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IMDbPro

Telstar: The Joe Meek Story

  • 20082008
  • RR
  • 1h 59m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Kevin Spacey, James Corden, JJ Feild, and Con O'Neill in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
Telstar is the true story of legendary independent record producer Joe Meek.
Play trailer1:44
1 Video
16 Photos
BiographyDramaMusic
A music-infused drama about Joe Meek, the flamboyantly gay, tone deaf, songwriter-producer behind the '60s hits "Have I the Right," "Just Like Eddie," "Johnny, Remember Me" and "Telstar."A music-infused drama about Joe Meek, the flamboyantly gay, tone deaf, songwriter-producer behind the '60s hits "Have I the Right," "Just Like Eddie," "Johnny, Remember Me" and "Telstar."A music-infused drama about Joe Meek, the flamboyantly gay, tone deaf, songwriter-producer behind the '60s hits "Have I the Right," "Just Like Eddie," "Johnny, Remember Me" and "Telstar."
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
    • Nick Moran
    • Nick Moran
    • James Hicks
  • Stars
    • Con O'Neill
    • Kevin Spacey
    • Pam Ferris
    • Nick Moran
    • Nick Moran
    • James Hicks
  • Stars
    • Con O'Neill
    • Kevin Spacey
    • Pam Ferris
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 39User reviews
    • 55Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Telstar
    Trailer 1:44
    Watch Telstar

    Photos16

    Kevin Spacey, Tom Burke, James Corden, JJ Feild, and Con O'Neill in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    Kevin Spacey in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    Kevin Spacey, Tom Burke, and Con O'Neill in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    Kevin Spacey in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    Kevin Spacey and Tom Burke in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    James Corden and Ralf Little in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    Con O'Neill in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    Kevin Spacey in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    Con O'Neill and Carl Barât in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    James Corden, JJ Feild, Jon Lee, John Leyton, Con O'Neill, and Mathew Baynton in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    Kevin Spacey, James Corden, JJ Feild, James Hicks, and Con O'Neill in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
    Chris Wilson in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Con O'Neill
    Con O'Neill
    • Joe Meek
    Kevin Spacey
    Kevin Spacey
    • Major Wilfred Banks
    Pam Ferris
    Pam Ferris
    • Mrs. Violet Shenton
    JJ Feild
    JJ Feild
    • Heinz Burt
    James Corden
    James Corden
    • Clem Cattini
    Tom Burke
    Tom Burke
    • Geoff Goddard
    Ralf Little
    Ralf Little
    • Chas Hodges
    Sid Mitchell
    • Patrick Pink
    Mathew Baynton
    Mathew Baynton
    • Ritchie Blackmore
    Shaun Evans
    Shaun Evans
    • Billy Kuy
    Callum Dixon
    Callum Dixon
    • John Leyton
    Tom Harper
    Tom Harper
    • Alan Caddy
    Jon Lee
    • Billy Fury
    Nigel Harman
    • Jess Conrad
    Carl Barât
    Carl Barât
    • Gene Vincent
    • (as Carl Barat)
    Justin Hawkins
    Justin Hawkins
    • Screaming Lord Sutch
    Jess Conrad
    Jess Conrad
    • Larry Parnes
    Clem Cattini
    • Chauffeur
      • Nick Moran
      • Nick Moran
      • James Hicks
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Actors Nigel Harman, James Corden, Ralf Little and Callum Dixon play Jess Conrad, Clem Cattini, Chas Hodges and John Leyton respectively. The real Conrad, Cattini, Hodges and Leyton all appear in the movie themselves albeit in small cameo roles.
    • Goofs
      The film is quite clearly set in 1963 but the registration plate of the black van in which the group are touring shows the suffix "D" which was issued in the year 1966.
    • Quotes

      Major Wilfred Banks: Anton, isn't it?

      Geoff Goddard: Sorry?

      Major Wilfred Banks: Anton Hollywood, pianist?

      Geoff Goddard: Yes. Well, no.

      Major Wilfred Banks: Well, I'm afraid Joe's decision is final, he doesn't feel you've got what it takes. And if you've come for compensation, you can trot off back to wherever the hell...

      Geoff Goddard: No, it's Geoff, not just Geoff. Geoff Goddard.

      Major Wilfred Banks: Oh! The author! Tunesmith!

      Geoff Goddard: Composer.

      Major Wilfred Banks: Composer, yes, of course.

      Geoff Goddard: The name Anton Hollywood was Joe's idea, it's not real. It's a stage name. He thought he'd do a Russ Conway with me, didn't work out.

      Major Wilfred Banks: So you're Goddard, are you? Read Goddard, didn't think Hollywood.

      Geoff Goddard: No, well, you wouldn't.

      Major Wilfred Banks: Don't slouch, young man! Upright! Shoulders back! Splendid song!

      Geoff Goddard: [in a whisper] Thank you.

    • Crazy credits
      Stageplay first performed by the New Vic Workshop
    • Connections
      Referenced in The Wright Stuff: Episode #17.110 (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      The Traitors
      Written by Johnny Douglas

      Performed by The Packabeats

      Courtesy of The Packabeats, under licence from BulloMouse

    User reviews39

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    5/10
    Tuning by numbers
    Telstar is the satellite that inspired British music producer and his in house band The Tornadoes to launch the instrumental record which became the first US number 1 hit by a British group.

    Meek who operated out of the top of of a leather good shop was a maverick like Phil Spector, and just like Spector with a fondness of guns.

    The film starts and feels like a stage play very much in keeping with its origins as a stage play and low budget adaptation as a film. Con O'Neill (reprising the part from the play) plays Meek, harried, frazzled, on the edge with drugs keeping him going. Kevin Spacey makes a cameo as Major Banks his business backer who keeps the whole enterprise in even keel as we find that Meek is certainly no businessman.

    Somewhere within the chaos of the upstairs apartment cum music studio Meek who could not read or write music and was ridiculed for being tone deaf managed to produced a string of heats and had major musician working under him such as Ritchie Blackmore, Chas Hodges. I shall omit Screaming Lord Sutch as a major musician though.

    However the pill popping, plagiarism accusations, arrest for importuning in a public toilet, his falling out with the Major lead to deepening financial turmoil and the falling out with friends and musicians. The hits dried up and in a tragic demise he ended up shooting his landlady and himself.

    The film by actor turned director Nick Moran is rather messy. Moran does well with a low budget to evoke a sixties atmosphere which is away from the swinging which was so beloved by past filmmakers.

    Its nice to see support from Spacey, James Corden as well as some of the real life people who associated with Meek turn up such as Jess Conrad.

    However the film feels overlong and as Moran tries to imbue Meek with some psychological character traits based on his upbringing and his past family life it feels like a failure as it adds little. Many people of his generation had family affected by The Great War or trauma in childhood.

    I found this a middling film whose kinetic energy runs out midway through and the film starts to drag until the tragic ending.
    helpful•2
    1
    • Prismark10
    • Feb 22, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 19, 2009 (United Kingdom)
      • United Kingdom
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK
    • Production company
      • Aspiration Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 59 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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