about their 1993 season?

"The Team" was an excellent series and did show some brief glimpses of the cat and mouse that Ron Dennis and Ayrton Senna were playing over their contract negotiations for that season and one scene showed some lovely awkward stilted conversation between them at an airport.

Another interesting scene was an embarrassed Mika Hakkinen at a test who couldn't understand from his telemetry where he was losing time, he thought he was faster than the other driver and the team were protecting his feelings very diplomatically - a contrast to a later episode in the series where as we all know he out qualified Senna on his race debut for the team.

I'm not sure a team today would allow such fly on the wall coverage.

David

This is the reply from the John Leyton fan club received this morning

Hi Richard,

Attached the picture of John at Brands Hatch.
John is very happy to do a piece on his day at Brands Hatch, so watch this space.
Now we would be pleased if you can quote our website address as suppliers of the 'news cuttings' picture www.johnleytonofficial.com
Perhaps you can assist us in John's quest to locate his 'e' type jag that he sold in the early 60's prior to his moving to the USA for film and TV work.
It was a 3.8 white 'e' type Reg 190 CRX......it would be great to locate it if it's not been scrapped.
On the subject of the TV drama, it could have been Mike Sarne, he was also an actor/singer and looked a bit like John, I say only 'could' be.
On the subject of old TV dramas/soaps etc a new website is being created by Graham Hayes and he has asked us to supply a picture of John and a 'bio' for the new site. Graham's 'e' mail address is grahamhayes1@hotmail.com , mention my name and he may be able to assist.
Will be in touch.
Best regards.
Steve

..........Anyone any ideas ?

Does he still have the Jag serial number?

Vince Howlett, Victoria, B.C., Canada

Originally posted by raceannouncer2003
Does he still have the Jag serial number?

Vince Howlett, Victoria, B.C., Canada

I'm afraid not Vince.

Just to let you all know, I have received a reply from 2Entertain (after a couple of subtle promptings!) and my note has at last been passed to the correct department (it had somehow found its' way to the music production people). Let's hope we get more positive news soon.

Originally posted by petefenelon


Whatever happened to the (Rendall-produced?) McLaren series The Team about their 1993 season? - to the best of my knowledge it's never been repeated and never appeared on video or DVD.

I taped that series and have it on VHS, havnt watched it for years. The best memory from it was when cosworth provided a new engine spec, asked in post testing debrief how the engine performed, Andretti said it was the same, Senna then went on for ages at how diferent it was explaining where it was better etc. that kind of summed up how poor Andretti was a driver that year.

It also highlighted the politics of the FIA with the banning of active suspension mid season, with the team chasing around to find Senna so he could test the passive car, only for the FIA to change it's mind and bring the ban into effect in 1994.

I've just got off the phone from having a chat with the guy at 2Entertain, the people who now release all BBC videos. The bottom line is.....................there won't be enough sales to warrant them producing a DVD. So...........dream on, lads!

looks like you'll have to put up with 'Yesterday's Racers'! LOL

Still waiting for Volume 2 Gary...

Which will arrive first?
Yesterdays Racers Volume 2 or DCN BRM Volume 3... place your bets here!

believe it or not, Rob, Volume 2 could well be here in the next 2-3 days!!

Same price?
I'll send a cheque

yep, £14.99 plus £1.50 postage & packing. Here endeth the commercial!

gary c, did 2entertain mention how many they need to sell to make it worthwhile. If you know how much do you think they are right or are they underestimating the potential interest

put it like this, they guy I talked to is the Executive Producer on the Jeremy Clarkson/Top Gear DVD's. He only looks at 'high end' sales, selling from people like WH Smith's. Tesco's etc. So, ANY motor racing DVD is not going to equal that 'mass appeal' market, therefore the outlets to sell 'our' video would be much less, i.e. special interest shops, museum shops, Duke Video etc., so the sales would be nowhere near what they would be interested in. FYI earlier in the year, I had talks with Duke Video, and the sales for the new end of season F1 review are about 10,000, so for something like we're talking about here, sales would be nowhere near that, I'm afraid. Therefore.....not worth their while, unfortunately! I had even offered to do the research at the BBC (as I used to work there), to get it done properly, but this didn't make any difference either.
Never mind, we can but hope.

one for DCN.... what were the sales figures for say vol 1 of MFQ. That has been sold via shops as well as internet it would be interesting to see how that stacks up sales wise considering 2entertains viewpoint of the amount of interest out there.

I've always wondered if companies like this when asked a question of them like you have, just fob people off with any old crap to get them to go away and leave them alone. If the interest isn't there, then how come we have companies making stuff covering the older motor racing?Seems to be enough interest for people to write books, make videos, paint pictures and run prints off them, create models etc. I don't know how many people are involved with this forum, but with lurkers and posters I don't get the impression its that small fry.

As far as your comment about duke video goes, I would be more interested in the sales figures of videos covering older series than the new f1 review to gauge the interest. Although your only quoting 1 outlet, I am surprised its that low. Consider for a moment the amount of people who go to the events and those who watch on it on tv.

I guess at the end of the day it's me who is unrealistic, but I look at the numbers going to classic car events racing and others, and 10000 doesn't seem a lot considering.

I do know for a fact that David Weg prints 1,000 DVD's of each MFQ. I've no idea if he's gone into a 'second run' for any of them.

Personally, I’d like to see more motorbike races available. Surely the BBC must have British championship races from pre-1996 in their archive...

probably do, but once again it's down to the amount of projected sales that doesn't make it viable (or, they can't be bothered!!)

Maybe I'm being naive, but if 2Entertain Ltd have the footage but no intention of issuing it commercially then they surely have an asset that is generating no revenue.

Therefore maybe they would consider selling on this asset to another party. One might presume that they would be happy to sell the aforementioned asset for a pretty small amount of money since by their own admission there is no real market for it.

Of course the other way to look at it is that the asset was generated in the first place through revenue earned from the TV Licence. So as a licence payer, I want a copy of all this stuff sent to me for free. This might make up for the appalling TV programmes on the BBC that I'm now forced to pay for even though I don't watch them !!

All perfectly logical in a perfect world ! But in today's money grabbing society we've got no chance !

Originally posted by Gary C
put it like this, they guy I talked to is the Executive Producer on the Jeremy Clarkson/Top Gear DVD's. He only looks at 'high end' sales, selling from people like WH Smith's. Tesco's etc. So, ANY motor racing DVD is not going to equal that 'mass appeal' market, therefore the outlets to sell 'our' video would be much less, i.e. special interest shops, museum shops, Duke Video etc., so the sales would be nowhere near what they would be interested in. FYI earlier in the year, I had talks with Duke Video, and the sales for the new end of season F1 review are about 10,000, so for something like we're talking about here, sales would be nowhere near that, I'm afraid. Therefore.....not worth their while, unfortunately! I had even offered to do the research at the BBC (as I used to work there), to get it done properly, but this didn't make any difference either.
Never mind, we can but hope.

There are shed loads of Clarkson videos in the 50p box at any charity shop. I've yet to see any historic motor sport videos thrown out.

Also with some of these retail groups there is a lot of

"You are the nineteenth person I've told today, - we don't stock it , there is no demand ! "

'Therefore maybe they would consider selling on this asset to another party. One might presume that they would be happy to sell the aforementioned asset for a pretty small amount of money since by their own admission there is no real market for it.'
Er......are we on the same planet? This is the BBC Archive (even if it's just the motorsport bit!) we're talking about. Try & buy that & it'll cost you millions !!