Boom listener Steve Jellyman writes:

In June 1967, I was working for the BBC in London as a junior cameraman and often drove a 'Mole' camera crane for episodes of Top of the Pops, then broadcast live from Studio G at Lime Grove.

I was asked if I’d operate the 'Mole' on an important secret live programme somewhere in London on June 25th. Unfortunately, I had to turn down the request as I was planning a break in the Lake District.

Whilst away, a friend and I climbed up one of the big fells near Keswick, before staggering later into the Pack Horse pub in Keswick. Desperate for a pint, we caught sight of the black and white TV in the corner of the bar.

Cliff Michelmore was just introducing the last sequence of Our World – a global TV special – featuring the Beatles, performing All You Need is Love, live from Abbey Road Studios!

I still regret that decision not to have worked on that historic broadcast.

My job allowed me, however, to meet many of my heroes. Roy Orbison was one of them.  In my younger days, I’d watched him open the Beatles tour at the Slough Adelphi Cinema.

We lived near Reading at the time and a few of us caught the train to Slough to see the show. Strangely I don't remember much about the Beatles performance, but I vividly remember Roy Orbison. He appeared on a black stage, in a black suit, black hair, black Gibson guitar, and white face in the spotlight! He was almost motionless during the performance.

After the show we all went to the pub for a celebratory drink!

Much later we arrived at Slough Station to catch the train home, only to see the porter shutting the big shuttered gates across the entrance to the station: "Sorry, you're too late, the late train has gone".

We didn't have a penny between us - and, naturally, my parents didn't have a phone! The only thing we could do is walk home, all 18 miles along the A4 through Maidenhead.

Eventualy, I arrived home at the crack of dawn to a serious telling off from my parents – and it took some time before I was allowed to go to another gig.

But - 24 years later in 1987, whilst I was working as head cameraman at breakfast television in Camden, Roy Orbison came in for a live interview, not long before his death.

He was brought into the studio during a commercial break. Still wearing black, he waited to be interviewed, with me on camera. I remember he was very nervous, very quiet and constantly licking his lips.  Later, after the show, I was able to fulfil an ambition as he signed a LP record for me, now one of my treasured possessions.

In June 65, I was working in the BBC Television Centre Studio TC3 when Bob Dylan recorded two shows, produced by well know TV Producer Stewart Morris.

The audience was admitted to the studio, and everything was ready for the recordings. In the Control Room, 'notorious' Stewart Morris ('notorious' for being difficult to work with!) asked if everyone was ready for the recording, as he wanted to capture the audience first reaction on seeing the legend Bob Dylan.

"Run Video Tape recording"  - " Cue Dylan".

The audience went mad when they saw Dylan appear, in his brown cord jacket, mouth organ round his neck and clutching his Gibson acoustic guitar.

Just as he started his first song ' The Ballad of Hollis Brown', however, the phone rang in the control room: “VT have a fault, stop recording!"

Stewart Morris went berserk as he had to start again and could never recreate that incredible initial audience reaction.

Sadly, the tapes were wiped after transmission, as they often were in the interests of economy. It  was a memorable performance too - the last time he played totally acoustically before the notorious electric gig at the Newport Folk Festival, when he appeared with a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar!

Steve

 

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