Pebble Mill at One – Page 41 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Pebble Mill at One on the Severn Valley Railway

Photos from Peter Poole, no reproduction without permission.

These photos were taken at a location recording for Pebble Mill At One. We spent all day at The Severn Valley Railway. I can’t remember the date but we all had a very good day. The singer is Ralph McTell.

Amongst the photos I can spot Pebble Mill at One Editor, Steve Weddle with presenter Marian Foster; multi camera director, Sue Robinson; producer, Clare Stride.

Please post a comment if you can identify other people in the photos, or give a date!

Roy Castle Beats Time – Paul Balmer

Stephane Grappelli on 'Roy Castle Beats Time'

Stephane Grappelli on ‘Roy Castle Beats Time’ with The Suzuki Children.

The Story;

I met Stephane the day before this photo at ‘Pebble Mill at One’ – with Diz Disley and John Etheridge – he was riding high with a new Hot Club Trio and platinum selling albums with Yehudi Menuhin. I’d always been a fan of the original 1930’s HCQ line up with Django Reinhardt.

He wanted somewhere to warm up and I took him to Studio 1 which was empty as usual! – he was in seventh heaven.

He had just acquired his wonderful Galiano violin (he had never had money before!) he played non stop for the next two days and refused to stand under the notoriously hot Pebble Mill lighting in case the Galiano dried out – this caused big problems as he stood in the gloom.

The next day for Roy Castle the producer had prepared a surprise – ‘The Suzuki Children’ came on as a treat and formed a circle around Stephane playing their tiny violins. Stephane was very moved and wanted a souvenir photo – I rushed off and found a freelance who took the snap.

Stephane gave me his address and I posted it to him. Astonishingly he wrote back!

This was the beginning of a friendship of 20 years. I eventually wrote his biography, produced a one hour feature for BBC Radio 2 and directed a three hour DECCA DVD ‘A Life In The Jazz Century’ which was nominated for a BAFTA in 2002.

When we cleared Stephane’s Paris flat in 1997 the photo was still amongst his souvenirs.

Pebble Mill was full of surprises!

Paul Balmer

Paul Balmer on Pebble Mill at One

‘Paul Balmer on the ‘Pebble Mill at One’ Set – with cameraman Howard Dartnall and Link 125 camera, taken around 1983′

Note all the joins in the set! The daily design budget was probably a couple of hundred quid! The floor was also full of joins so the Vinten pedestals would jolt as they crossed these giving the familiar ‘Pebble Mill Bump!’ to any tracking shots.

(Paul Balmer http://www.musiconearth.co.uk/ http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Balmer)

Pebble Mill at One rehearsal

Photos by Robin Sunderland, no reproduction without permission

Photos taken by Robin Sunderland, not to be reproduced without permission. Cameraman Robin Sunderland took these photos of a Pebble Mill at One rehearsal shortly after completing his camera training in the 1980s. They feature presenters Marion Foster and Donny Mcleod, and a young looking Nick Patten (now Head of BBC Birmingham and Manchester Factual Programmes – Vision Productions) is floor managing. The cameramen are: Brian Cave, Jim Gray and Dave Lawson with Alan Duxbury doing ‘Captions’ up on camera 5. Please add a comment if you recognise other people in the photographs – thanks!

Keith Ackrill’s Memories of Working at Pebble Mill

Bob Langley dancing with Ginger Rogers

KEITH ACKRILL – MEMORIES OF PEBBLE MILL

I worked at Pebble Mill on Radio 4 and television, from the day it opened until I left in 1982. I have very many pleasant recollections of the years I spent there.

The thing you noticed most was the tremendous enthusiasm that permeated the whole staff.

It was the feeling that we were in a brand new building hailed as the biggest combined radio and television complex in Europe. We were all determined to make Pebble Mill programming a force to be reckoned with.

Hours and hours of top television had the Pebble Mill label. As well as Birmingham productions, many London drama series were based in the studio or filmed on location, using Birmingham crews.

The Brothers, Poldark, All Creatures Great and Small, Juliet Bravo, Howards Way, even Basil Brush – the list goes on and on. And that doesn’t include the many classic dramas that were produced in Studio A.

Radio was an important part of the building’s output too. Radio Two programming found a home there, the Midlands Radio Orchestra was in residence for many years. Folk music, pop music – every kind of music came from Pebble Mill. And that’s not forgetting radio drama. Pebble Mill, of course, was home to The Archers and many other dramas of all kinds were produced alongside, together with some fine radio documentaries.

There were many landmark programmes – Top Gear, Pebble Mill At One, Saturday Night At The Mill – all of which I was fortunate to have worked on.

My main memories from the last programme include talking to actor Robert Wagner, in the hospitality room, about English beer. I know nothing about beer, but it was worth talking about it just have Natalie Wood’s dark brown eyes focused on me! I remember sitting across the table from Ginger Rogers and, later, photographing Bob Langley dancing with her – lucky devil – accompanied by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen, with guest trumpeter James Hunt. Many, many great stars came to Pebble Mill to take part in the wide range of radio and television programmes that came from within that building.

I miss meeting them, but I also miss the camaraderie of the people I worked with, of being part of a team dedicated to putting broadcasting in the Midlands on the map.