David Rose (right) talking to Andy Meikle (left) in 2010 at the ‘It Came From Pebble Mill’ screening event
David Edward Rose: 22nd Nov 1924 – 26th January 2017
Below is an excerpt from David Rose’s obituary in The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2017/01/31/david-rose-producer-z-cars-obituary/ .
Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission
BBC Birmingham at the Mailbox is remembering its heritage by naming some of its meeting rooms after famous Pebble Mill programmes.
The programmes being honoured include:
Pebble Mill at One
Good Morning with Anne and Nick
Howards’ Way
Tom Coyne
If you have any logos or photos of these programmes, which might be suitable to decorate the walls of the meeting rooms, then please get in touch. Vanessa
Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.
Cast and crew on Howards’ Way
Midlands Today presenters, Tom Coyne, back row, right.
The following additional suggestions were added on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Helena Morrisey: ‘What about all the fine radio output too…? R3’s The Music Machine was a groundbreaking programme and produced at Pebble Mill.’
Stuart Gandy: ‘Not forgetting the popular local music show ‘Look Hear’. It was a big production for a local programme.’
Julie Hill: ‘Yes and what about Angels, Saturday Night at the Mill, The Clothes Show, Gardeners World, Ebony.’
Jane Clement: ‘If they name any more rooms, I would suggest The Archers. And Donny MacLeod.’
Jane Ward: ‘Midlands Radio Orchestra?’
Sue Welch: ‘Only TV? How about all the Radio 2 output and Radios 3 &4, not to mention 5?’
Bill Bohanna: ‘”Gangsters”, “Boys from the Black Stuff”, “All Creatures Great and Small” more to follow’
Mike Hayes: ‘Do not forget David Steel & Michael Hancock…’
A Touch of Eastern Promise
The Flatpack Film Festival are going to be screening six 30 minute dramas made at Pebble Mill by the English Regions Drama Department, in April 2016 at the Midlands Arts Centre, Edgbaston:
“SECOND CITY FIRSTS
During the 1970s, a key strength of the drama department at BBC Pebble Mill was its ability to unearth new talent; not just through flagships like Play For Today, but also the entry-point offered by the likes of Second City Firsts. Running from 1973 for ten series, this half-hour slot took a chance on a spectacular range of ‘regional talent’ including Willy Russell, Julie Walters, David Rudkin, Brian Glover and many others. Just as importantly, it offered a diversity of representation that often compares favourably with today’s TV drama.
Volume One:
A Touch of Eastern Promise; Girl; Early to Bed
A Touch of Eastern Promise (1973), is not officially a Second City First, though it emerged from a very similar slot. Written by Tara Prem, it’s the tale of a daydreaming shop-boy who has the opportunity to meet his favourite star. Partly shot in Balsall Heath, all the cinema scenes were captured at the now-demolished Imperial on Moseley Road. To follow, an Alison Steadman double-bill: studio-shot military drama Girl (1974), which features the first lesbian kiss seen on British TV; and then Early to Bed (1975), with Steadman smouldering on location in a depressed mill town. This claustrophobic tale of infidelity was the first television script by Alan Bleasdale, who later went on to Boys From the Blackstuff and GBH.
Volume Two:
The Permissive Society; Club Havana; Jack Flea’s Birthday Celebration
It was at the Midlands Arts Centre where Mike Leigh first embarked on his unique approach to devising scripts, and Pebble Mill which commissioned much of his early TV work. Made a year before camping comedy Nuts in May, The Permissive Society (1975) is an overlooked gem. Also confined to a single set, Club Havana (1975) is a tense portrait of a Handsworth speakeasy by playwright Barry Reckord, featuring Don Warrington as the landlady’s son newly arrived from Jamaica and an incredibly young Julie Walters as the barmaid. We conclude with Jack Flea’s Birthday Celebration (1976), a psychosexual nightmare from the pen of Ian McEwan which is very much in keeping with his short stories of the time.”
Editing Boys from the Blackstuff from pebblemill on Vimeo.
Video recorded by Colin Fearnley, no reproduction without permission.
Colin Fearnley recorded this video in November 2004, on the last evening of editing at BBC Pebble Mill. He filmed the editors looking round the empty edit suites and reminiscing about the programmes they had edited there. Mike Bloore remembers editing Boys from the Blackstuff in VTD, on 1″ videotape, with director Philip Saville sat on the sofa in the edit suite.
Editor, Mike Bloore
The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Keith Brook: ‘Well done to Mike. A great editor and thoroughly nice guy. We had so much fun at Pebble Mill.’
Abby Bottrill: ‘Aww, the legend that is our very own Sir Mike Bloore.’
Dave Baumber, photo by Peter Poole, no reproduction without permission
Some sad news. Dave Baumber, ace sound recordist and dubbing mixer has died after a short illness. My Pebble Mill friends will be shocked, as I was, but for those of you who think they don’t know him, well, I’ll remind you of his work. My Doctor Who friends will have heard his work as a grams operator on the 1966 adventure serial The Moonbase.
Dave was a BAFTA award winning sound supervisor for Boys from the Blackstuff in 1983, but fans of cult TV will have heard his work as a sound recordist on Tom’s Midnight Garden and Torchwood and as a dubbing mixer on Artemis 81, Gangsters, Spyship, various ‘Play for Today’ editions including Nuts in May, Red Shift, Penda’s Fen and Licking Hitler.
Dave looked after the sound on many of the major series to come out of Pebble Mill including Anna of the Five Towns, All Creatures Great and Small, All Quiet on the Preston Front, Martin Chuzzlewit, Dangerfield and Dalziel & Pascoe.
By 2004 Dave had itchy feet and was keen to get back to doing more location sound. He was my sound recordist on Casualty Saved My Life. He had stints on the real thing, Casualty in Bristol and then the aforementioned Torchwood.
Apart from being brilliant at his job, he was a really nice guy.
Paul Vanezis
The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook Page:
Ray Holman: ‘So sad. I worked with Dave on several series, some at Pebble Mill such as All Creatures and the last one was in Cardiff on Torchwood. What a shock and what a lovely man, I’m so sorry.’
Steve Weddle: ‘A true professional who made everything he did seem deceptively easy. Happy times.’
Jeff Matthews: ‘I am devastated and totally saddened by this terrible news. I worked with Dave on Torchwood and had many a ‘soundman’s’ type chat with him. He retired and went to drink wine in France. I hope he had lots of fun. A very sad loss.’