December 2013 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Post Production Christmas Party

Mark Heslop, Ingrid Wagner, Stan Treasurer, Greg Miller

Jonathan Birkett, Victoria Trow, Roger Mulliner, Ian Bellion

Ian Bellion, Peter Gower, Charles White, John Rosser, Mike Duxbury

Photos by Shirley O’Mara, no reproduction without permission.

Each year the Pebble Mill Post Production department held its own Christmas party. These photos date from the late 1980s, when the department descended on the Forbidden City Chinese Restaurant for its festive treat!

Please add a comment if you can identify any of the missing names.

Aerial shot of Pebble Mill site

Here is an aerial photograph of the Pebble Mill site before building work began in the late 1960s. It probably dates from the early 1960s.

The Pershore Road runs diagonally from top left to middle right, with Pebble Mill Road running at right angle to it, with the two lines of trees along the middle. The Bristol Road runs diagonally across the bottom left hand corner of the photo.

The nine acre BBC Pebble Mill site has dotted diagonal lines across it, and what became the BBC sports ground was at that point owned by the brewery company, Davenports, and is separated from the main site by the Bourn Brook. The Nature Centre, on the Pershore Road, opposite Pebble Mill, has yet to be built.

Radio WM Christmas Show 1986

From from Pete Simpkin, no reproduction without permission.

This photo is of the Radio WM Christmas Show from 1986, at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham. The show was a unique shared show with Regional TV who also recorded it.

Included in the photo, left to right are: Roy Wood, Steve Woodhall, Maggy Whitehouse, Gyn Freeman, Mary Lloyd, Ed Doolan, Malc Stent, Kay Alexander, David Stevens, ?, Maggie Nelson, Soraya Patrick, Pete Simpkin, John Love, ?.

Thanks to Pete Simpkin for sharing the photo, and adding the information.

Midlands Today tracks

Here is a set of tracks from Midlands Today, composed by Richard Myhill. They include unused versions, stings and beds, and date from about 1996.

Thanks to Peter Poole for sharing the audio.

Midlands Today newsroom, photo by Ivor Williams

The Clothes Show

Thanks to costume designer, Janice Rider, for sharing the photo.

The photos shows The Clothes Show presenters, Jeff Banks and Selina Scott. The item obviously had a 1950s rock and roll theme.

The Clothes Show was a fashion magazine show, which went out weekly on a Sunday between 1986-2000. It was devised and produced by Roger Casstles. The series became well known for its high production values and stylish inserts, which often used innovative DVE transitions, canted shots and contemporary chart music.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Annie Gumbley-Williams: ‘Ivor Williams, and Brian Watkiss plus other editors on the Clothes Show won a BAFTA for editing the Clothes Show, and were also nominated a second time. The BAFTA disappeared from Pebble Mill when it closed. Anyone know where it went?’

Jane Clement: ‘It was a rock n roll edition of The Clothes Show back in our era – I remember they had a local rock n roll club there dancing, who are probably the people in the background. Roger Casstles and Claire Stride producing, of course, and Janice Rider would have been on wardrobe – fun job for her. Can’t remember who else worked on it though.’

Claire Cotton: ‘Remember it well as one of BBC Birmingham’s big hits, with its spin off event Clothes Show Live still going. I loved working on it, with Jane Galpin running the London office and Colette Foster and Roger Casstles our Birmingham Office. I am still in touch with many ex Clothes Show people including James Strong (who went on to direct Dr Who and Downtown Abbey) and James Morgan who went on to do Springwatch, the Apprentice and won a BAFTA for Big Blue Live.’