45 replies to this topic

[MickyD]

Many of you will remember Anthony Marsh, the long time resident commentator at Brands Hatch who went on to become the English language commentator at all F1 Grands Prix (before Bob Constanduros). Marsh was also Chairman of the Springfield Boys Club in east London much associated with motor racing celebs (Jackie Stewart is President and before him, Graham Hill) which did a lot of good work for the youth of Hackney.

I used to work for Anthony Marsh in the late seventies and early eighties origionally at UK events (especially at Brands) and later at F1 events as his "runner" based in the pitlane and paddock. I have great memories of those days and through him got to know many drivers and personalities of F1 during what was a great era! He was a real character who liked his G&T's, was not shy in showing his disdain for certain nationalities and even though his occasional intolerance and grouchiness was well known he had a heart of gold and did alot of good work for those less fortunate.

Anyway, I have been asked to write an article about him and I was wondering whether anyone out there has any anecdotes or interesting stories about the great man that I could refer to or to jog my memory?
Thanks

[jgm]

I always used to like Anthony Marsh as he was very much of the pre-'trousers-on-fire' commentating style. Nevertheless he used to annoy me a bit at every big event by not reading out the grid and associated lap times until the warm up lap was underway - so nobody heard a thing!

[Stephen W]

Arriving at Spa-Francorchamps in 1970 one of the first people I saw was Anthony Marsh, so I wandered over and had a chat about practice, the best place to watch etc. Fast forward to 1983 and who should I bump into again at the reconstituted Spa but Anthony Marsh. Another chat and armed with his enthusiastic comments I wandered off to Le Pouhon to watch open-mouthed.

He was a true enthusiast, always had time for the spectators and was a true gentleman. He was also a fine commentator whose understated style was in sharp contrast to ......

[sterling49]

Originally posted by Stephen W
He was also a fine commentator whose understated style was in sharp contrast to ......

Agree 100%, I was weened listening to Mr Marsh commentating, and so much preferred his style and delivery

[Alan Cox]

http://snap36.photob...4841793.jpghttp

Anthony Marsh on pit-lane duty with Jacques Lafitte

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by jgm
he used to annoy me a bit at every big event by not reading out the grid and associated lap times until the warm up lap was underway - so nobody heard a thing!

I think they teach people to do that at commentator-school ...a large proportion of them seem do exactly the same thing!

[CoulthardD]

If that's the case, do you hear anything during the race?

Do we need commentators?

David Coulthard

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by CoulthardD
If that's the case, do you hear anything during the race?

Not a lot, especially with hearing like mine (too many years around open exhausts but wouldn't have missed a second!) , but I guess we have our eyes for that bit.
Unless we can see the whole grid it kinda helps if the guy in the tower shares his inside information.
The tendency in some quarters is to whitter on for ten minutes about bu**er all while it's nice and quiet and then get down to business when its really too late.

[David McKinney]

In defence of the commentating fraternity, they frequently aren't given the information in time to give it out any earlier

On the other hand, there clearly is a school that teaches that station-platform announcements should be made when there's a train rattling through on the other line

[Stephen W]

Originally posted by David McKinney
In defence of the commentating fraternity, they frequently aren't given the information in time to give it out any earlier

On the other hand, there clearly is a school that teaches that station-platform announcements should be made when there's a train rattling through on the other line

That is assuming that the data they are given is correct and up to date!

[MickyD]

At overseas Grand Prix events poor Marsh often complained that the local commentary teams did not give him enough air time to satisfactorily give the English speaking fans what they needed, or he got the "worst" times, i.e. warm up laps! This was also the case when he was the pit lane commentator, usually at English speaking races such as the north American events. I remember at Long Beach in 1979 he almost had an on-air row with the local American announcer! As the guy who often had to deliver information to him from race control, FISA or the teams I can confirm it often arrived very late...

When back at "home", i.e. Brands Hatch for the GP and Race of Champoins, etc it became pretty difficult for anyone to get a word in edgeways once Brian Jones arrived on the scene! I'll never forget driving out of the almost empty car park with Marsh one evening after a Brands Grand Prix - the sun was setting on a beautiful July evening, the grandstands were empty, the teams had packed up and the circuit was almost deserted - but even as we drove off through the sunset and the by now quiet country lanes back towards the A20 we were laughing in amazement as we could still hear over the distant tannoys Brian yabbling on and on and on -to whom we had no idea! No offence to Brian, he was very good but boy, could he rabbit!

[fran0088]

Interesting thread this I have a mini cooper which used to belong to Mr Anthony Marsh the car has a Downton conversion and was used as a demonstrator at Lorraine engineering based at gunter grove in London, Lorraine were the London Agents for Downton I have an article from 1962 motoring news which has a half page article about the car Anthony Marsh the Downton conversion etc and how the car's seat had to be special modified for his tall frame… He was sales manger at Lorraine at the time this must hav been about 1963 the car had the number 1 ELY which had some connection with ely marshes, I know that Jackie Stewart wrote his abituary for the BRDC which I think you can still call up on there website I have been trying to get a history of the car up together for shows so any pics of the gent in action would be great

[Allan Lupton]

Originally posted by fran0088
Interesting thread this I have a mini cooper which used to belong to Mr Anthony Marsh the car has a Downton conversion and was used as a demonstrator at Lorraine engineering based at gunter grove in London, Lorraine were the London Agents for Downton I have an article from 1962 motoring news which has a half page article about the car Anthony Marsh the Downton conversion etc and how the car's seat had to be special modified for his tall frame… He was sales manger at Lorraine at the time this must hav been about 1963 the car had the number 1 ELY which had some connection with ely marshes, I know that Jackie Stewart wrote his abituary for the BRDC which I think you can still call up on there website I have been trying to get a history of the car up together for shows so any pics of the gent in action would be great

I think that's hill-climb champion Anthony Marsh, not commentator.
Confused a lot at the time, so easily done now . . .

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by Allan Lupton

I think that's hill-climb champion Anthony Marsh, not commentator.
Confused a lot at the time, so easily done now . . .

The hillclimbing Mr Marsh isn't very tall as far as I can recall.....and in the 60s wouldn't he have have been involved with the family's successful chain of butcher shops rather than car sales?

[Stephen W]

Originally posted by simonlewisbooks


The hillclimbing Mr Marsh isn't very tall as far as I can recall.....and in the 60s wouldn't have have been involved with the family's successful chain of butcher shops rather than car sales?

Spot on Simon. Tony Marsh, that's the hillclimber, is only about 5ft 8in tall and would not have needed the Mini's seat altering. I suspect in this instance the Anthony Marsh in question was the commentator who was over 6ft tall and like me would have found the standard Mini seat unbearable.

[Allan Lupton]

OK I'm confused, too!
So who's the subject of the "abituary"? Possibly another one still.

[Stephen W]

Originally posted by Allan Lupton
OK I'm confused, too!
So who's the subject of the "abituary"? Possibly another one still.

There are two people in question called Anthony Marsh.

Anthony Marsh the commentator, about whom this thread is about, and Anthony "Tony" Marsh who is a hillclimber, sprinter and circuit racer.

I am sure there must be other people named Anthony Marsh but we don't want to confuse matters.

[MickyD]

Originally posted by Allan Lupton
OK I'm confused, too!
So who's the subject of the "abituary"? Possibly another one still.

I would imagine the obituary (?) by JYS referred to by Fran0088 was for the commentator Anthony Marsh - they were good friends for many years and worked together as President/Chairman respectively for the Springfield Club. But I cannot find this obituary on the BRDC site so maybe it has been taken off now, unless anyone can tell me different...

[Stephen W]

Originally posted by MickyD



I would imagine the obituary (?) by JYS referred to by Fran0088 was for the commentator Anthony Marsh - they were good friends for many years and worked together as President/Chairman respectively for the Springfield Club. But I cannot find this obituary on the BRDC site so maybe it has been taken off now, unless anyone can tell me different...

The hillcimbing Tony Marsh is fit & well and was competing in his 4-w-d Marsh Special in the October Shelsley 60th Anniversary meeting.

[fran0088]

Sorry about the 'typo' I did mean obituary, fortunately the motoring news article I have states 'Anthony Marsh Race Commentator' so no confusion with the racing driver Tony Marsh the Motoring News article is dated December 13th 1962 and the Downton tuning leaflet has him down as Sales Manager at Lorraine Engineering. Which would tie in with Graham Macbeth's account below and reference to the motor trade.

The Obituary from the BRDC is as follows: Jackie Stewart's personal tribute to Anthony Marsh. The Springfield Boys Club historically has been motor racing's boys club it was originally assisted by Lord Essendon. The Presidency was then taken by Graham Hill who was incredibly active and provided great support to the club and the boys. When Graham died, I took over as president to work with a great man called Anthony Marsh. I have no fear of contradiction in saying had Anthony Marsh not given of himself so freely to the Springfield Boys Club it would certainly not be in existence today. The Boys Club, through his efforts has grown to be bigger and has grown now to include girls, which has led to its new name, the Springfield Club. It has run through his direction by volunteers who have in the large percentage of cases been boys who have graduated through the ranks, from the age of about nine, to take up serious responsibilities in the club today. Anthony Marsh has been little recognised for all he has done. He was a very proud Associate Member of the British Racing Drivers' Club and it is so sad that we as members lose him from amongst us but the springfield boys Club has lost its mentor.

And this was what Graham Macbeth had to say,
Former race commentator Anthony Marsh, an Associate member of the club since 1968, to whom the president paid tribute in the last BRDC Bulletin, died in St. Thomas' Hospital, London, on February 1st - he was 76.
Anthony's voice was recognised at race circuits the world over. When John Frankenheimer made his film 'Grand Prix' it was to Marsh that he turned for the authentic voice of motor racing as known to spectators in the film, his clear tones came out of race circuits just as they did from the loud speakers at the British Grand prix and lesser meetings at Silverstone , Brands Hatch, Aintree and virtually every other British track. Plus of course, English commentaries at Le Mans and the Grand Prix in France, Germany, Italy and at Monaco. He spoke with confidence and authority because of many years of learning the job and people within it, and as the confidant of many top line drivers. He began commentating in 1954, having spent three years dabbling in club racing with a rare Lotus MK3, while earning a living in the motor trade. He soon made race commentating a fully professional commitment, based at Brands Hatch, also taking responsibilities as Public Relations Manager, and eventually Manager of Motor Circuit Developments Group - which included Mallory Park, Oulton Park and Snetterton.
In his heyday as a commentator, Anthony contrived to combine the two great interests of his life at UK race meetings, while effectively raising the standards of race commentary to a significant degree. We shall miss him particularly for his dry wit and seemingly inexhaustible fund of amusing ( frequently rude and occasionally very acid) stories.

Certainly seemed a larger than life character! hope this helps

[MickyD]

Thanks very much for the above Fran.

[MickyD]

I think I took this one at Brands Hatch 1978...? Anthony Marsh and Carlos Reutemann.

[COUGAR508]

If you watch videos of F1 Grands Prix from the 60s,70s and 80s you can often hear Anthony Marsh's tones in the background.

I thought his voice-overs in the "Grand Prix" movie were perfect - they complemented the action but were never hysterical or over-stated.

[MickyD]

He did these voiceovers some time after fiming had been completed, from a little sound proof booth in a studio with a script, but with all the added "echo" / "tannoy" sound effects, etc it sounds good!

[COUGAR508]

Originally posted by MickyD
He did these voiceovers some time after fiming had been completed, from a little sound proof booth in a studio with a script, but with all the added "echo" / "tannoy" sound effects, etc it sounds good!

His contributions were obviously tailored to be instructive and educational to casual motor racing fans who were watching the movie, but they never appeared patronising or condescending.

[simonlewisbooks]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned but were'nt these sections scripted by journalist Bill Gavin ?

[billgavin]

I did write the race commentaries for John Frankenheimer's GRAND PRIX. Tony Marsh and the French Commentator (Tony Franklin?) were flown out to LA where they were recorded. We could not get the right sound in the recording or effects studios so we set up a loudspeaker on the MGM lot, played the recorded commentaries and re-recorded them. This had to be done at night - one of my many all-nighters during post production - it was surreal, these English, German and Italian racing commentaries reverberatng around the deserted studio. I think we used the term "futz" to describe the ludspeaker effect. The sound editor Gordon Daniel won an Oscar for his efforts. Bill Gavin

[David McKinney]

Welcome to the club, Bill
I'm sure you'll find plenty here to enjoy, and I hope you can share some of your stories with us

[Alan Cox]

Hear, hear. Welcome, Bill. Like David (and, I'm sure, very many others here) we look forward to your input and sharing of memories. Off topic, am I correct in thinking that you had some connection with the Hugh Hudson "Fangio" film - or, at least, in attempts to get it re-released?

[billgavin]

Yes, twice. when I was MD at GTO Films in 1973-78 I contracted with Giovanni Volpi for the rights but I got head-hunted by 20th Centry Fox to be General Manager at their Australian subsidiary Hoyts Theatres Ltd and my successor at GTO was not interested in Fangio.

In 1984 when I was leaving Goldcrest to establish Gavin Film Hugh Hudson rang me, I contacted Volpi again and I organised a release at The Gate cinema in Notting Hill. But Volpi insisted that we release his cut, not Hugh's. My patience was exhausted.

It's a wonderful film, even more emotive now that Juan Manuel has died.

[MickyD]

Bill - have you seen the other post on this Nostalgia Forum called "Grand Prix - the out takes"?
It is all about the film and there are some interesting snippets, I'm sure you would enjoy reading this and no doubt add some!

[flat-16]

What years was Anthony resident at Brands?

Has the Fangio film ever been released on video or DVD? There's very little info in Google about the film, which is surprising considering the reputation of its director...

Great thread btw!


Justin

[sterling49]

Originally posted by flat-16
What years was Anthony resident at Brands?

Has the Fangio film ever been released on video or DVD? There's very little info in Google about the film, which is surprising considering the reputation of its director...

Great thread btw!


Justin

I am pretty sure he was resident in the '60's, it was such a great voice to hear from the old Tannoy system

[jgm]

Anthony Marsh was commentator-in-residence at Brands well into the 70s.

[Alan Cox]

Originally posted by flat-16
Has the Fangio film ever been released on video or DVD? There's very little info in Google about the film, which is surprising considering the reputation of its director...

No, sad to say that it hasn't. As Bill mentioned, contractual complications meant that it wasn't pursued at the time. I was lucky enough to see it once at a special screening at the National Film Theatre on the South Bank when a friend of mine in the video business was trying to pursue the possibility of release. It was a great film and really must be released some time. There is, of course, the book by Jenks which was tied in with the film.

http://www.abebooks....3&sts=t&x=0&y=0

[flat-16]

Thanks to all of you for the info.

Having tried a search, it appears that the Fangio film hasn't had a dedicated thread here before, so - rather than derail this excellent Marsh thread - I'm going to take the liberty of starting one.




Justin

[Charles Helps]

Originally posted by fran0088
And this was what Graham Macbeth had to say,


He began commentating in 1954, having spent three years dabbling in club racing with a rare Lotus MK3, while earning a living in the motor trade.

A very small point but Tony Marsh bought his Lotus Mk3B, road registered ONK 408, from its constructor Adam Currie some time between the autumn of 1953 and 27th March 1954 when Marsh first raced the car at Goodwood so the chronology isn't quite correct here.

[MickyD]

Anthony Marsh was resident at Brands even late fifties I believe but certainly sixties and seventies. In the late seventies as Marsh was doing all the F1 Brian Jones arrived on the scene and became the "voice of Brands". At about this same time Mike "Snowflake" Smith, he of later TV fame and husband of Sarah Greene, was for a while the 'presenter' at Brands Hatch, working with Brian with extra little bits and bobs, i.e. driver interviews, etc. In fact Mike Smith applied for the presenter/anchorman job at ITV when they took over F1 from the beeb and was apparantly quite upset when Jim Rosenthal got it instead.

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by MickyD
In fact Mike Smith applied for the presenter/anchorman job at ITV when they took over F1 from the beeb and was apparantly quite upset when Jim Rosenthal got it instead...

...Given Mr Rosenthal's lack of background in the sport, I'm not surprised!

[Kingsleyrob]

I've been driven to a spot of nostalgia seeking by WeeScot's splendid audio of his visit to the 1968 German Grand Prix - well worth a listen, especially to the tones of Anthony Marsh, WeeScot's driver interviews and his dad's narrative .  It's a marvellous hour of treasured memories.  

 

So I visited YouTube to recall my visit to the British Grand Prix in 1969 as a fourteen year old - my first GP but not my first exposure to Formula One as I'd been privileged to see the three litre cars at Oulton Park Gold Cups since 1966. 

 

Here is the link - oops for some reason I can't copy and paste the address -  please Google British GP 1969 YouTube to access.   

 

My question is this - if Anthony Marsh was commentating for the BBC as per the YouTube video, who was commentating at the circuit?  I have my programme stashed away somewhere but it's far quicker to access the collective knowledge of TNF than find it.

 

Rob

Edited by Kingsleyrob, 04 March 2014 - 19:24.

[Tim Murray]

Here is the link - oops for some reason I can't copy and paste the address -  please Google British GP 1969 YouTube to access.   

This one, Rob?

 

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=uZQyqbXb6fw

[Kingsleyrob]

Yes Tim, thanks! It still won't work for me when I try to paste it here, but will paste onto an email. What's going on??

 

Rob 

[Tim Murray]

It's all part of the continuing problems following the software 'upgrade' last August, Rob, and seems to be linked to the operating systems and browsers different people use. Some people can't post links or photos, others (including me) have to create smileys from scratch as they no longer appear in the reply box, others can no longer do quotes, etc etc. The new software is a pig's ear, basically, and the tech people appear to have given up trying to fix it.

[Kingsleyrob]

Ah, it's not me then.  I can't post a link but I have easy access to smileys  

 

I think I know what's more useful.

 

So...who did commentate at the 1969 British Grand Prix, or did Anthony split himself in two?

 

Incidentally it was interesting to hear the difference between Anthony's TV broadcast voice and his "live at the circuit voice", faithfully created by Bill Gavin (see posts above) for Grand Prix, and in WeeScot's splendid audio. 

 

Rob  

[2F-001]

That was my first Grand Prix meeting too, Rob.

I seem to remember Peter Scott Russell (?) commentating at the circuit, but I don't recall if he was alone or whether he had a partner in the box or out at Stowe.

[Robin Fairservice]

My memories from Brands Hatch from 1954 to 1960 are of John Bolster doing the race commentaries.  On one day I was a working in the Timekeeper's box, and was taking timing information into John's cubby hole.  I remember that there was a crate of beer under his table!