Cast: Con O’Neill, Tom Burke, Kevin Spacey, Ralf Little
Director: Nick Moran
Screenwriters: James Hicks, Nick Moran

Remember a time when people were excited about a new record? An actual piece of vinyl, painstakingly recorded, not a digital download or a video on MTV?

Such enthusiasm was portrayed by Robert George ‘Joe’ Meek (O’Neill), a pioneering songwriter/producer who concocted a string of hits in the 1960s and whose curious tale is captured by first time film director, Nick Moran.

Transferring his and James Hick’s stage play of the same name, Moran assembles a cast of British talent to tell the rise and eventual downfall of Meek, a talented producer whose techniques still influence studio production today, who finally succumbs to a world of paranoia and disillusion.

Some of the brightest musical minds are represented here like Chas Hodges (Little) before he went ‘Snooker Loopy’, Clem Cattini (James Corden) who went on to drum for The Kinks and Geoff Goddard (Tom Burke), a pianist who was Meek’s right hand pianist during the golden times.

Meek’s business partner is Major Wilfred Banks (Spacey). Banks injects loud one-liners and money into Meek’s blossoming music business, renting a flat from the long-suffering Mrs Shenton (Pam Ferris), purchasing equipment and paying for band publicity.

Meek will do anything to have number one records in the charts, and he puts his musicians through pains to get there. Publicity stunts and intense recording sessions abound. But cross Meek, just once, and you are out on the street, equipment following behind. The script zips along nicely, with black comedy and sweet sentiment flowing back and forth between all involved.

Trouble begins when Meek, a closet homosexual, begins an affair with aspiring singer Heinz Burt (JJ Field). Lavishing him with all the trappings of a rock star, and making him the headliner of UK tours, distracts Meek and eats away the Major’s funds.

However, at the start of their affair, while watching a documentary about the Telstar satellite, Meek has an epiphany and eventually records the song ‘Telstar’ which tops the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Forever banking on the royalties he’ll make from this success, Meek continues to work round-the-clock on a series of degenerating ideas. Surviving on a diet of coffee and slimming pills, he eventually alienates all around him. Frustrated when people can’t understand him, run-ins with the police and a spiral into madness add up to a dramatic conclusion.

Some cameos raise a smile, notably Justin Hawkins as Screaming Lord Sutch and the actual Chas Hodges as a grumpy old man. Some scenes of the film are re-enactments of stories as gathered from the people involved at the time, adding to the authenticity.

For his first time behind the camera, Moran directs with a fluid style and has some fun along the way (like when the camera disappears up an exhaust pipe as Meek approaches a seedy male toilet). The mise en scène is convincing and the soundtrack adds to the authenticity.

As the Major warns Meek: “Spreading yourself so thin before establishing yourself is more than a risk.� On this showing, I’d say Moran is more than comfortable behind the camera as he is in front of it.

Telstar out on DVD now via Momentum Pictures

By James Barrett