The 1980s Directing and camerawork
I became very productive during the 1980s both directing videos and photographing them for other people along with filming a Comic Strip directed by Stephen Frears, documenting Paul McCartney as he made Give My Regards to Broad Street, several Arts Council dance films and directed a short film Say Beaux. This page has some of the music videos I directed, click on the visuals to go to the videos.
Love Needs No Disguise - Gary Numan Directed by Jeff Photographed by Clive Tickner I can't remember how I got this directing job, Gary was managed by his father Joe who kept a tight grip on the purse strings - I thought at times Gary resembled a young Sinatra
Garry Numan - Music For Chameleons 1982 Directed by Jeff Photographed by the talented Clive Tickner. Gary has recently said he thinks he has “a mild form of Asperger’s Syndrome which basically means I have trouble interacting with people.” This might well account for his idea for the video of Music For Chameleons where through his father who was his manager at the time he asked if we could arrange a speakeasy and a 30s American car as he wanted to play a gangster. I remember we found an art director who put together a fantastic set in a small studio under some railway arches I think in Battersea. We went to Angels the costume hire firm and got him some gangster gear and Clive Tickner did a wonderful job in lighting and photographing it – The basic script was that he would come in as the underworld boss, push a few people around then walk off with the girl, who was played by his then girlfriend (who I remember him telling off for not looking after the dress he had bought her)
What I Like Most About You is Your Girlfriend The Special AKA - Directed and photographed by Jeff Jerry had strong ideas of how to present his songs and for “Girlfriend” he gave me a story board and also suggested the location which was a bar downstairs in a cheap hotel opposite the Roundhouse in Camden. We did the casting together to find a hunk of a sailor and a model of a girlfriend and Jerry also got the dance troop Jazz Defectors on board, he instructed the band to dress in black with polo neck sweaters and I employed an art director to prop the bar (the cut out New York skyline was part of the bar). A space ship was made from a silver poof which we attached sparklers to and Jerry arrives on earth via an aluminium step ladder, finding himself outside a club that he enters – On entry he realises his space suit is inappropriate so changes into black with a polo neck sweater and shades then re-enters and goes to the bar where he meets the sailor and his model girlfriend – his face is green. Ironically it won a DA&AD award for best art direction although the all the art director did was dress the bar!
Alcohol - The Special AKA - Directed and photographed by Jeff Jerry Dammers is a well-educated man as well as being a phenomenal musician and composer While touring with The Specials he developed a love of alcohol to the extent that he decided the only way out was to stop – he wrote this song about his experience and when it came to making the video he wanted to base it on the character Tom Miller in the film “The Girl Can’t Help It” who in an alcoholic stupor starts hallucinating – Rhoda Dakar plays the femme fatal.
War Crimes - The Special AKA - Directed and photographed by Jeff In 1983 I was asked by Peter Wagg at Chrysalis records to photograph and direct a video for the track “War Crimes” by The Special AKA - We filmed it in a club in Coventry I lit the band with stark uplighting and used smoke to create an atmosphere – it was the first single to be released of the album In The Studio and the start of a relationship with the band and Jerry Dammers that led me to film all the songs on the album.
Free Nelson Mandela - The Special AKA Directed by Jeff photographed by Nic Knowland Perhaps the most significant protest song written in the eighties was Free Nelson Mandela, a Jerry Dammers composition that became an anthem in Africa and helped build the pressure for the release of Mandela and the end of apartheid. It was Jerry’s idea to film in a hall that might look like one from the townships and we found an old church hall in Malden Road which was part of a Catholic priory, Jerry then went and asked dancers from a club night at the Electric Ballroom to appear in the video and I asked Nic Knowland to light the video. Nic had filmed a music documentary in South Africa called the Rhythm of Resistance for channel 4 directed by Jeremy Marre that became the inspiration for Paul Simon’s Graceland album. What I remember most about the day is that there was an argument between Jerry and Stan Campbell the lead singer with the Special AKA as Stan thought he wasn’t being paid enough, he turned up with two blond twins at what was a predominantly black event which further irritated Jerry – we filmed the stage performance of Stan singing with the backing vocalists the Afrodisiacs then Stan left with the two girls one on either arm and we continued filming the dancers and the rest of the band _ not the most polished of videos but perhaps one of the most significant in my career.
Fire - Sly and Robbie - 1987 Directed by Bruno Tully -Photographed by Jeff What a treat to work with the great Sly and Robbie - I lit this video and a lot of the camerawork was done by a steadicam operator - We shot the skateboarding scene under the Westway where there was a traveller camp at the time - some of the lads came over demanding money and started throwing stones at the HMI lights I was using. A settlement was negotiated.
The Comic Strip Presents... (TV Series) (1 episode) - The Bullshitters: Roll 0ut the Gunbarrel. I photographed this episode of The Comic Strip in 1984. It was early on in their relationship with Channel 4 who wouldn't let Peter Richardson direct the episode so they persuaded Stephen Frear to oversee the project a ten day schedule with Robbie Coltrane playing the MI6 boss, Keith Allen and Peter Richardson playing Boady and Foyle, a piss take on the TV show The Professionals . A lot of fun.
Say Beaux I directed this film for Cosprop, the famous costume house that specialise in early 20c costumes. John Bright, the head of Cosprop wrote and designed the film along with Pippa Cleator the milliner. An imagined first fashion show in Paris that goes terribly wrong.