Blog – Page 8 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Pebble Mill at One fashion item, with the lighting crew

Here are some photos from cameraman Bhasker Solanki of the lighting crew on Pebble Mill at One, setting up for a fashion item on the banks of the River Rea.

Andy Frizzell at the back, Peter Booth in front, Keith Bullock holding the lamp stand. Photos by Bhasker Solanki, no reproduction without permission

Keith Bullock and Andy Frizzell on lighting, possible Jack Rook on camera

WCR Inside Tracks – Tom Coyle

The archive ‘Inside Tracks’ featuring Tom Coyne is being broadcast on Wolverhampton Community Radio (WCR) Sunday evening (9th Oct 2022) at 5pm.

The archive ‘Inside Tracks’ at 5pm remembers the legendary broadcaster Tom Coyne, who died in 2015. Pete Whitehouse met Tom and recorded his ‘Inside Tracks’ programme in 2010 at a time when he was living in retirement in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton.

Tom was originally from the North East of England, having been born in South Shields and was the first new reader on Tyne Tees television in Newcastle. In the programme, Tom talked through his life, and we play music from some of the people he’d met during his long career in radio and television.

Tom was on the first edition of ‘Nationwide’ and also presented many other shows including: ‘Songs of Praise’, ‘Dance Dates’, ‘Come Dancing’ and ‘Top Gear’ plus hundreds of programmes as the Geordie gamekeeper Gordon Armstrong in ‘The Archers’ on radio.

For more about Tom and a video of him in his heyday at ‘Midlands Today’ follow this link: https://www.pebblemill.org/blog/tom-coyne-rip/“

When the Queen visited Pebble Mill

With the sad death of the Queen, I was reminded of her 1981 visit to Pebble Mill. This was to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the building. Here are a couple of shots of her visit to Pebble Mill at One. Pebble Mill at One deputy editor, Jim Dumighan showed her around.

The Queen visiting the Pebble Mill at One foyer studio in 1981. Photo from Keith Brook.

The Queen visiting Pebble Mill in 1981

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

Stephen Hawkins: My Mother, Joyce Hawkins, who was Head of the Costume Department, has asked me to state that “In advance of the Queens visit HM named one person she would like to meet. That person was George Collins, a dresser in the costume dept. Much to the genuine surprise of everyone. They had a private conversation.

David Short: I had just joined Pebble Mill as a camera assistant and worked on the Royal visit.

Norman McLeod: Fortunate to be presented in Radio Studio 1. Charmed as everyone was. Palpable memories still treasured together with the pictures, which I am still searching for! Requiescat in Pace.

Harold Rich: As she passed me and my musicians she turned and said “Are you the backing?”

Mikhail Gorbachev and the mobile phone shop

Here is a gem of a story about Mikhail Gorbachev by former BBC journalist, Richard Uridge:

“Many years after the Soviet leader stepped down he was asked to open a mobile phone shop in Cheltenham. To the surprise and delight of the owner he agreed and the event was duly covered by the BBC at Pebble Mill. As a Midlands Today newsreader I introduced the story and back referenced it with words to the effect “funny old world isn’t it? One minute you’re the second most powerful man on the planet. The next you’re opening a phone shop in Gloucestershire.”

I thought it was hilarious. But I got told off by my bosses for editorialising. The shop owner wasn’t too chuffed either. Said I’d demeaned his business. I wasn’t at all sorry. Reckon he got a lot of free publicity.

My other Gorbachev-related comments – on radio rather than telly – are too excruciating to relate here and warranted a grovelling letter of apology.”

Richard Uridge

Creative commons photo of Gorbachev, by John Mathew Smith, 1997

‘I Ran the World’ on Pebble Mill at One

Photographs by Mel Stevens, no reproduction without permission

Paul Coia presenting

These photos of Pebble Mill at One date from May 1986. Paul Coia presents an item on ‘I Ran the World’, the sports aid spin off of Live Aid. Some people thought Sebastian Coe and Paul looked similar, so the production team decided to invite him on as a guest and join in the show. Apparently, Paul Coia still has the T-shirt.