London Calling: The Untold Story Of British Pop - Kobalt Productions
, Germany
2012 - Producer/Director
Wrote, directed and executive produced this 4 x 52 mins series (June 2012, ARTE) telling the story of British pop through the prism of related artforms, revealing how photographic imagery defined the medium, the phenomenal influence of art schools, the scene's love affair with fashion and the pivotal role of the starmakers and svengalis who invented the rules of the modern music industry as they went along. London Calling cracks the creative code underpinning the irresistible rise of British pop.
VARIOUS - CPL Productions
, United Kingdom
2010 - Development Producer
Conceived and developed a variety of documentary pitches for BBC4, Oct-Nov.
On The Trail Of Easy Rider - Studio.TV.Film
, Germany
2010 - Director
Spring 2011, ARTE. 4 x 53 mins documentary series, celebrating the film and its legacy as a framework for taking a look at how the social issues touched on in Easy Rider have developed in the intervening decades. Cast includes Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Peter Coyote, Patri Friedman, Joel Selvin, Roger McGuinn, Country Joe McDonald, Guy Lawson, Jon Ronson, Charles Shaar Murray, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dr Todd Boyd, Prof. Manfred Heningsen, Michael Simmons, Erin Kaplan and more.
Pop Galerie Reloaded - Studio.TV.Film
, Germany
2009 - Director
Broadcast on ZDF (Jul/Aug 2009) as part of a "summer of the 80s" season, 3 x 60 mins documentaries about U2, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, originally made in the 90s, retooled and reworked to bring them up to date with material from the intervening 12+ years.
Hurricane Festival 2009 - The Sponsor People
, Germany
2009 - Producer/Director
Crafted four episodes of performances and interviews from this event for broadcast on ZDF Theaterkanal in August, featuring Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, Kings Of Leon, Franz Ferdinand, Katy Perry, Duffy, The Ting Tings, Eagles Of Death Metal, Social Distortion, Moby and The Wombats, plus one 90-minute special for broadcast on ARTE in November featuring Kraftwerk, Nick Cave, Lily Allen and Ben Harper & Relentless7.
VARIOUS - MME Moviement / All3Media International
, United Kingdom
2009 - Development Producer
From April 1993 to August 2009 I was the freelance London Producer for MME, formerly Me Myself & Eye Entertainment, one of Germany's largest independent TV production companies - which has recently become the German arm of All3Media International - helping them expand with the development of new formats and working in a variety of roles on their shows for Arte/ZDF and RTL: Bravo-TV, Canale Grande, Top Of The Pops (German version), 100%, The Dome, Unsere Besten (German version of Great Britons), Sex'n'Pop, Summer Of Love, Europe's Heritage and many more.
Hurricane Festival 07 - MCC / The Sponsor People
, United Kingdom
2007 - Producer/Director
Broadcast on Arte (Aug 2, 2007), 1 x 90-mins doc about massive 3-day German rock festival, featuring backstage interviews and visual gags, all linked in self-explanantory style by the stars involved. Cast includes: Pearl Jam, Marilyn Manson, Queens Of The Stone Age, Beastie Boys, Interpol, Editors, Bloc Party, Snow Patrol, Porcupine Tree, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Kings Of Leon, Placebo, Juliette & The Licks and Hayseed Dixie.
Summer Jam 2006 - MCC
, United Kingdom
2006 - Producer/Director
Broadcast on Arte (Aug 2006), 1 x 120-mins documentary about the 21st anniversary of Europe's biggest, best-loved reggae festival, featuring improbably high-octane highlights of all 3 days' performances, plus backstage artist access, humorous montages of island life, camping/bathing, freak circus and nocturnal chill-out zones, analysis of the third wave reggae boom sweeping continental Europe and a suspicious lack of hackneyed spliff imagery. Cast includes: Elephant Man, Damian Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & The Maytals, Luciano, Saian Super Crew, Dub Incorporation, Culcha Candela, Morgan Heritage, Ce'Cile, Orishas, Panteon Rococo, The Gladiators, The Congos, Patrice, Jan Delay, Jnr. Kelly, Ziggy Marley and many more.
Hurricane Festival 06 - MCC / The Sponsor People
, United Kingdom
2006 - Producer/Director
Broadcast on Arte (July 2006), 1 x 120-mins visually inventive highlights package of this massive 3-day German rock festival, featuring backstage interviews, montages and pre and post-production insight into the life of the event. Cast includes: The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Maximo Park, Hard-Fi, Gnarls Barkley, Sigur Ros, The Raconteurs, Mando Diao, Seeed, Apocalyptica, Billy Talent, Cardigans and many more.
Get Up Stand Up: The Story Of Pop And Politics - DoRo Film
, United Kingdom
2005 - Writer/Director
Award-winning 6 x 60 mins series, looking at the history of political engagement in popular music from Joe Hill in 1915 to the present day, packed with stars and expert witnesses. Broadcast on Arte (Europe), ABC (Australia) April 2005 and The History Channel (UK) Sep 2005. A 120-mins edit of the series, narrated and hosted by Chuck D, was broadcast on PBS channels across the US (Sep 2005) and described by The New York Times as: "one of the most daring, and perhaps the hippest, program in the recent history of PBS". Cast includes: Martin Sheen, Tim Robbins, Bono, Pete Seeger, Steve Earle, Bob Geldof, Kris Kristofferson, Jackson Browne, Patti Smith, Chuck D, Jello Biafra, Peter Gabriel and over 40 other artists.
Hurricane Festival 05 - MCC / The Sponsor People
, United Kingdom
2005 - Producer/Director
Broadcast on Arte (July 2005), 1 x 90-mins visually inventive highlights package of this massive 3-day German rock festival, featuring backstage interviews. Cast includes: System Of A Down, Audioslave, Beck , Oasis, New Order, Queens of the Stone Age, Rammstein, Dinosaur Jnr. and many more.
Into The Night With Udo Kier & Grayson Perry - Avanti Media
, United Kingdom
2004 - Producer
'Into The Night With...' is a strand of occasional 60-mins films on ZDF (Germany) in which two celebrities from different walks of life meet for the first time and get to know eachother while travelling around a city by night. I produced one of these films, featuring cult actor Udo Kier and Turner prize-winning transvestite potter Grayson Perry, shot in one long night in a stretched limo and at various London locations.
Let It Bleed - 40 Years of The Rolling Stones - DoRo Film
, United Kingdom
2002 - Producer/Director
1 x 180 mins feature-length documentary on the history of The Rolling Stones - a comprehensive blend of archive footage, band interviews and expert analysis from insiders and former colleagues - broadcast on Arte in July 2002 as part of the network's Stones night, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the band's first live gig at the Marquee Club.
Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story - DoRo Film
, United Kingdom
2000 - Writer/Director
An award-winning, intimate portrait of the legendary singer, touching on issues he had avoided while alive, and told by those who hadn't spoken before - family members, friends, employees and colleagues. Filmed in Zanzibar, India, England, Germany, Switzerland and America. A 60-mins edit was broadcast in primetime on BBC1 in Dec 2000, and a 112-mins director's cut is available on the 2006 DVD 'Lover Of Life, Singer of Songs'.
JAM and POPGALERIE - DoRo Productions
, United Kingdom
1999 - Writer/Director
A string of 60-minute artist profile documentaries for the JAM strand on VIVA (Germany), and POPGALERIE strand on Arte/ZDF (France/Germany), among them¿... Janis Joplin (1999), The Spice Girls (1999), Backstreet Boys (1999), Paul McCartney (1998), Oasis (1997), The Brand New Heavies (1997), The Human League (1995), David Bowie (1995), The Pet Shop Boys (1994) and The Who (1994).
ONE - DoRo Productions
, United Kingdom
1999 - Producer/Director
1 x 30 mins launch episode of youth magazine show (broadcast on ORF Austria), shot in the UK with an Avengers theme, presenters in catsuits, a powder blue 1967 Lotus, clay pigeon shooting with Diana memorial plates and a brief appearance by John Cleese.
H - DoRo Productions
, United Kingdom
1998 - Producer/Director
1 x 50 mins fashion magazine show sponsored by Hugo Boss (broadcast on VIVA, Germany). I devised the London episode of this strand, shooting five VT pieces with Patrick Cox, etc., in one long day.
Reiselust & Voyage Voyage - DoRo Productions
, United Kingdom
1998 - Producer
2 x 60 mins travel programmes about London. 'Reiselust' was broadcast in Germany on ZDF. Made for the same production company, in the same timeframe and with the same crew, 'Voyage Voyage' was a completely different show, broadcast across Europe on Arte.
Free Your Mind - MTV Europe
, United Kingdom
1993 - Assistant Producer
A 90-minute live-to-air discussion programme, looking at the rise of racism and fascism in Europe, featuring six pre-shot 4-minute VT pieces filmed around the continent and live performances in the studio from World Party, Living Colour and others. This one-off special was MTV Europe¿s first bit of pro-social programming, and first live-to-air show other than Ray Cokes' show. Together with producer Murray Boland, I conceived, organised, shot and edited the whole thing.
The Rory Bremner Show - Kudos Productions
, United Kingdom
1992 - Researcher
Brought in as a writer and researcher on a putative new comedy format called 'The Show With No Name', I ended up as researcher on Kudos' first production and Rory Bremner's first show for C4 (a one-off end-of-year special).
Dance Energy - Activate / Diverse
, United Kingdom
1991 - Researcher
I was brought in to pep up the end of the second series of this BBC DEF II stalwart, and filmed items with Boy George, a guide to the Rimini club scene and more.
The Word - 24 Hr Productions
, United Kingdom
1990 - Researcher
I was poached from print journalism - though I'd long worked in European TV - to work for 8 months on the very first series of 'The Word' (when it was still just 24 Hr Productions, prior to merging with Geldof's company Planet), an intense job and an amazing learning experience - to put it politely.
Apropos Film - Mungofilm
, United Kingdom
1988 - Director
From 1988-2001 I conducted all the celebrity interviews and shot all the London-based reports for this long-running cinema magazine show, broadcast on ORF1 (Austria).
That Was Then, This Is Now - BBC
, United Kingdom
1988 - Writer
Hired by the BBC to interview David Gilmour of Pink Floyd for this historical retrospective strand (against a bluscreen backdrop at a studio in Isleworth), in the hope that I would elicit from him some of the gems that had featured in a Pink Floyd interview cover story I had written for the NME that summer. Gilmour decided afterwards that he had said too much about ex-partner Roger Waters, and his lawyers blocked the show's broadcast.
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