The music industry in all its warts and glory features in this month’s Rialto documentary series.
The music industry in all its warts and glory features in this month’s Rialto Documentary series.
Anyone who has ever been a fan of 60s’ counter-culture, Iggy Pop, the Velvet Underground, or Andy Warhol’s Factory will love Mother of Rock - Lillian Roxon (Thursday 25th October, 8.30pm), about legendary Australian music journalist Lillian Roxon.
This documentary should really be called Mother of Rock Journalism as it was Lillian, an infamously independent woman with a sharp tongue and wit, who championed the punk-rock acts of the 60s that played at the New York club Max’s Kansa City. Ahead of her time, Lillian recognised that these bands would go on to shape the future of music. She became world famous when she wrote the first encyclopedia about popular music, Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia, which The New York Times described as 'the most complete book on rock music and rock culture ever written'.
A talented writer and commentator, she was also a dynamic character and is a worthy subject for Once director Paul Clarke.
Also featuring this month is the definitive Creation Records story, Upside Down: The Creation Records Story (Thursday 11th October, 8.30pm).
This is a great slice of pop culture history featuring all the main players in co-founder Alan McGee’s record label including Noel Gallagher and Bobby Gillespie. I know, it’s a cliché, but the music that came out of Creation Records provided a generation with a soundtrack of their lives, and somehow amidst all the partying, managed to change the face of British music.
The Creation Records story begins with the indie sounds of the early and mid-80s, bands such as The Loft and Jesus and The Mary Chain, through the rise of acid house, and the birth of Britpop in the mid-90s with stadium rockers Oasis.
The documentary has a simple structure, plenty of talking heads tell the story in chronological order, which works just fine as these talking heads have some outrageously good stories to tell. Basically, it’s a brilliant yarn about a bunch of misfits, druggies and psychopaths who changed the face of music forever.
Finally, and for something more refined, don’t miss The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story (Thursday 18th October, 8.30pm).
A charming, charismatic and talented musical producer, multi-award winner Mardin was responsible for producing breakthrough albums with artists such as Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Hall & Oates, the Bee Gees, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Bette Midler, Carly Simon.
While Mardin was never attracted to the limelight he makes for a fascinating subject. The film covers his life from an affluent upbringing in Turkey to joining Atlantic Records in the early 1960's, and the successes he had over the following 4 decades. Mardin died in 2006, but his son Joe, who also co-directed The Greatest Ears in Town, gives the documentary a personal touch as he takes us through his parents' courtship and family life.
Once again, there is an impressive list of interviewees, including, to name a few, Sir George Martin, Chaka Khan, Phil Collins, Carly Simon, Barry Gibb, Darryl Hall, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, and Norah Jones.
Enjoy.