Lexie Godfrey who I first worked for when I was Nic Knowland’s camera assistant gave me my first directing work where I got to direct two videos that we shot in the same day for the band Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark as with a lot of the early videos they were performance based. The huge, empty warehouse we chose to use was covered in pigeon shit. I asked Nic Knowland to shoot it for me and we shot the first song Messages in daylight, finishing at dusk. We then lit an area with upright fluorescent tubes and theatre lights, to record the second song Electricity, which became the band’s first hit. YouTube have recorded over 7.5 million viewings of each of the songs.
Dr Feelgood - No Mo Dough Yakamo I was asked to make two videos for Dr Feelgood, a band I loved having seen them live and been a camera assistant on a video shot by Erne Vince called Milk and Alcohol. Perhaps what I loved most about their live performance was the energy between Lee Brillo and Wilco Johnson - by the time I was asked to make a video Wilko had left. I chose to shoot one of the videos as a performance and we arranged a theatre in the YMCA off Tottenham Court Rd - in the spirit of rock n roll the band had a few drinks and Lee arrived with a bottle of brandy which he encouraged me to join him in drinking - I was lighting cameraman and decided I would shoot hand held to capture the energy of the performance and we recorded the video in 6 or so takes by the end of which I was quite pissed and remember having to be helped back to base by my responsible assistants. We shot that video No More Dough Yakamo on the Friday with the second shoot to take place on the following Monday in a hotel/pub in maidavale - Lee arrived and ordered a pint of Ruddles bitter to wash down some pain killers - he had taken the train back to Canvey Island on the Friday night, slept past his stop and woken in Southend, gotten off the train and fell down the station stairs - a couple more pints and we recorded the song I want to make Violent Love with an audience of elder ladies - I can't remember how the idea came about but I cringe today when I see it - then again the song was an odd choice but history tells us Wilko was the main writer with the band - they did have a fantastic stage presence and presented blues from the British Delta of Canvey - they also had connections with Jake Rivera and Dave Robinson who they wrote a cheque to for £500.00 so they could start Stiff Records (Jake being their manager at the time) allegedly the cheque was never cashed.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Electricity Lexie Godfrey who I first worked for when I was Nic Knowland’s camera assistant gave me my first directing work where I got to direct two videos that we shot in the same day for the band Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. The huge, empty warehouse we chose to use was covered in pigeon shit. I asked Nic Knowland to shoot it for me and we shot the first song Messages in daylight, finishing at dusk. We then lit an area with upright fluorescent tubes and theatre lights, to record the second song Electricity, which became the band’s first hit. YouTube have recorded over 2.5 million viewings of each of the songs, but what I remember from the day was Nic shovelling up a bag or two of the pigeon shit to take back and fertilize his garden. So rock’n’roll! Recycling long before its time.
Johnny Warman - Sreeming Jets The producer of the Vapours Vic Coppersmith-Heaven also produced an album for Johnny Warman and I got asked to make the video which we shot in a gravel pit somewhere near Heathrow airport using a pilots suit we hired from a lovely shop called Lawrence’s Corner which stocked all sorts of weird and wonderful odds and ends. The computer was the state of the art BBC production that we filmed in my newly converted flat – The song and artist had some success in Australia
The Polecats - Rockabilly Guy. The Polecats were an English band trying to replicate the success of the Stray Cats. I asked Roger Deacon to light and photograph the video for me, which we filmed in a club north of Kings Cross, which back then was a bit like a scene from the Long Good Friday. The record company executive turned up in his new Mercedes and left his lights on while we filmed which meant his battery was flat when he came to leave. He returned the next day to jump-start his car only to find the wheels were missing.
The Vapours - Waiting for the Weekend. I had been cameraman on the Vapours first video Turning Japanese that became a hit, and charted at no 3 in the UK and got some mileage in the American charts (they later renamed themselves The Vapors to appeal to an American market). Lexi got me the job of filming their second single where it was decided they should act as grease monkeys working in a garage under the arches in Camden town, round the corner from our then offices. It doesn’t hold up very well to the test of time as their acting and I guess musical abilities didn’t take them much further They were active between 1978 and 1981 touring both America and Australia– the lead singer Dave Fenton became a music lawyer and the lead guitarist Edward Bazalgette, became a documentary director, grandson of Sir Joseph Bazalgette, designer of the London sewers I’m not sure about the rest of the band. 34 years later they reformed and have played a few gigs and have just recorded a new album
Say Beaux This film was Designed by John Bright and Pippa Cleator, they built the sets and made the hats and costumes at their company Cosprop warehouse then asks me to direct the film.