DEC4

30/11/2025

This year marks 40 years since the release of Malcolm Leo’s BAFTA nominated biographical documentary, The Beach Boys: An American Band.

With our leading contributor, music, film and pop culture historian Gary Wells, we learn about some of the key people on both sides of the camera, and of Malcolm Leo’s established method of sourcing a wide variety of music and interview clips (long before the easy accessibility of digital archives) to create an intimate, first-person narrative.

The Beach Boys: An American Band is a fan’s movie; if you already love the Beach Boys, you’ll love them even more after immersing yourself in this documentary. (Spoiler – we love it!). If you’re just starting out on a journey of discovery learning about the Beach Boys and their impact on 20th century music and culture, this is a wholly enjoyable place to begin. But, it’s worth noting that it was far from the complete story even then, and there have been 40 more years of eventful Beach Boys history since.

Join us at our website or search your favourite podcast platform.

Our leading contributor Gary Wells joins us to explore two tumultuous decades in the lives of the Beach Boys, through the lens of Malcolm Leo’s 1985 BAFTA nominated biographical documentary, …

26/11/2025

The pioneering cinema documentary, Elvis That's The Way It Is, premiered this month in 1970.

The director, two-time Oscar winner Denis Sanders, said that, “What we’re trying to do is capture Elvis the entertainer, from the point of view of the fans, the hotel, the city, the audience."

Elvis That's The Way It Is remains a fascinating, eccentric time capsule of Elvis’ career, of a disappearing Hollywood, and of a new business model for Las Vegas hotels and casinos which had undergone a seismic shift transitioning from organised crime to corporate control. We're joined by by music, film and pop-culture historian, Gary Wells (Vintage Leisure) to discuss some of the fascinating people that made this unique era what it was, and discover the artists and crew that created a remarkable cinematic moment in time.

Join us at our website or your favourite podcast platform 😀

Updated August 2025 – Omnibus Edition The very first time Gary Wells joined us back in 2021, we talked about the 1970 MGM concert documentary, Elvis That’s the Way It Is, which we presented a…

10/09/2025

For our latest podcast episode, we take inspiration from some written history by our leading contributor, ‪Gary Wells (Vintage Leisure)‬. First, we discuss the sequel to the groundbreaking 1973 movie classic, American Graffiti, as we follow the fortunes and misfortunes of our favourite characters in an increasingly troubled 1960s America.

We also learn about an independent film studio and distributor, American International Pictures, which transformed the movie-going audience and carved its own niche in film history as the old Hollywood crumbled around it.

Join us on your favourite podcast platform, or at our website where there's also some additional background, and a directory to Gary's articles. 😀

On SoundCloud On YouTube This episode, we take inspiration from some articles by our leading contributor, Gary Wells, on his hit website soulrideblog.com. First, we discuss the sequel to the ground…

12/08/2025

The very first time ‪‪Gary Wells (Vintage Leisure) joined us back in 2021, we talked about the 1970 MGM concert documentary, Elvis That’s the Way It Is, which we presented as a two-part podcast. We've now combined those two episodes, with some additional content, as an expanded omnibus edit.

The director, two-time Oscar winner Denis Sanders, said that, “What we’re trying to do is capture Elvis the entertainer, from the point of view of the fans, the hotel, the city, the audience."

Elvis That's The Way It Is remains a fascinating, eccentric time capsule of Elvis’ career, of a disappearing Hollywood, and of a new business model for Las Vegas hotels and casinos which had undergone a seismic shift transitioning from organised crime to corporate control. We discuss some of the fascinating people that made this unique era what it was, and discover the artists and crew that created a remarkable cinematic moment in time.

We’ve also added some supplementary points, including more on Colonel Parker’s influence on the film’s final edit, and a comparison between That’s The Way It Is and Elvis On Tour in terms of how the fans were represented. We’ve also included part of a later conversation on the corporatisation of Las Vegas in the years leading up to Elvis’ residency at the International Hotel.

Join us at our website or your favourite podcast platform. 😀

Updated August 2025 – Omnibus Edition The very first time Gary Wells joined us back in 2021, we talked about the 1970 MGM concert documentary, Elvis That’s the Way It Is, which we presented a…

20/07/2025

A very warm welcome to this special omnibus edition of our podcast series on the pioneering 1973 satellite concert broadcast, Elvis Aloha From Hawaii, with our leading contributor, Gary Wells (Vintage Leisure).

There’s so much to explore; preparations and rehearsals, critically important people behind the scenes, the intense pressure on everyone involved, creative and corporate conflict, a near catastrophe as technical faults threatened to derail the broadcast at the last minute; and finally an entertainment event that would present to an international audience Elvis at the top of his game, dominate television ratings around the world, afford him a number one album – the final in his lifetime – and create the definitive image of his later career.

We hope you enjoy the epic Aloha adventure as much as we did. 😀

A very warm welcome to this special omnibus edition of our series on the pioneering 1973 satellite concert broadcast, Elvis Aloha From Hawaii, with our leading contributor, Gary Wells. There’…

03/06/2025

This episode, we present part II of our conversation with leading UK author, publisher, podcaster and television historian, Oliver Crocker‬. In part one, we discussed his acclaimed book on the iconic BBC television series, All Creatures Great and Small. This time, we focus on his ongoing success, The Bill Podcast, according to Listen Notes in the top 1.5 % worldwide, and Oh, What a Lovely Memoir, the autobiography of actor Larry Dann, edited by Oliver and published by Devonfire Books.

Born in 1941, Larry Dann worked as a child actor in movies, which included a brush with Hollywood Royalty, was part of Joan Littlewood’s theatre workshop, worked with David Niven, and appeared in several Carry On movies, but became a household name on television as Sgt Alec Peters in one of the most popular and influential police shows of all, The Bill.

We talk a little more about the Carry Ons, and a fascinating series currently running for Oliver’s podcast subscribers, The Evidence Room, where Oliver takes us deep behind the scenes of of The Bill, thanks to an extensive archive of never before seen production documents and correspondence, provided exclusively by The Bill’s long serving production scheduler, Nigel Wilson.

More background and suggested further reference at our website (link in the comments 👇😀). Join us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and all the usual pod places.

https://soundcloud.com/georgefairbrother

27/04/2025

This episode, we’re enormously privileged to welcome award winning filmmaker and author, David Leaf, to discuss his latest book, SMiLE: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Brian Wilson. This celebratory work takes us to the very heart of Brian Wilson’s lost musical masterpiece; its traumatic unravelling in 1967, and the road to a triumphant rebirth in 2004 as an ecstatically received live concert experience and studio album.

Brian Wilson’s epic journey through the music of SMiLE is a dramatic and inspirational story, and we’re so lucky to learn about it from someone with such a uniquely close and personal perspective, who was critical to bringing SMiLE back to life, and to whom Brian Wilson himself said, ‘I can’t do this unless you’re there with me every day’.

Join us on SoundCloud, YouTube, or your usual podcast platform. There's some additional background and links to suggested further reference at our website - link below in the comments. 😀

Very special thanks to David Leaf and Smile: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Brian Wilson, and to our co-host Gary Wells (Vintage Leisure).

This episode, we’re enormously privileged to welcome award winning filmmaker and author, David Leaf, to discuss his latest book, SMiLE: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Brian Wilson. This celebratory