Context
- 2. Pete Townshend • Background Information: • Pete was born on the 19th May 1945, he studied graphic design at Ealing Art College, but dropped out in 1964 to focus on music full time. • Who is Pete Townshend? • Pete Townshend was the leader, guitarist, secondary lead vocalist, and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. As well as being well known for music, he has also written the screenplay for the film Quadrophenia, this movie is about growing up around mods and rockers in Brighton and the challenges that people had to face in this time. The film is named after one of the Who’s albums, released in 1973. • Rotten Tomatoes describes the film as “An angst-ridden London youth, Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels) escapes the drudgery of his postal job as a member of the Mods, a sharply dressed gang constantly at odds with their rivals, the Rockers. When the Mods and Rockers clash in the coastal town of Brighton, England, it leads to both trouble and an encounter with the lovely Steph (Leslie Ash). Returning to London, Jimmy, who aspires to be like Mod leader Ace Face (Sting), becomes even more disillusioned and longs to return to Brighton.” Pete Townshend said that the film and the album were based on a “true-life tragedy of a mod committing suicide off the tip of beachy head” • Their beliefs: • Pete Townshend believes that at one point in his life he was pansexual, he has previously opened up about sexual encounters with both men and women in the past. • In a 1979 interview, Pete Townshend recalled how he was influenced by the Rolling stones, he thinks that punk rock was inspired by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. He states “The Stones really affected me, very, very deeply, their wildness on the stage, the fact they didn’t wear uniforms. This kind of thing was very just outrageous, you know.”
- 3. Pete Townshend • Their work: • Pete Townshend is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was part of a rock band formed in 1964 called The Who, they were a huge inspiration to mod culture and its rise to fame. • This is important for me because anyone who is a mod knows this band, so it will most likely be brought up in an interview. • Pete was so influential in this era that he was also part of Ringo Starr's band named 'Ringo Starr & his all-Starr band'
- 4. Don Letts • Background Information: • Don Letts was born on the 10th January 1956 and went to Tenison's school in Kennington. From 1975 he owned a London clothing store named Acme Attractions. • Who is Don Letts? • Don Letts first became popular in the 1970s. “He was the link between punk and reggae scenes, playing heavy dub records to members of bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The slits. He later went on to become a renowned documentary filmmaker, not to mention part of the Grammy – Winning group Big Audio Dynamite.” He was part of this group from 1985 to 1989 when the website began to decrease in popularity and was disbanded. • Don Letts is known for turning a whole generation of punks onto reggae “It was whilst as a D.J. at the first punk club 'The Roxy' in 1977, that made his first film 'The Punk Rock Movie' w/ Sex Pistols-The Clash and many others. This led to a period directing over 300 music videos for a diverse mix of artists ranging from Public Image to Bob Marley.” • Many people think that Don Letts had a huge positive impact on reggae and mod culture in the 70s, Forbes states that “Don has seen a lot of cultural trends come and go and has been a key influencer during many of them.” • Their Beliefs: • Don believes that Punk was a refuge from racism, he believes that it was a great time to protest against racism as bands were bringing people together, In an interview, he says “The clash was doing rock against racism concerts”.
- 5. Don Letts Don Letts is a notable name for a number of reasons, as he has worked in a few different mediums. He started by focusing on film, he was credited in 'Two Sevens Clash', ' Punk: Attitude' and 'Dancehall Queen'. After this, he wrote a book titled 'There And Black Again' focusing on growing up being black in London, and the struggles that come with it. Don has also worked as a radio presenter and still does to this day. He was also a DJ in the mid 80s.
- 6. Julien Temple • Background Information: • Julien Temple was born on 26th November 1953, he studied at Kings College in Cambridge, National Film And Television School and St Marylebone Grammar School. • Who is Julien Temple? • Julien Temple is an English film, documentary, and music video director, he started his career by making short films featuring bands such as the Sex Pistols, a mod-inspired group. From 1977 to 2020, Julien Temple made 14 films, 30 documentaries, and over 100 music videos. Temple’s first notable video recognized within the mod subculture is when he was a student “living in a squat in west London”. He came across four men singing a cover of a Small Faces song (Small faces were a mod band in the 70s). Even before they played their first gig Temple Knew he had seen “the future” and began to record them. ‘The Great Rock n Roll Swindle’ released in 1980, was the first film Temple made about the Sex Pistols. 20 years later, he made a film about the rise and fall of the Sex Pistols from their perspective. • Their beliefs: • In an interview with the guardian, Julien Temple was asked about his first film “absolute beginners” he discusses how this film has had an impact on him to this day, he states that “it’s been an albatross around my neck since I began making films. It’s still difficult for me to get funding because of it. I had to leave the UK. Scorsese helped me get a green card actually. I couldn’t get work here.” he even went as far as to say “ I was very much the one who’d been blamed for destroying the British film industry.”
- 7. Julien Temple Click to add text Julien Temple began his career with a short film called 'The Filth And The Fury' which was about the Sex Pistols and how they rose to fame, afterwards he made 'The great Rock n Roll Swindle' which was also about the sex pistols. He then made 'Absolute Beginners' (featuring David Bowie) a film about a young photographer falling in love. He also made a popular documentary on the music festival Glastonbury.
- 8. Chris Green • Background Information: • Chris Green is a 45-year-old writer, director and film producer born in Salford. • Who is Chris Green? • Chris Green is a film director born in Salford, he directed a film titled ‘The Pebble And The Boy’ – released in 2021. This film is based on mod culture. The story follows a boy from Manchester going on a journey to Brighton on a Lambretta Scooter left to him by his dad, Brighton is commonly associated with the mod subculture. • “He is the writer/and or director on a number of independent films including The Caravan featuring Shirley Henderson, Strangeways Here We Come, Me, Myself & Di and his latest film, the Mod and Paul Weller inspired road movie The Pebble & the Boy is scheduled for release in the summer of 2021. Chris has also written for Hollyoaks and GQ Magazine. His new film Thick as Thieves, set at the height of Britpop is scheduled to go into production in Sept 2021.” • Their beliefs: • There is an interview with Chris that covers some interesting points, such as capturing certain aspects in film, which is known to be a struggle, in this instance, Chris was asked “As the writer and director and a lover of the Mod scene is it difficult capturing the essence of the scene on film?” He answered with “Yep! I guess I’m a ‘second generation Mod’ so the film reflects what I know and experienced, which is very different from what went on in the ’60s. And as the film is set in the modern-day it is a bit tricky to capture the excitement of the Mod movement as a subculture. But I think we’ve managed to blend the old and the new…hopefully!”
- 9. Chris Green Chris Green has directed a number of films in the past decade, his first was called 'Desperate Measures' (2011) a film about a man who was kidnapped and forced to become clean from drugs. After this he made 'Best Laid Plans (2012) which is about the relationship between a thug and a man with the mental age of seven. A few years later he made 'Pretty' (2017) a film about a girl trying to cover up her insecurities as she grows up. His most recent film is Called 'The Pebble And The Boy' (2021) a mod inspired film about a child following his dads legacy.
- 10. Bibliography • Slide 2 - Lynsey Ford. (13/08/2019). Mods and sods – Remembering Quadrophenia at 40. Available: Mods and sods – Remembering Quadrophenia at 40Last accessed 09/01/22. • Slide 2 - Rotten Tomatoes. (N/A). Quadrophenia - Rotten Tomatoes. Available: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/quadrophenia. Last accessed 09/01/22 • Slide 2 - Rafael Polcaro. (2021). What is Pete Townshend’s opinion on Punk Rock music. Available: What is Pete Townshend's opinion on Punk Rock music/. Last accessed 11/02/22. • Slide 3 - Wikipedia. (2022). Big Audio Dynamite. Available: Big Audio Dynamite. Last accessed 09/01/22. • Slide 3 - Don Letts. (N/A). Don Letts - The Rebel Dread. Available: Bio | donletts. Last accessed 10/01/22. • Slide 3 - James Mcmahon. (2020). Don Letts: ‘Punk was a refuge from racism’. Available: Don Letts: ‘Punk was a refuge from racism’ | Life and .... Last accessed 11/02/22. • Slide 4 - Olivia Marks. (2016). The VICE Interview: Julien Temple. Available: The VICE Interview: Julien Temple. Last accessed 10/01/22. • Slide 4 - Tim Lewis. (2020). Julien Temple: 'People who are considered difficult are very rich subjects for a film'. Available: Julien Temple: 'People who are considered difficult are .... Last accessed 16/02/22. • Slide 5 - Simon Smedley. (2021). Award-winner Chris wants the North to truly make its mark in the film-making business. Available: Oldham News | Main News | Award-winner Chris wants the .... Last accessed 02/03/2022. • Slide 5 - N/A. (N/A). THE PEBBLE AND THE BOY EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS GREEN. Available: SUIT YOURSELF MODERNISTS : THE PEBBLE AND THE BOY. Last accessed 02/03/2022. • Slide 6 - Rollin Binzer. (N/A). N/A. Available: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rollinbinzer#:~:text=Rollin%20Binzer%20 began%20his%20career,such%20internationally%20known%20figures% 20as. Last accessed 02/03/2022. • Bibliography • Slide 6 - N/A. (2022). Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones. Available: Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones - Wikipedia. Last accessed 02/03/2022. • Bibliography