Scenic Workshop
Photos by Willoughby Gullachsen (Gus), no reproduction without permission.
These photos are of the Pebble Mill Scenic Workshop, where the studio sets were made. The Scenic Workshop opened onto Studio A, so that sets could easily be moved into place. You can see the studio doors in the lower photo.
Scenic Workshop
Photos by Lynda Kettle, no reproduction without permission. Lynda Kettle was a Production Designer at BBC Pebble Mill, working on factual, entertainment and drama shows in studio and on location. The photos were taken as records of the Sets.
Song for Christmas was an annual children’s carol competition, and part of Pebble Mill at One. Mark Kershaw was the director of the Song for Christmas shown in the photos, and David Weir was the producer. Lynda Kettle designed the set in Studio A. I’m not sure which year the photos are from, but probably 1985 0r 1986.
Production Designer, Lynda Kettle also worked as a theatre designer and an artist, and now runs courses from her art studio http://www.lynda-kettle.com. She is a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham Water Colour Society. Midland Pastel Society and Birmingham Art Circle . She exhibits her paintings several times a year at selected galleries.
Song for Christmas
The Golden Oldie Picture Show was produced by John King at Pebble Mill, and presented by the Radio 1 DJ: Dave Lee Travis. The series ran between 1985 to 1988. The show featured new music videos made for old hit records. Different film makers recorded their own interpretation of the songs. Dave Lee Travis introduced and linked the show.
These photos are from the 1986 Christmas show, which went out on 22/12/86. The first photo shows the ‘links’ set up with Dave Lee Travis, and the others show the location filming of ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’. In the photo with Father Christmas you can see the cameraman Simon King, now well known as a wildlife cameraman, and son of producer John King.
Gail Herbert, who took the photos,was the Production Assistant on the Golden Oldie Picture Show.
Recording the links
Dread Poets Society
TX card for ‘Dread Poets Society’
This was a hosted production shot on location at Oxley Carriage Sidings, Wolverhampton. Two railway carriages were rewired by Derek McCulloch and his sparks so that I could reproduce my take on what it would feel like to be in a train during a thunderstorm. The weather was appalling, as I remember, and we had to deal with a number of equipment problems. Still it was interesting to do (and I like trains!).
Producers were George Faber and Estelle Daniel, director Andy Wilson and the cast were Benjamin Zephaniah, Timothy Spall, Alex Jennings, Dexter Fletcher, Alan Cumming and Emma Fielding. Transmission was in 1992.
Dave Bushell
RUM PUNCH DAY FOOTBALL MATCH
These photos are taken of the Pebble Mill football match, organised by the BBC Club, traditionally held on ‘Rum Punch Day’, just before Christmas each year. Thanks to Gail Herbert, who was Chair of the BBC Club at Pebble Mill for many years for making the photos available. The match was ‘Personnel versus the Club’.
Top photo (not sure which year) were the losers, top row left to right: Colin Spears, Rick Thompson, Steve Lee, Alan Towers, Brian King, Peter Urie, Jock Gallagher.
Bottom row: Paul Howell, Bridget allen, Mark Duggan, Jane Morgan, Andy Tylee, Roy Saatchi.
Lower photo: Rum Punch Day Football Match 1985.
Bottom Row: Andy Turley, Mary Mallett, Mel Stevens, Paul Howell, Roy Saatchi, Jock Gallagher Row l to r: Colin Spears, Andy Tylee, Kevin Knock, Peter Urie,?, Brian King,Peter Windows (freelance producer on The Archers, then lecturer at BCU), Ted Woodhead ?.
If you can fill in any of the unidentified players in the second photo, or know the year of the first photo, please add a comment.
