Robert George "Joe" Meek was an English record producer and songwriter considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio as an instrument, and becoming one of the first producers to be recognised for his individual identity as an artist. Meek pioneered space age and experimental pop music, and assisted in the development of recording practices like overdubbing, sampling and reverberation.
The Tornados were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and US no. 1 "Telstar", the first US no. 1 single by a British group.
Ronald Wycherley, better known by his stage name Billy Fury, was an English musician. An early star of rock and roll, he spent 332 weeks on the UK singles chart. His hit singles include "Wondrous Place", "Halfway to Paradise" and "Jealousy". Fury also maintained a film career, notably playing rock performers in Play It Cool in 1962 and That'll Be the Day in 1973.
John Dudley Leyton is an English retired actor and singer.
"Telstar" is a 1962 instrumental by the English band the Tornados, written and produced by Joe Meek. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1962. It was the second instrumental single to hit number one in 1962 on both the US and UK weekly charts.
Charles Nicholas Hodges was an English musician and singer who was the lead vocalist of musical duo Chas & Dave.
Ralph Meeker was an American film, stage, and television actor. He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of Mister Roberts (1948–1951) and Picnic (1953), the former of which earned him a Theatre World Award for his performance. In film, Meeker is known for his portrayal of Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's 1955 Kiss Me Deadly and as condemned infantryman Cpl. Philippe Paris in Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory.
The Outlaws were an English instrumental band that recorded in the early 1960s. One-time members included Chas Hodges (1943–2018), Bobby Graham (1940–2009), Ritchie Blackmore, Mick Underwood (1945-2024), Reg Hawkins, Billy Kuy, Don Groom, Roger Mingaye, Ken Lundgren and Harvey Hinsley.
Clemente Anselmo Agustino Cattini is an English rock and roll drummer of the late 1950s and 60s, who was a member of The Tornados before becoming well known for his work as a session musician. He is one of the most prolific drummers in UK recording history, appearing on hundreds of recordings by artists as diverse as Cliff Richard and Lou Reed, and has featured on 42 UK number one singles.
Heinz Burt was a German-born British rock and roll bassist and singer who performed under the stage name Heinz. He was also known as a member of the instrumental group the Tornados.
Austerlitz is a 1960 French historical drama film directed by Abel Gance and starring Jean Marais, Rossano Brazzi, Martine Carol, Jack Palance, Claudia Cardinale, Vittorio De Sica, Orson Welles, Leslie Caron and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Pierre Mondy portrays Napoleon in this film about his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. Leslie Caron plays the role of his mistress Élisabeth Le Michaud d'Arçon.
Nick Moran is an English actor and filmmaker. His roles include Eddie the card sharp in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and as Scabior in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2.
Geoffrey Goddard was an English songwriter, singer and instrumentalist. Working for Joe Meek in the early 1960s, he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Gerry Temple, the Tornados, Kenny Hollywood, the Outlaws, Freddie Starr, Screaming Lord Sutch, the Ramblers and John Leyton. His song for Leyton, "Johnny Remember Me", reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Johnny Remember Me" is a song which became a 1961 UK Singles Chart #1 hit single for John Leyton, backed by The Outlaws. It was producer Joe Meek's first #1 production. Recounting the haunting – real or imagined – of a young man by his dead lover, the song is one of the most noted of the 'death ditties' that populated the pop charts, on both sides of the Atlantic, in the early to mid-1960s. It is distinguished in particular by its eerie, echoing sound and by the ghostly, foreboding female wails that form its backing vocal, by Lissa Gray. The recording was arranged by Charles Blackwell. Despite the line, "the girl I loved who died a year ago" being changed to the more vague "the girl I loved and lost a year ago", the song was banned by the BBC, along with many other 'death discs', which were popular at the time.
Live It Up! is a 1963 British musical second feature ('B') film directed by Lance Comfort and starring David Hemmings, featuring Gene Vincent, Jenny Moss, the Outlaws, Patsy Ann Noble, the Saints, Heinz Burt and Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen.The film also featured Steve Marriott, and Mitch Mitchell, later the drummer of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was written by Lyn Fairhurst and filmed at Pinewood Studios.
Jess Conrad is an English stage and screen actor and singer. As a boy he was nicknamed "Jesse" after American outlaw Jesse James; as there was already an actor named "Gerald James" in Actors' Equity, a drama teacher who was a fan of writer Joseph Conrad suggested the stage name of "Jess Conrad".
David Malcolm Adams was a British singer, keyboard player and songwriter.
A Life in the Death of Joe Meek is a 2013 American independent documentary film about the British record producer Joe Meek. The film is produced and directed by Howard S. Berger and Susan Stahman.
Thomas L. Harper is a British actor.
Charles Blackwell was an English arranger, record producer and songwriter. He began his career in music publishing offices in Denmark Street, London. At the age of 18 he was music director of Joe Meek's record label. He became a prolific studio arranger and record producer in the 1960s and 1970s with a string of hits, and recorded with many famous artistes. He was later commissioned to orchestrate Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" for a recording to be played at every sitting of the European Parliament.
