Con O'Neill as Joe Meek
Who is Joe Meek? It seems that that is a question plenty are asking at the moment with the release of new movie Telstar, a biopic of the English record producer and songwriter.
Telstar is the stranger-than-fiction true story of legendary independent record producer Joe Meek. A maverick musical genius, Meek enjoyed phenomenal early success with Telstar the biggest selling record of its time and the first Brit band single to top the US charts.
Named after the first communications satellite which launched in 1962, the unique instrumental single was released later that same year, becoming a number one hit on both sides of the Atlantic for Meek’s band The Tornados.
From a flat on the Holloway Road, Meek went on to create the strange and wonderful recordings that have made him an iconic figure in the world of British pop, until depression, heartbreak and paranoia ultimately led to his dramatic downfall.
Written and directed by Nick Moran from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels fame Telstar looks at the rise of Joe Meek and his influence on the music industry.
After a string of jobs; that included a stint in the Royal Air Force and working for the Midlands Electricity Board before becoming an audio engineer. Meek had long since been interested in electronics and it was his work on Music for Lonely Lovers by Ivy Benson that was his breakthrough.
By 1960 he had founded Triumph Records and while he was successful the independent label couldn't keep up with sales demands.
But big success did come his way when Meek set up his own production company known as RGM Sound Ltd, later changed to Meeksville Sound Ltd, which saw him working out of a home studio at 304 Holloway Road.
And the hits were quick in coming as Johnny Remember Me by John Leyton went to number one in 1961 followed by Telstar in 1962, this still remains the song that he is best known for.
But towards the end of the sixties the hits had dried up and Meek struggled with debt and depression. On 3rd February 1967 Meek took the shotgun owned by Heinz Burt murdered his landlady then killed himself, he was thirty seven years old.
Despite this Meek's legacy has lived on as he pioneered recording techniques such as the sampling, multiple over-dubbing on one and two track machines as well as treating instruments and voices influencing the way people recorded music for years to come.
Telstar is released 19th June.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw