Telstar: The Joe Meek Story

2008 • 114 minutes

About this movie

Set against the backdrop of hedonistic, swinging, early '60s London, Telstar shares the stranger-than-fiction true story of Joe Meek (Tony Award-winner Con O'Neill, who originated the role on London stage). An enormously talented but quirky maverick who blazed a unique path as the world's first independent music producer, Meek changed the industry forever and earned adulation as a pioneer of British pop. He enjoyed enormous success early on with the biggest selling record of its time, Telstar, the first British album to hit #1 on American charts. But the flamboyant, tone-deaf songwriter was also a deeply troubled soul -- dabbling in the occult and addicted to amphetamines -- and his decline was as meteoric and spectacular as his rise. Bad luck, depression, heartbreak and paranoia soon lead to violence and self-destruction. Also starring two-time Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, The Usual Suspects) and Pam Ferris (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Original Soundtrack Features: Arthur Askey, The Blue Rondos, Duffy, The Flee-Rekkers, Billy Fury, Heinz, Honeycombs, Alan Klein, Johnny Leyton, The Moontrekkers, The Outlaws, The Packabeats, Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages, Syndicats, The Tornados and Gene Vincent.