(O/T) TELSTAR - THE MOVIE ANOMALIES

[Arpeggio]

Thanks everyone. The only Shadows connection is that they did a cover version of "Telstar"!! LOL. Seriously though - Clem Cattini and Bruce Welch are very good friends. Naturally, the Shadows' career lasted far longer than the Tornados and, over the years - the Shadows have sold far more records. But, Clem still winds Bruce up by reminding him that "Telstar" was the very first record by a British group to hit No.1 in the American charts. Bruce still wishes that Joe Meek had offered "Telstar" to the Shadows!!

Rob

[captainhaddock]

Had the Shadows version of Telstar been released at the same time as the Tornadoes version, it would have been interesting to see which one would have achieved the greatest success. It grieves me to say, I believe that the best version has to be by The Tornadoes. It has a "futuristic" sound that befits the subject matter, wheras The Shadows version simply sounds what it is, a cover version. I have to admit to being disappointed when I first heard it, and the feeling remains

[dave robinson]

Had the Shadows version of Telstar been released at the same time as the Tornadoes version, it would have been interesting to see which one would have achieved the greatest success. It grieves me to say, I believe that the best version has to be by The Tornadoes. It has a "futuristic" sound that befits the subject matter, wheras The Shadows version simply sounds what it is, a cover version. I have to admit that it was a big disappointment when I first heard it.

You are right, the freshness and energy was in the sound of the Tornadoes version.The Shadows version of Telstar by comparison is rubbish, they should have left it alone. It's just like some other bunch of clowns releasing Apache, I believe that recording wise you should have respect for classics.

[Uncleboko]

It was the guitar solo that originally drew me to this record, not much else really. To this day I think the drumming is awful - very twee, which is probably down to Joe Meek. I always wished this had been covered by The Bunch on their "Rock On" album, with Dave Mattacks' powerhouse drumming as on That'll be the Day!

[cockroach]

Pity everyone seems to think the film was rubbish..

I was looking forward to seeing it one day..

Save the money?

[dave robinson]

Pity everyone seems to think the film was rubbish..

I was looking forward to seeing it one day..

Save the money?

It's not rubbish 'roach, that's just the opinion of a few . . . . . . . I enjoyed it - whatever.

[RayL]

To this day I think the drumming is awful - very twee, which is probably down to Joe Meek.

.

Clem's only audible contribution to Telstar is the 'galloping' rhythm which he plays on his closed hi-hat using brushes (you can hear him open it and let it ring for fractions of a second after the key-change to D). Because of the many overdubs any other drums are just lost in the background but there is certainly no snare to hold the beat - it is all down to the hi-hat rhythm (in the same way another world-famous No.1 record (Rock Around The Clock) has no regular snare, the beat is maintained by the slap bass).

The lead line for Telstar was played (during a thunderstorm!) by Geoff Goddard using Joe's simple one-note-at-a-time Clavioline keyboard. The melody was later overdubbed by Peter Knight of The Moontrekkers a day or so later. He played an octave higher and an octave lower to make the sound stronger. Peter now owns that very Clavioline (he bought it after Joe's death) and you can see Peter talking about it on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBmZA8fzOLk.

Ray

[captainhaddock]

Pity everyone seems to think the film was rubbish..

I was looking forward to seeing it one day..

Save the money?

It's not rubbish 'roach, that's just the opinion of a few . . . . . . . I enjoyed it - whatever.

I enjoyed it as well and have even bought a copy on DVD for a fiver. It actually works on more than one level, not just for the music, it has an interesting story, wonderful cars from my favourite era and the chance to play spot the cameo. The inaccuracies can be overcome with the aid of Rob's article and provide a great chance to shout at the screen as well.

[alewis41]

Pity everyone seems to think the film was rubbish..

I was looking forward to seeing it one day..

Save the money?

It's not rubbish 'roach, that's just the opinion of a few . . . . . . . I enjoyed it - whatever.

I enjoyed it as well and have even bought a copy on DVD for a fiver. It actually works on more than one level, not just for the music, it has an interesting story, wonderful cars from my favourite era and the chance to play spot the cameo. The inaccuracies can be overcome with the aid of Rob's article and provide a great chance to shout at the screen as well.

I really liked the movie. For all the inaccuracies it captures Meek's bizarre life and death in an entertaining and informative way. The "truth" would have been disturbing also!

[HAIRY]

I have read this thread with interest and appreciate the time taken to list the 'corrections'.

On a more general point, I believe film makers should make greater effort to balance their moral responsibility to be factually accurate with that of the commercial imperative to squeeze the last drop of emotive story telling from non fiction, as it can cause deep offense.

If my father in law's reaction to The Bridge over The River Kwai is anything to go by, I can sympathise with those involved directly or indirectly with Telstar.

Put it another way. What is the point of a biopic it it is not true?