On BBC2 tonight....

[stephen]

Whilst I appreciate that most of us romantic, caring & thoughtful gentlemen will be fulfilling their Valentine's night 'obligations' this evening and treating their wives/girlfriends/partners to a special night out, or at the very least as far as the less affluent of us (like me!) are concerned, will be cooking them a nice meal, it might be worth setting the PVR for these two.....

10.05 THE DAVE CLARK FIVE & BEYOND:GLAD ALL OVER. Documentary examining the impact & legacy of the London band......

12.30 TELSTAR: THE JOE MEEK STORY. Biopic of the influential producer & songwriter...........

I was no great fan of The Dave Clark Five, but I'm sure that this docu. will be of some period interest, so might just be worth a watch.

Telstar has quite a good cast including one of my favourite screen actors (Kevin Spacey). Pity that James Corden is in it as well though......
Hopefully this will be good, as Joe Meek was an 'interesting' character to say the least.
Stephen.

[Stratgirl]

Telstar is execllent. Keep a look out for Rob Bradford looking a window and in a shop.

[neil2726]

Are not Colin price Jones and a couple of the other Rapiers also in there somewhere?

[anniv 63]

Clem Cattini must cringe at his portrayal in the film by James Corden!!!
A lot of inaccuracies such as a tape recorder flung out the window rather than down stairs.
Worth a watch once only, as really the final part of Joe Meeks demise is very grim and depressing to watch,
even though its integral to the story.

Mike

[Billyboygretsch]

Dave Clark 5 with Burns 6 String Split Sonic bass

[dave robinson]

I enjoyed he DC5 documentry.
I have the DVD of Telstar.

[JimN]

The DC5 doc was brilliant.

Genuinely informative: I was not aware of their material from the later sixties, when they sounded almost psychedelic and progressive. Mind you, I was surprised by their fifteen consecutive hits in that period. I didn't recall many from the second half of the decade and can only assume that the later hits registered in the USA rather than the UK.

But even without the history of the group, and the reminder of all their achievements, the film and video archive was fascinating. I'd forgotten that Mike Smith and Denny Payton sometimes played guitar instead of keyboards and saxophone respectively. And there were an incredible array of contemporary guitars and basses on display, including:

Gibson 330
Fender Stratocaster (sunburst)
Rickenbacker 365 (6-string)
Burns Split Sound 6-string bass
Vox Phantom Mk VI (white - played by Denny Payton)
Vox VG6 guitar (1969-ish MIJ copy of Gretsch Country Gentleman)
Vox VG4 bass (1969-ish MIJ copy of Gretsch double-cut bass)
Gibson J45 (played by Danny Peyton)
Fender Precision Bass (sunburst, used c. 1963/64, well used and worn)
Fender Precision Bass (black with tort [unlikely factory combination] - might have been the above refinished)
Fender Jazz Bass (sunburst)
Vox Symphonic Bass (UK-made Precision-esque, in white)
Vox Soundcaster guitar (UK-made Stratalike, in white).

And an unbelievable display of Vox amplification ranging from the AC30 to the AC100 Beatle amp.

But just the one double-manual Vox Continental organ.

[Fenderman]

I would have loved to have seen this and i missed it! DAMN!

[JimN]

It's still on the BBC iPlayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=The+Dave+Clark+Five+and+Beyond%3A+Glad+All+Over

[drakula63]

Mindful of the fact that there may be a few DC5 fans here that I wouldn’t want to offend, last Saturday’s ‘Glad All Over – The Dave Clark Five and Beyond’ was the perfect example of what happens if someone makes a documentary about himself. The end result seemed very self-aggrandising and at two hours in length, very extravagant. The story could have been told very comfortably in half the time and all I came away from it knowing was that the DC5 were very popular for a short amount of time (as are many ‘pop’ groups) and that they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show 18 times. That really was it. Although their music seemed pleasant enough, I got the feeling that they did little more than ride into America on the wave created by the Beatles. You could have made much the same documentary about The Sweet, The Bay City Rollers or Duran Duran. Nowhere in those 120 minutes did I learn anything of value about what made the band or Dave Clark tick or the extent of their influence or importance in the grand scheme of things. They were popular for a while and Dave Clark was canny enough to own the band’s master tapes. And that really was it. As I say, that’s what happens when someone makes a documentary about himself or his band with no impartial editorial input whatsoever. Was it really worth two hours of air time on BBC Two?