Pebble Mill at One – Page 8 – What Was Pebble Mill?

45th anniversary of Pebble Mill at One

It is 45 years this month since Pebble Mill at One first hit our screens in October 1972. The photograph above shows the foyer, before it was turned into the Pebble Mill at One studio.

Here is the entry from the Radio Times, for the first Pebble Mill at One aired on 2nd October 1972 from the BBC Genome project: http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/9d1ca776d4e347dd91864bdb0533c460

“Anything can happen in this daily half-hour of people, views and music – in other words, entertainment.
It will happen in the entrance hall of the Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham where Robert Langley will be welcoming the guests, people in the headlines and you – viewers who have something to say or do.

Presenter: Robert Langley
Editor: Terry Dobson”

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

Paul Westwood: ‘Thought PM was always 45 mins long? I read somewhere that as the lunchtime news & Pm At One were the only programmes during the day at one point, apart from the test card, that Birmingham was in charge of the network for that period, not London! Is that true?’

Andy Marriott: ‘Interesting to see how much of the design of that reception wouldn’t look out of place in a modern building.’

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Colin Campbell

Photos by Jane Mclean, no reproduction without permission

Colin Campbell, with Jo Dewar and Terry Cartwright

Virtuoso pianist Colin Campbell has passed away aged 77 (Oct 2017). Colin was a keyboard player and played in the Midland Radio Orchestra at Pebble Mill. He often played on Pebble Mill At One, and is shown here on the Tom O’Connor Roadshow, in 1987.

Thanks to Jane Mclean for sharing these photos.

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

Sarah Ashton: ‘My father, John Kingdon, formed the Midland Radio Orchestra along side Norrie Paramor, their conductor. I remember going to work with dad and listening to the orchestra play on many occasions. I do remember the name Colin Campbell but was too young to put a face to the name.’

Jane Ward: ‘Loads of happy memories of Colin…fantastic musician and all-round lovely guy…. Very sad to hear this news…
And of course he was one half of Pianorama, with the inimitable Harold Rich….’

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Behind the scenes at Pebble Mill at One

This article is from the Pebble Mill at One book, 1986. Studio director, Mark Kershaw, describes the challenges of broadcasting from the foyer studio, as well as explaining how the show is created and what the following roles contribute: vision mixer, director, producer, researchers, designer, lighting supervisor, senior camerman, sound supervisor, production assistant, floor managers.

Mark Kershaw is seen directing in the top photo. It is possibly Roger Hynes up the ladder is the lower photo.

The following comment was left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Andy Frizzell: ‘The line drawing looks like it’s from when they raised the ceiling (a godsend for lighting) and removed the inside canopy over the front doors (not so great, we used that to put all the ballasts for the HMI lights.’

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A day in the life of Pebble Mill at One

Pebble Mill at One producer, Steve Weddle, gives the inside story on how the show was made.

This article was included in the Pebble Mill at One book, from the 1985-6 season (which was the final series).

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

Ellie Lacey: ‘This is priceless and sooooo Steve!’

Steve Weddle: ‘Quite frankly!!! Under pressure, or pretending to be’

Claire Chambers: ‘Very well written piece by Mr Weddle -he always was a brilliant raconteur! Great to work on happy days’

Sue Westwood: ‘I have this book somewhere. My neighbour made the cake that was featured on the last programme’

Helen O’Rahilly: ‘Steve gave me my first BBC job. He was a hoot. I ran into him, by chance, in Spain about 8 years ago. Still the same Steve!’

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Pebble Mill at One Tapestry

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This article is from the Pebble Mill at One book from the 1985-6 season, and gives details about the large tapestry which was sewn by viewers, and far exceeded what had been originally envisaged. The heritage tapestry was the brainchild of designer Kaffe Fassett, and was acquired by the Duchess of Devonshire for display at Chatsworth House. The tapestry was made up of six inch squares, completed by viewers of the programme. Marian sewed her own square, depicting the North East of her childhood. A second tapestry was displayed at Harewood House in Yorkshire, and an additional panel was displayed in one of the corridors at Pebble Mill, but I don’t know what happened when the building closed in 2004.

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