Tommy Stories (Tommy can you hear me?)
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- Опубліковано 4 гру 2024
- A short documentary exploring the memories of local people involved with the filming of Tommy (1975) by Ken Russell who shot the film in and around the Portsmouth area. Includes archive film of the pier on fire, a consequence of the film crew shooting there during the production. The film was commissioned by Portsmouth Film Festival to be screened in the Kings Theatre, Portsmouth alongside Tommy (1975) where the main pinball scene was filmed. Ken Russell attended this screening and an important moment in local film history.
I love TOMMY, it's been a favorite since I first saw it in 1975.
Love Tommy..seen it over 100 times...
Big WHO fan. Never seen this before. I had no idea about the fire. Lovely short film.
I just watched the movie again in 2022, What a movie! How upset was the town about the fire? How upset was that pinball man about all those classic pinball machines that got destroyed? 😢
The local people were pretty upset about the fire at the time or at least this is what I was told.
My mates dad was the stand-in for Elton John during the the filming as he was a similar build. He also told us that he drank with The Who in the Kings pub over the road, he said Keith Moon was off his face and dancing on the bar.
I was living in Southsea at the time the Who were making the movie. Me and my buddy from Glasgow shared a flat on Saint Ronan's road Southsea.
The young guy who was our landlord at the time told us that his father "an Architect " had been working as an adviser to the film crew.
One Sunday he and his young wife told us that the band had been at the residence on the Saturday night before and they knocked on our door to see if we were interested in having a few brews with the lads.
I think me and Craig were out playing snooker that night. Were we pissed off when they told us !
Superb!. I remember seeing the pier's smoke from the top of the Eastern Road in Farlington. As a result the city lost its second major music venue. In the preceding period I recall seeing Rory Gallagher, The Kinks, Lindisfarne, Sandy Denny, Wild Turkey, Can, Sparks (played their first ever UK gig there supporting someone) and May '72, a weird sounding support band, watched by only a fraction (all at the bars!) called Roxy Music! The place wreaked of jostics sold by a hippy guy at the entrance.
I was cycling my way home from work in Portsmouth to Southsea and someone told me the South Parade pier was on fire , so I went there and stood next to Ken Russell on the beach ,it was quite an event. It was a bright sunshine day. Remember it so well..I knew some of the. Fireman involved,( not sure if any are around still today.?
Thanks for a great little film. I remember the news stories at the time about the fire at South Parade Pier. I knew it was Pound's yard despite Wikipedia saying it was a Royal Navy yard.
Great documentary! This is the kind of thing that would have made a great extra on the blu-ray that came out last month.
I am listening to the Audiobook of Pete Towshend. This film is a great insight to the chapter I am listening to. Thanks 😊
Wonderful. Thank you.
I have no words to thank you!!
I’ve seen over 50 times the movie, play all the songs, and hopefully one day wiil get to go there to see these locations. Thanks a lot from Brazil!
The South Coast of England, close to France is vibrant especially Brighton which isn’t too far away from South Sea. Brighton was the setting for “Quadrophenia’, The Who’s film about Mods and Rockers. Great album if you haven’t heard it yet. Keep safe in Brazil my friend!!
Thanks so much for uploading this. Very nice doc
Hi, I'm Dave Knight. I was the Bass guitarist for 'Worlds Apart' and we were doing the Summer Season on the pier. Our equipment was moved back stage for the filming. Having had the day off, myself and my, then, girlfriend went to London to visit her sister and to see the stage production of JC Superstar (I sat in seat 13, I still have the ticket) When we got back to her sisters after the show it was then we found out about the pier. We drove back and arrived around 11pm and saw the smouldering ruin. Some friends from a band I used to be in were living close by and when they saw the news, ran down to the pier to try and save my equipment but were stopped by the Firemen - but the firemen were allowing the film crew on to save their equipment. Obviously all our equipment went up in the flames, so we all had to fork out for new equipment. We put in an insurance claim and 12 years later mine paid out; my £300 loss paid me back £800. We found out years later that the fire was caused by the film lights (as is said in the video) outside setting light to the covering tarpaulin; the main problem being the pier had a split ceiling - ie: a ceiling inside, with a covering roof outside which made a void between the two. That tarpaulin set light to the eaves, so the fire spread throughout the void which could not be seen until the fire finally broke out, by which time made the fire impossible to stop.
Great story, whish we could have included this in the film
amazing video - i want to trek out there someday to see where TOMMY was filmed....this is real informative...thanks
I lived just by where they filmed the giant silver balls. They allowed me to watch the filming and I got to meet them afterwards.
@@JulieH57 That's so cool. I saw another webpage over 15ys ago with pics of the area with those balls still leftover. I guess they were picked up and sold. TOMMY is one of my favorite movies and I hope to visit the filming areas like I did my Beatle's pilgrimage almost 20ys ago in Liverpool and London....
I'd love to find one of those vintage t-shirts from the film.
I bought one of the original t-shirts when I went to see ‘Tommy’ at the Odeon Marble Arch, London. Let’s just say white t-shirts are not practical for 13 yr old boys - didn’t last very long!
great movie
Fantastic!!
Great film. Thanks for sharing :-)
Something very suspicious about South Parade Pier going up in smoke & Ken Russell just kept the camera running knowing that it would look good on film! Still a good film though & I like Ken Russell's films!
and what is your version of the story then?
@@aaltomedia I don't have a version of the story but I just thought it was VERY SUSPICIOUS that South Parade Pier was on fire & Ken Russell just kept the camera's running so make of that what you will ? ? ?🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
@@AndrewHillis_2024in their defence they were running a smoke machine at the time 😅
I read somewhere that after Pete Townshend injured the girl while smashing his guitar in the Pinball Wizard scene, he gave her the smashed up guitar for compensation. To me that would have been worth he amount of money she could have sued them for!
omg I'm 16 now and I would LOVE to film with the Who, and with Keith and John still alive..omg :D
But "..one of the who, i can't remind which one, smashed his guitar.:"
CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE SMASHED THE GUITAR????????????
my ex wife Leanne potter was in the film she was a school girl at the time
we are screening Tommy and the behind the scenes film mentioned in the clip above on 16th September on the Pier so do come along and perhaps we can interview her?