John Cavanagh on 'A Life in the Death of Joe Meek'

Glasgow Film Festival 2008 interviews broadcaster and musician John Cavanagh, who contributed to the making of 'A Life in the Death of Joe Meek.'

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Glasgow
• Film
• Festival
• 2008
• Interview
• John
• Cavanagh
• Life
• in
• the
• Death
• of
• Joe
• Meek

[adphlash]

Isn't it ironic where the interview for a sound recording legend is so badly recorded itself? That noise floor is awful!

[HelloCatkin]

I love this interview :) wish I'd hear Original Masters now! :D

[304hollowayroad]

My 3 comments appear in reverse order, as I had to split them up... please read from below...

The Ampex story is sourced from P.176 of John Repsch's "The Legendary Joe Meek". You're quite right that a 300 series could not be lifted, however it's worth pointing out that Meek also used Lyrec and Vortexion recorders along the way and not, exclusively, the EMI BTR & 300 series Ampex models you mention.

[304hollowayroad]

2: You say Joe "didn't use that ampex to record", yet this machine is seen in many photos of Meek's studio (where it is the only vertically mounted recorder) and being operated by Joe during a Screaming Lord Sutch session in one of the few film clips of the producer in action.

[304hollowayroad]

I've just spotted these comments and I appreciate the one about O/M. As for the remarks of "Lewisdurham", I really don't care to get involved in being niggly over minutiae, but as this debunks my comments on two points, I think I ought to reply...

!: When did I say that tape was new in the '60s? My remark centred around the time when Joe started recording (mid 1950s) when tape recording was indeed new technology.

TBC....

[Freakster1970]

Does anyone remember the John Cavanagh radio show Original Masters ? Does anyone have any old tapes they can put on the Internet? It was a great radio show!

[lewisldurham]

Tape wasn't new in the mid 60s, it was around from 1949, Also, sorry about this but he didn't use that ampex to record, he used a BTR and an ampex 300, which you cannot even lift, let alone throw down the stairs.