Telstar, and the man who changed the way music is made...

Unfortunately Olivia and I still on the outside and kind of view the music industry as this whole big world that, granted we'd love to be a part of, but is a strange and complex business that we can only hope to understand.
Due to this, I also do love a good film about it, the fantastical and overdrawn the better. I'm a bit of a movie geek myself and have an almost embarrassingly large DVD collection... so I thought I'd share some thoughts on some of my more musical ones.

This is a bit of a weird post as it is about a film, Telstar, but also about the man that the film itself was based on; Joe Meek.

I must admit, I originally was drawn to the film for it's cast, and the fact that I do have a weakness for a British film... however, through it I discovered a new love and admiration for the great man that was Joe Meek.

Telstar boasts a varied casts of British talent with well loved actors (Kevin Spacey, James Corden, Ralph Little, Pam Ferris, Nigel Harman) as well as showcasing some well known musical faces (Carl Barat of The Libertines, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and ermm... Jon, from S Club 7).

The film itself shows the life of the legend. Set in the early sixties, it follows Joe Meek as he sets up his infamous studio at 105 Holloway Road, turning down The Beatles, and life as a gay man in the wrong decade. The film (and the superb acting from Con O'Neill) portray the confined, hectic centre of Joe Meek's world, and the collapse of it around him.
The film tackles the musical invention, the business aspects of fame and gain, the personal issues and the breakdown of a man simultaneously and all well covered.

So, if like me, you're a movie fan, you love the music of the sixties, and if the idea of a film about an obsessive compulsive, jealous, paranoid musical legend then it's a film for you. But in all honestly, it really is a great piece of cinema, about a man who deserves all of the praise he's given, living in a horrible situation... and it's got a brilliant soundtrack...

Amie x