The producer is usually the master behind the craft, not to put the musicians down by any means, but the producer is the one who takes the vision into reality. And what better producer to talk about than Joe Boyd. The name may be familiar to a few, but for those who don’t know, Joe Boyd is an American producer who has quite an impressive resume. When talking about producers, the conversation usually sways toward Sir George Martin or Brian Eno, but today we are here to talk about Joe Boyd.

Boyd became involved in the music world after he graduated from Harvard in 1964. He began as a tour manager working with the greats such as Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Thorpe, Stan Getz, etc. I can only imagine the amount he learned from them which shaped his career. As well as being involved with the sound of Blues and Jazz, Boyd was part of the folk world most famously being involved in the Newport folk festival, in 1965, when Dylan went electric. In 1966, Boyd along with John Hopkins opened the nightclub U.F.O, something familiar to Pink Floyd fans. By this time, Boyd was living in the UK and became involved with Elektra records and where the producing journey starts. U.F.O was a short-lived psychedelic nightclub where early Pink Floyd would perform.

Pink Floyd

Joe Boyd produced Pink Floyd’s first single ‘ Arnold Layne’ though this would be the only time Boyd would work with Pink Floyd. ‘Arnold Layne’, is a three-minute pop psychedelic tune showing off Syd Barrett’s playful and fun lyrics. ‘Arnold Layne’ is about a cross-dresser who steals women’s clothing from people’s washing lines. ‘Arnold Layne’ is still very much loved by Pink Floyd fans despite being a very different tune to the Pink Floyd we’re used to, but something that’s especially loved about ‘Arnold Layne’ is showing Syd Barrett at his prime before he would retire from music in 1974.

The Incredible String Band

The Incredible string band (or who I will now be referring to as ISB) was discovered by Boyd in 1965 and was soon signed to Elektra records. ISB was a unique band that would involve a variety of instruments in their songs including mandolin, oud, sitar, gimir, etc. Boyd would produce 7 ISB albums, and though they never achieved huge commercial success, they did have a strong following as they do today.

Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention has often been described as the British version of Jefferson Airplane.   Boyd first met Fairport Convention in 1967, and would eventually sign them on to Polydor records. It’s safe to say that Joe Boyd is essential to the Fairport sound, firstly Joe Boyd introduced them to a then-unknown Joni Mithcell and in the early days, they would cover many of her songs. In 1968, Sandy Denny would join Fairport as their female singer. Fairport has been an on-and-off band for many years, regularly having people leaving the band, but it’s safe to say when Denny was involved those were their most beloved years. She wasn’t in the band for long and departed from the band in late 1969. Denny would start her new band, Fotheringay, another band that Joe Boyd would be the producer for. Denny eventually started her solo career, but unfortunately died in 1978.

John Martyn/Beverley Martyn

In 1970, Joe Boyd would sell his production label ‘witchseason’ to Island. John Martyn, who had been signed to Island records since 1967. Martyn and his wife, Beverly Martyn, released two albums in 1970, Stormbringer and The road to ruin, both produced by Boyd. Unfortunately, after the release of The road to ruin Island records wanted John Martyn to be a solo act, and so Beverly was pulled out. I wished they would have pushed for her to have a solo career of her own, she’s a beautiful singer. 

Nick Drake

  And lastly, but certainly not least Nick Drake. Fairport Convention’s bass player Ashley Hutchings, discovered Nick when he was performing at the roundhouse, and recommended him to Boyd. Boyd was severely impressed with Drake’s playing with his choice of tuning and complicated chords as well as the varied musicians he was influenced by. Boyd has often been described as a mentor to Nick throughout his music career. Boyd would produce Nick’s first two albums Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter. Nick, when recording Five Leaves Left, was a student at Cambridge, and by the time the album was finished Nick had decided to not complete his third year and focus on his music. His parents had their doubts and wanted him to reconsider his options, however, when he decided to leave Cambridge his parents were still supportive of him and his music career. Although Nick was shy, he was very much part of what he wanted for his albums. For example, It was Nick’s idea to have Robert Kirby do the string arrangements. For Bryter Layter, Boyd was inspired by Leonard Cohen’s song ‘so long, Marianne’ when recording ‘Poor boy’. Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter had failed commercially which began Nick’s depression. After the release of Bryter Layter, Boyd left the UK for America to work with Warner Bros. Nick’s final album, Pink Moon, would only involve him and sound engineer John Wood (another man who’s essential to the sound with the acts Joe has worked with). Joe Boyd kept in contact with Nick, making sure he was okay as his depression had worsened. In November 1974, Nick died from an overdose of antidepressants. Although he wasn’t successful at the time, he has since gained a huge following.

And while there are plenty more artists that Boyd has worked with over the years, there are in my opinion some of his bests. We are extremely lucky that Joe Boyd recognised the talents and potential they all had to share with the world. From what I have read, Joe Boyd wasn’t just a great producer but an incredible mentor who always supported his acts making them comfortable the best way he could. He cared about their well-being more than anything else not only shown by the support he gave Nick when he struggled to perform live but by, for example, when Fairport was involved in a car accident. It’s interesting that those he worked with described him as a meteor for he was only a couple of years older than them all!

 And if you want to learn more about Joy Boyd, may I recommend you to read his autobiography ‘White bicycles’ which I’m in the process of reading myself, but so far it has been a fascinating insight into the music world. 

     A 2018 article by BBC news written by Sarah Lee, wrote on how the musical Hair “changed theatre forever”, which is correct however, its impact has had a greater influence than just theatre. 

   Hair was written by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and premiered on Broadway in April 1968. It follows the ‘tribe’ and their way of living through the hippie, psychedelic age of the late 1960s. At the time, Hair was seen as hugely controversial for its perspective on race, sexuality, and the Vietnam war, and of course also for the nude scene which shocked viewers leaving some to leave halfway through. Despite this, when released Hair received numerous positive reviews.  

   To understand the cultural impact of hair, it’s important to understand the political and social problems the decade of the 60s was facing at the time. The Vietnam war began in 1955. Many people, especially the youth, were against the Vietnam war for its violence. A country that had previously let many people down with its allowance of discriminatory behavior, was now a country that expected the men to fight and risk their lives because of the actions of the American government.

 Racial discrimination during this time is also something to consider. The leaders of the civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Angela Davis, etc were doing everything they could to make a change on the racism of their country. 

  Sexuality was almost unheard of during the 1960s, it was a heteronormative society and no one questioned wherever someone could be anything but straight. 

  And finally, the drugs had a huge impact in the late 1960s on what we now know was the psychedelic age. It would have a huge impact on the music, movies, and youth during this time. 

  All of these themes are explored in Hair, showing from the perspective of the ‘tribe’.

   ⅓ of the cast of hair were African-American which was something completely unheard of during the 1960s. Many theater productions included a completely white cast, and it was difficult for anyone who wasn’t white to get jobs in that area due to the high racism at the time. Hair was not only a chance to show the talents of a more racially diverse cast but to also use that opportunity to share to the audience the racism and discrimination of that time. Hair doesn’t romanticise the 1960s by showing a community of people living freely and in peace, it rather takes time to show that one of the biggest problems with America was the attitude towards the issue of racism. It also addresses interacial relationships which had been legalised since 1967 with the influence of the Lovings case in which Mildred and Richard Loving fought for their right to marry each other. However, interracial relationships were still the subject of taboo during the time. Hair addressed the political and social issues of the time and addressed them for people to see. Why Hair influenced American culture is that they didn’t hold back, this can be proven with its infamous nudity scene. 

  In the late 60s, talking against the Vietnam war was seen as controversial. To criticize the direction of the government, and to do something about it was uncommon for youths to do. In today’s society, our generation is more political, and the root of this happening started in the 60s. America during this time, with Richard Nixon just winning the election, was a right-wing country. Nixon’s beliefs went completely against what the counterculture was for the bohemian world.  Hair was a musical celebrating the new way of thinking, to go against living in a traditional way.

The word “hippie” was never used in Hair, and I think the reasoning for this is because Hair isn’t meant to be just for the bohemians in the world, it’s meant for everyone. After 50 years, Hair is still remembered as being so ahead of its time, along with its beautiful music.  

   The views on sexuality through Hair were also ahead of their time. It was the first-ever musicall on stage to show a same-sex kiss. As homosexuality was illegal in America at the time, this was groundbreaking at the time. Its view on free sexuality comes from the fact that the creators of Hair, Gerome Ragni, and James Rado, were in a relationship when making Hair. The characters, Claude and Berger, were based on them. 

   In 1979, director Milos Forman (most well known for his film adaptation of ‘One flew over the cuckoo’s nest’), would adapt ‘Hair’ into a movie. While the movie received positive reviews, both creators of ‘Hair’ (Gerome Ragni and James Rado) disapproved of the movie, and I can see why. While the film version is nice to watch, I don’t believe it accurately captures what made the original musical so special. It doesn’t have the shock as did the original, nor does it address the issues raised as the original did. I believe that the film version of ‘Hair’ is a more commercialised view on the counterculture during that time.  

  Going back to the BBC article, did Hair change theatre? of course. However, its influence goes beyond that. Hair broke rules, and by doing that they changed culture. While other factors in American history would of course influence change, I believe that Hair had its part. ‘Hair’ being so rebellious at the time is the reason why after 50 years it is still being talked about. While living in a dark world, ‘Hair’ is a musical that reminds us as people to ‘let the sunshine in’, something we can often forget to do. 

One of the things that stuck to me while reading ‘Remembered for a while’ was the beautiful friendship between Nick Drake and John Martyn. In the book, many people talked about how John was always protective of Nick, especially knowing how fragile Nick could be, he tried his best to make sure Nick wasn’t hurt.

My interest in their friendship was further captivated when I read an article by Graeme Thomson written for The Guardian. They interview people such as Beverly Martyn (John’s ex Wife and Nicks friend) and Paul Wheeler (both good friends to Nick and John, and was the one who introduced the two together). Obviously Nick and John’s friendship was special enough to write about, and for people to read.

Nick and John’s connection happened before the two even met. The song ‘Sandy Gray’ was covered on John’s 1967 album ‘London Conversation’. This song was written by Robin Frederick about Nick when she met him in Aix-en-Provence, France while he was there on a three month course. Not long after meeting Nick she met John, and through her he discovered her song and decided to cover it. The words of Robin for Nick connected with John somehow.

https://youtu.be/SK4tU1TEXAc

There are many friendships in the music world, Elton John and Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty, David Bowie and Marc Bolan and more, So what makes Nick and John stand out? After all, there’s not much known about Nick, and after Nick’s cult following grew after his death, John was reluctant to talk about Nick.

I wouldn’t want to analyse their friendship too much, they were just two guys who bonded over music, but it’s from just reading about Nick and John you can tell their friendship was strong, both having a deeper understanding of each other.

In 1973, John Martyn recorded ‘Solid Air’, Johns second song about Nick, but this time it’s written about himself. It’s a hauntingly beautiful, a honest insight of how lost Nick was at the time, but also a way for John to say to Nick that despite not knowing “what’s going on inside”, he’d still love him and follow him anywhere.

https://youtu.be/O8Blccc0PM0

When you think about it, Nick and John were complete opposite to each other. An introvert and extrovert, middle class, working class, a soft voice, a loud voice. What makes their friendship different from the others in the music world is that there’s was more intense, like how Nick and Johns friend Linda Thompson said it was very “Greek” like. It was caring relationship and very meaningful. When Nick was going through his depression, Nick would spend time in Hastings where John and Beverley lived. He would go play his guitar, stay for the weekend and sometimes babysit their children.

It’s funny how Nick and John became friends, as said before they were completely opposite from each other, but their feelings towards each other was the same. John treated Nick like a lost little child, while also encouraging Nick with his music. Perhaps for Nick being with John and Beverley gave him a sense of calm, it was at their house where he would write the beautiful, breezy song ‘Northern Sky’. John and Beverley knew Nick was something else with his music, and like many other wished Nick had the confidence everyone else had in Nick.

I’m conflicted on wherever I would’ve changed things for the kinks if I could. If I had the power to stop them from being banned from America, would I? It frustrates me how underappreciated the kinks are, however, In some ways, they feel like my treasure that I discovered. That sounds egotistical of me, I am not the only person in the world who knows who the kinks are surprisingly. I can sometimes be sitting on the bench in a park and look at the people passing at me and think “wow, they’ve most likely haven’t heard of ‘David Watts’ or ‘Last of the steam- powered train’, or you know maybe they have, people can surprise you. The feeling of a Kinks song can make you emotional, It can sometimes feel unnatural over how a song can make you feel more than what’s happening around you.  Like many people my age who love Rock N Roll, I started with the Beatles and their songs were fun to listen to, they were catchy and made me feel happy. A few years later, I discovered The Kinks. It was fun, to begin with listening to something new, and then I listened to ‘Mr Churchill Says’, and that changed things. In some ways, It felt like I was listening to a new type of rock. The smoothness of the guitar, the lyrics on a British hero, it was all different from anything I had ever heard. 

   Every new Kinks fan always asks the question “Why are The Kinks so underrated”.Ray Davies’ lyrics alone can go against Lennon and McCartney, and most certainly Jagger and Richards. The Kinks were banned from America in 1965, for what seems like there was no apparent reason other than the men in power didn’t like them. Somebody did something to piss someone off wherever that be because someone punched someone important, or because two kinks were dancing cheek to cheek, there isn’t one main reason as to why they were banned. It was a poor decision on America’s part, to think how their much loved Beatles would be singing anti-established songs in a few years. The Kinks, meanwhile, were singing songs about well respected men, and songs about London. Once the kinks ban was lifted off, they released ‘Lola’, a song about a man falling for a transgender woman. Once the kinks were allowed back into America, there was a huge shift in American culture. The audience who were once white girls while beehives were now hippies smoking dope left, right and centre.

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The Kinks’ influence on other upcoming bands, however, was something that gave them a push. That iconic guitar riff in ‘you really got me’ was a huge influence on heavy rock, the quirky lyrics of Ray Davies would go on to inspire a range of new wave bands. By the late 70s, The Kinks had found a new audience of new fans which in return gave Ray Davies a new hard Rock n Roll ego. take their live album ‘One for the road’, for instance. Listening to that album, you forget that 14/15 years earlier Ray was singing softly to songs such as ‘Sunny Afternoon’ and ‘Waterloo Sunset’. It seemed that after The Kinks were finished, Ray Davies went back to his soft personality. 

The Kinks are a treasure, their songs to me are something I feel grateful to know. Ray Davies’ observant songs about everyday people can be something that makes The Kinks fans feel connected to the songs. The Kinks being banned from America was necessary. The world needed a band who didn’t forget who they were, and where they came from. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, etc left the UK for the drugs, freedom, and political mess of America. The Kinks never left us. Even after their ban from America, It feels like they never left their home.

 I have almost finished reading ‘Remembered a while’, a book about the incredible genius that is Nick Drake with stories from friends and family, along with a look on the complexity of Nick’s music, and what exactly makes them all so special. Just like Nick, this book has become a treasure for me, and like most books, I formed an emotional attachment to it fairly early on. I only have around 40 pages left out of the 443 pages in the book. I don’t want this book to finish, I want it to go on forever, but unfortunately, nothing lasts forever

To me what makes Nick Drake so special, to me anyway, is how personal he can feel to you, and that is most likely due to his story. Nick wasn’t successful in his lifetime, only a few thousand people brought his records, he was a secret treasure of the late 60s and early 70s. Reading ‘Remembered a while’ felt like I was reading something very personal, like how I feel when I listen to Nick himself. Especially when the book reveals Rodney Drakes, Nick’s father, diary that he kept while Nick was living with his Parents. I never knew the anger that Nick had at this time, well I may have of had an idea through the Joe Boyd story (of how upon his return to America, Joe was greeted by an angry Nick who was frustrated at Joe by his lack of success), but I can never imagine Nick being angry at his parents. Imagining Nick angry at all is hard, he seemed like such a gentle soul, and I would say that was who he truly was. Even after Nick got angry, his parents saw his guilt even if he didn’t always apologise for his angry outbursts.  Reading Rodney’s notes on Nick was sometimes very hard to read because Nick felt so ashamed of his illness, It felt like I didn’t have the right to read them.

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Unfortunately for Nick, he lived through a time where the subject of mental health was the taboo. The lack of understanding of mental health made Nick feel ashamed of his illness to the point where he would go through phases of not taking his prescribed pills. The shame of his illness had led Nick to go through one session of Electric Shock Treatment, trying everything he could to get rid of his depression.

I would say that Nick Drake was a victim of the romanticism of mental health. His death and his story made Nick become for some people ‘A Romantic hero’, without considering he fact that Nick meant something personal to a lot of people. I think of musician John Martyn, Nick’s good friend, when he quotes that after Nick died people were “falling in love with the ‘poor boy’ image” I can see why John Martyn grew frustrated, from reading ‘Remembered a while’, John and his wife, Beverley, cared very much for Nick, and for them to see Nick deteriorate must have  been very hard to witness. Listen to the song ‘Solid air’ by John Martyn, the song was written about Nick, and shows just how much John cared about his dear friend Nick.

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In April 2019, I was lucky enough to take a pilgrimage to Tanworth-In-Arden. It was an experience I will never forget, It was such a beautiful little village. The church spoke loud to me with it’s incredible, huge glass windows. The glass windows in a Church always have fascinated me, they’re my favourite part of the Church. There was something about the glass windows at the Church In Tanworth-in-Arden that took me away from reality as I stared at its stunning complexion. As well as this, the Church was huge, there was so much to take in. When we got to Nick’s grave, I was nervous and I don’t know why. This was the closest thing I was going to get to meeting Nick so there was a lot I wanted to say out loud. Even when I was there, and I spoke out loud I don’t think my words ever gave justice to what his music had done to me. I said the basic thing, probably because I was slightly overwhelmed when I was here. The trip wasn’t planned. I do remember how I said the most random things to his grave, like about current things happening in the world, I do ramble a bit at times. I remember explaining what his music has become since he’s died. I don’t know why I did that, If I felt like he was in some way there spiritually then surely that would mean he knows what has become of Nick Drake since his death if that at all makes sense. Afterwards we passed Far Leys, another stunning yet huge house in the small village of Tanworth-In-Arden. I wish more than anything to come back to Tanworth-In-ardern, and that was the plan until the coronavirus happened.

 Over the just 2 and half years of listening to Nick Drake, Nick Drake to me has become much more than just another musician in my record collection, more than just another singer i listen to. He’s, well to put it bluntly, Nick. He’s had such a profound effect in my life, he’s changed things for me, and he didn’t even know me, I mean he’s been dead for 45 years, he died before I was even born. However, his music changed my life to the point where Nick Drake has just become Nick, someone I feel so personally connected to, it feels as if he’s very present. And I know I’m not the only one who feels this connection to Nick, It’s what his music does to people, and that’s what Nick wanted his music to do.

There has be many movies about The Beatles/John Lennon, but which ones are good and which ones are bad?

Nowhere Boy (2009)

Nowhere boy I think is probably the most well known John Lennon/Beatles biopic out there. One of the reasons I love this movie is how the showed John’s development throughout the movie. How the events of his life shaped the person he came. The movie takes place from 1956-1958 which gave the movie a chance to go into detail about Johns relationship with his mother, Julia, and his aunt Mimi. And because of that, I love the movie because unlike most of the John Lennon biopics out there, they managed to explain why John had so much pain in his life and the events of his young life effected him later on. However, because of the movie focusing on his relationship between his mother and his auntie, we don’t get to see Cynthia Lennon or Stuart Sutcliffe. It’s a shame because, in the movie John Lennon biopics, they fail to mention the importance of Cynthia and how she affected John’s life. They brush her off as a girl who was just there who got pregnant with John. Nothing more happens and so I think of nowhere boy did bring Cynthia they could’ve made her a character who was more than just there. If nowhere boy was a tv series rather than a movie then it would’ve been perfect. Aaron Taylor- Johnson does an incredible performance as Lennon and I think he had a great understanding of John as a person.

In his life: the John Lennon story (2000)

For a TV movie, in his life, isn’t terrible. Something I think they did better than nowhere boy was 1) had a better portrayal of Aunt mini and 2) having the movie showing The Beatles from the cavern club to going all the way to 1964. One of the things that it failed to do that nowhere boy did a much better job of was the portrayal of Julia Lennon. Julia wasn’t much In the film for much time and so it failed to show the honest truth about Julia and John. Of course, John loved Julia. She was his biggest inspiration but I can imagine John having anger towards Julia since she wasn’t much around and John grew up with his aunt Mimi. In this movie, it seemed like John and Julia had a normal relationship which I’m sure they did at some point but I just think they brushed over the pain that John had around his father leaving him and his mother not being around and growing up with his aunt. Overall, it’s a good movie to watch about John and the Beatles. The actors are quite decent and if you want to know the backstory of John Lennon then this is a good movie to watch. If you want something that goes in more detail then nowhere boy.

The Birth of The Beatles (1979)

This is the only Beatles biopic that came out before John Lennon’s death. The movie seems quite dated with its overdramatic audio. It seems a bit inaccurate at time for example in the movie when Astrid told John that Stuart died they were backstage but in real life, the Beatles had just gotten back to Germany and were at the airport where Astrid was there telling them about how Stu died of a Brian hemorrhage 3 days before in which John laughed at but eventually broke down. However one scene I think they got very accurate, a scene in which other biopics fail to do is to show what actually happened when Pete best was told he had to leave the band. In other Beatles biopics, they make it seem like the Beatles were guilty about making Pete leave and then that’s it. Just forgotten. In the birth of the Beatles however, they show how the Beatles made Brian Epstein, their manager, to tell Pete to leave the band instead of doing it themselves. And then showing how Pete was devastated by this. 

John and Yoko: A love story (1985)

I find it hard to criticise movies as I hate to hate on other people’s work but this is easily one of the worse biopics I’ve ever seen. Now first I would just like to say that John and Yoko are my favourite couple ever and I do not hate Yoko and that I haven’t seen this movie in like 4 years so my memory of the movie is a bit hazy. What I do remember of this movie is how they made it seem like John and Yoko were perfect little angels who were outcasted from the world and how Yoko didn’t want to get involved with John but she couldn’t help but love him. They dismissed the truth. John and Yoko hurt a lot of people when they got together (Cynthia and Julian). They treated people in a horrible way and this movie just made it seem like Cynthia was the bad one because she got married to John? Like honestly don’t give this movie the time of day. I love John and Yoko but that doesn’t mean I think they were perfect. They were far from it.

Lennon naked (2010)

Again I only watched this movie once a long time ago so my memory isn’t great but I remember not really liking it. The actor who plays John looks old, I remember Cynthia being portrayed as a rich housewife, and to be honest that’s all I remember.

Two of us (2000)

If you’re looking for a cute movie about John and Paul’s friendship then this is the film to watch. The script to this movie was great, all words said between the characters is something I can imagine them saying to each other. The actor who played Paul (in my opinion) looked a lot like him. They did a brilliant job of showing the love between the two, and how they understood each other even though at the time the film was set in they weren’t really talking to each other. This movie is very underrated.

The Hours and Times (1991)

Does this movie count as a biopic as this movie is about what COULD’VE happened between John Lennon and Brian Epstein on their trip to Spain. Just a little backstory in case you don’t know, in 1963 John Lennon and Brian Epstein went on holiday to Spain. When they came back rumours came out that John and Brian were having an affair. These rumours most likely came out because few people knew Brian was gay. So what do I think about the movie? It’s actually one of my favourites. The whole movie is in black and white which I love cause I think it really shows that period of time in an ‘artsy’ way. Also considering this movie is about what could’ve happened there’s nothing they got ‘wrong’ as this is what they interpreted about what happened. And if something romantic did happen between John and Brian, I think this movie best shows what could’ve happened. There’s a scene where John talks to Cynthia and the character of Cynthia in this movie isn’t great. She sounds annoying and clingy which isn’t who she was. John is played by Ian Hart which is one of my favourite actors to portrayal John. He’s played John 3 times in his career and for the right reasons. He looks and sounds like John.

Backbeat (1994)

One of the main reasons I love this movie is because it’s about Stuart Sutcliffe. I love the whole Hamburg scene of the Beatles. Astrid herself said the actor who played Stuart did an incredible job. Again, Ian Hart plays John Lennon so you know you’ve got a good John. I really can’t put into words why I love this movie. I just do. I always cry when I watch it and it reminds the beautiful relationship stu had with Astrid and John

The Linda McCartney story (2000)

This is a beautiful movie showing the incredible love story of Paul and Linda while also telling Linda’s story in her own write and not just portrayed as “Paul’s wife” but just Linda herself. The beautiful, talented, incredible woman that she was who passed to soon. You don’t have to be a Beatles/Paul/Linda fan to watch it. It’s for everyone

Rating these movies from best to worse I would put them in this order

• Nowhere boy
• The hours and times
• backbeat
• Two of us
• In his life: the john lennon story
• The birth of the beatles
• The Linda McCartney story
• Lennon naked
• John and Yoko: a love story

I don’t think anyone can ever make the perfect Beatles biopic. Each one of these movies, even the bad ones, have good qualities to them that tell the story well. Some have bad qualities, more some than others, that let the film down, but overall you can tell when the heart has been put into the movie which makes the movie better and more enjoyable to watch.

In 1968, a tired and fed up band known as The Monkees had just released Head, a psychedelic trippy movie with no main plot. The only main theme within this movie is running away. Wherever that be The Monkees running away from an angry mob chasing them (to the point where the Monkees have no choice but to jump of a bridge), running away from the big black box that’s trying to confined them from freedom etc. All things that the Monkees are running away from the film is actually what they were trying to escape in real life. The angry mob being journalists labelling them as the “Pre Fab Four” or calling them a manufactured band. The Monkees were sick of the image their show, and the show was cancelled by early 1968. Davy was known as the heartthrob, Peter was the dummy, Mike was the leader, and Micky was the comedian. In Head, they make references to the difference between the tv show Monkee and the real Monkee. Take for instance the boxing scene in Head. When Micky gets over frustrated as Mike keeps labelling him as the “dummy” and so proceeds to punch everyone in the face, and then suddenly out of nowhere Peter appears and says “Micky! Micky! I’m the dummy, Micky” “That’s right, Pete” responds Micky “you’re always the dummy”

In real life, Peter was the smartest Monkee and was most musically expanded then the rest. And yet in the show, he played the dummy, which was a tough role for Peter.

The innocent Monkees as they once were to their young fans were now gone in this psychedelic, maze of a film. They didn’t understand, and the Monkees did not expect them to understand it. The Monkees were hoping to attract more of an older audience, the ones who once dismissed them, to Head. In the first 5 minutes of head you have Micky jumping off a bridge and then being dragged by mermaids which lyrics to porpoises song plays “Clicks, clacks, riding the backs of giraffes for laughs S’alright for a while” signifying that being a Monkee was once enjoyable and that acting like goofballs on tv for children was good but what the audience now sees in front of them is a girl kissing all four Monkees in some sort of kissing contest, implying that the Monkees were no longer in those silly situations that they were in show but instead showing more of their darker side, through references of war, sex and struggles of being a celebrity,

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50 years later and it seems that one of the many messages that the Monkees wanted Head to show is now understood and 50 years later Head has become a cult classic. Starting from a tv show, the Monkees had strict restrictions on the things they said/ do. For example, the girlfriends usually had to be kept quiet (apart from Mikes wife, Phyllis, as they were married before the show began and everyone knew he was married), they weren’t allowed to ride motorcycles and most importantly, in which I think is important to note when talking about Head, was that they weren’t allowed to talk about anything political or controversial. This was especially hard for those like Peter Tork who by 1967 had indulged in the Hippie scene as things like the Vietnam war weren’t supposed to be discussed in interviews. And yet in Head, it’s one of the most political films of its time. It shows a man getting shot in the head twice. Showing clips from the Vietnam war and comparing a woman’s scream of terror to a teenage Monkees fan scream. The Monkees were yet another band in the late 60s who were against the Vietnam War. Unlike other bands, instead of using music as a way to show their thoughts about the war, they understood the appeal of Hollywood Movies especially in America, and so they took the advantage of the fact that they used to have their own show to then make their own political comment on the war.

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When the movie was realised and flopped it doesn’t necessarily surprise me that Peter left the band not too long afterwards. The message about the horror of the Vietnam war, the message of the struggle that The Monkees were going through in their situation, etc passed by the audience and instead people saw it as some sort of hippie, psychedelic mess made by a bunch of guys who were high. The names that the press labelled them as is what held the Monkees down. When at the end of the day, you should never trust their input on music. The press never liked queen, need I say more? The Beatles themselves loved the Monkees and thought they were great. I think that’s all the approval they needed.

Unfortunately, the image the monkees were known for didn’t break away when head came out. Head failed (at the time) what it was set out to do. However, 50 years later and people have a much greater understanding of what head was and what it meant for the monkees.

Head is one of my favourite movies of all time. If your reading this and for some reason don’t listen/ know anything about the Monkees then I recommend you read up and understand the Monkees story before head and then watch. It may make a little more sense? maybe not.

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It’s hard for movies to be so outstanding that they’d be remembered and watched and talked about 50 years later. And that’s what Head did achieve

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The year is 1969. Woodstock made music history, John and his new wife have dominate the news with their words, and despite the fight for peace, the Vietnam war was still going on. But what were The Kinks doing? Well, the year didn’t get off at the best of starts. Pete Quaife, the bass player, had just left the band. Fed up with the direction of where the band was going musically, Pete left to form his new band, Mapleoak. Pete was replaced by John Dalton who would stay with them till 1977.

Their previous album, The Kinks are the village green preservation society, failed to chart. While everyone else was singing about drugs and sex, The Kinks were doing an album centred by a theme of a fantasy world, singing about childhood friends to singing about the ‘Phenomenal Cat’. Considering the album was released on the exact day The Beatles ‘White Album’, the album had a small chance of succeeding. So what do The Kinks do after this? What next path will The Kinks take? Well, of course Ray was still going to stay with his English roots, except this time he isn’t going to write about cups of teas or beautiful sunsets. He was going to write about the war. Not the Vietnam war. WW1/2

Ray Davies always felt it was important to write for those around him who weren’t so quite caught up in the psychedelic scene. For instance, the year is 1966. You have Dylan going electric and The Beatles were no longer singing songs about holding hands. They’re going away and singing for a new generation of people. Ray was never caught up with the drugs and with Ray recently having a nervous break down that year, it only made sense for him to release two singles about poverty and the high levels of progressive tax every English person had to go through. (“The tax man’s taken all my dough and left me in my stately home, lazing on a sunny afternoon. And I can’t see my yacht he’s taken everything I got. All I’ve got’s this sunny afternoon”) (“There’s a crack up in the ceiling and the kitchen sink is leaking. Out of work and got no money, a Sunday joint of bread and honey”) For most of Ray’s childhood, he lived with his sister Rosie, her husband (ex soldier) Arthur and their son Terry (who was only 11 months younger than Ray). Arthur was known to be quite strict and like many others like, the war had affected him.

The opening track to Arthur is the much-beloved ‘Victoria’. The lyrics are often misheard as Rays vocals are hard to understand but the opening song is about the much loved Queen Victoria. (“Long ago life was clean. Sex was bad, called obscene and the rich were so mean”) . Not only was the song about Queen Victoria herself but also about England itself and how proud people were of their land (“When I grow I shall fight, for this land I will die Let her sun never set”). The next song ‘Yes sir, no sir’ is the start of the war. The start of time where a group of people was out to fight for their land. ‘Some Mother’s son’ is a secret anti-war song gem. Not many people know it but its effect has the same to those as songs like ‘imagine’ did. ‘Drivin’ is a beautiful tune, appreciating the life of England.

Like ‘The Kinks are the village green preservation society’ the album failed to chart. Perhaps because its target audience wasn’t heavily into Rock n Roll music, but if anything the loyal kinks fans of the time brought and loved it. 50 years on, however, and the old and the new kinks fans still love this album. This is one of my favourite albums of all time and I will forever talk about it to family members and friends. And 50 years on and Arthur is set to be turned into a BBC Radio drama! and also for its 50th birthday, a box set is set to be released!

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And why yes, it is sad that The Kinks had yet another failed album, things were about to change. Their ban from America was being lifted off. They were now finally allowed to come back. And Lola was coming.

I’ve been commission to design the soundtrack for a teaser trailer. The trailer I picked to work on is the teaser trailer for the video game, Life Is Strange episode 1, season 2. I picked this trailer because a lot of action happens in this trailer that i think would be interesting to create audio sounds for. Considering its a video game, not a movie, I personally think that audio becomes more important because with video games the story is more connected to the audience because they are controlling it.

I recently watched a movie in which the audio really impressed me. When it comes to sound, its usually the music that i look out for and if the music fits the style of the film. However, this changed when i recently saw the 2007 film ‘No Country for Old Men’. Every single movement made by anyone in that film was heard. It seemed to be very detailed when it came to sound. I also found one of my favourite films, ‘Dog day afternoon’, to have a profound affect on how the film was portrayed. Throughout the film, it only plays one songs: ‘Amoreena’ by Elton John. They play this song at the beginning when showing a typical day in Brooklyn, New York. By the end of the song, you’re met with the main characters of the film and you hear the song playing on the radio. And thats it. Even at the end of the credits, theres nothing. I ironically sound this little amount of audio to change the film. It made it seem more real, and without spoiling it, at the very end you do just need the silence to take aback on what has just happened. I also found films like ‘The Graduate’ and ‘Call me by your name’ to have a beautiful soundtrack that fitted well with the films aesthetic.

When it comes to audio, i feel like i know a few things that will help me with this project. In this past, I have recorded a podcast and edited it, I have edited a recording of a song etc. That being said, there are things at i am certainly not confident about. There’s part in the trailer where the police officer speaks so I may include speaking dialogue however this isn’t necessary as the speaking part isn’t obvious and plus, but its something I would like to work on, if I decide to do it.I did some research on how other video games did their audio to fit their game and i found these very interesting videos which helped me give more of an idea on what i’m doing. Resident of evil 7

The last of us

Far cry Primal