Peter Checksfield's Channelling the Beat

[Kev Mulrenan]

Finally got round to ordering my copy. It will arrive later this week.

I'm really looking forward to it. A superb idea. As the author says, the sort of book we all think should have been written.

Now we have to work on getting William McGregor to write "Scotch Beat" a History of tv pop from Scotland.

[petercheck]

Sept 10, 2018 17:50:40 GMT Kev Mulrenan said:

Finally got round to ordering my copy. It will arrive later this week.

I'm really looking forward to it. A superb idea. As the author says, the sort of book we all think should have been written.

Now we have to work on getting William McGregor to write "Scotch Beat" a History of tv pop from Scotland.

Enjoy! 

I'm actually off to Portugal very early tomorrow morning, and won't be checking emails/forums for about 10 days, but in the meantime there should be a review by respected music author Keith Badman in the forthcoming issue of 'Record Collector'. 'Ugly Things', 'Beat Magazine', 'Shindig' and 'Thunderbolt' are other magazines that are reviewing it, while there are online reviews on the 'Making Time', 'The Strange Brew' and 'Joe Meek Society' websites.  Lastly but not least, there are currently 7 reviews on Amazon UK, every one of them 5 star. So things are going well.

Anyway, I need to finish packing and then I'm having an early night!  

Best wishes,

Peter C. 

PS. If anyone finds any omissions (inevitable in over 700 pages), I'd love to hear from them. My email address is in the book.

[petercheck]

Here's a list of all artists profiled in my book (plus a brief mention on why I omitted a few others):

peterchecksfield.com/2018/09/28/list-of-artists-profiled-in-channelling-the-beat/

[petercheck]

Morning All!

The U.S. 'Ugly Things' magazine has published a nice review by respected author Alan Clayson of 'Channelling The Beat!' (see below). So if anyone is still wondering what to get for Christmas...


CHANNELLING THE BEAT: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO UK ‘60S POP ON TV by Peter Checksfield
(CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, UK, 2018, paperback, 696 pages)

Sometimes, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do—and I suspect that the motivation behind this maiden offering as an author had little to do with self-aggrandizement or even financial gain, but the humble satisfaction of a single-minded job well done—for Peter Checksfield has produced what will stand as the standard work for this particular subject. A vital addition to any Swinging Sixties connoisseur’s library, it covers, in chronological rather than alphabetic order, television appearances, home and aboard, from the late 1950s to the present by Britain’s major pop acts—and many minor ones—who emerged from rock ‘n’ roll. Moreover, because entries are often accompanied by intriguing and unerringly accurate commentary, Channelling The Beat is elevated beyond a dry work of reference, directed only at satisfying the souls of those derive deep and enduring pleasure from studying raw data. Indeed, if you’re not careful, you’ll dip into this vast tome and be unable to dip out easily.

Among very few bits missing are information about, for example, when the Pretty Things featured in a Checkpoint-type ITV probe about their landlord’s attempt to evict them from their flat; Tom Jones & the Squires’ impassioned “Chills And Fever” and “What’d I Say” on The Beat Room; or any mention whatsoever of the Downliners Sect, but God knows how Peter managed to excavate, say, the US slots by a post-Van Morrison Them; when the Warriors mimed “You Came Along” on Thank Your Lucky Stars; the edition of Z-Cars in which the Swinging Blue Jeans undertook a cameo; the number Johnny Kidd & the Pirates did during their only slot on People And Places; why the Fourmost didn’t look or sound much like the 1960s hitmakers on Unforgettable, a Channel Four nostalgia series; Sounds Incorporated’s debut on Shindig! or Julie Driscoll taking the headlining role in a 1970 edition of The Wednesday Play.

Did you know that a broadcast entitled Ministry Of Information was the last time Syd Barrett was seen on screen with the Pink Floyd; that Phil May was noticed dancing with the ‘Miss England’ winner when the rest of the Pretty Things didn’t arrive for a Top Of The Pops performance; that Marty Wilde blew a harmonica solo during an arrangement of “Money” on The Arthur Haynes Show; that bit-parts in two separate movies by a 1961 line-up of The Dave Clark Five were filmed on the same day or that, purportedly, it was Mike D’Abo’s spot with his Band Of Angels on A Whole Scene Going that prompted Manfred Mann to short-list him as a replacement for Paul Jones?

Covering an epitomical waterfront from the wholesome, self-improving reek of Six-Five Special to the epoch-making Ready Steady Go! to Lunch Box, the lightest of light entertainment shows, there’s hours of enjoyable time-wasting to be spent reading and rising from the armchair now and then to search the Internet, perhaps in vain, for Twinkle’s go at “Sha-La-La-La-Lee” on Germany’s Beat Club; specific guest spots on respective weekly series with huge budgets starring the likes of Cilla Black, Lulu and Scott Walker; Tony Sheridan’s electric media junket in a brave attempt to lift his Just A Little Bit 0f... LP off the ground; Freddie & the Dreamers residency on Little Big Time; Mary Hopkin’s screen debut in Holland; the Undertakers giving ‘em ‘Mashed Potatoes’ on The Mersey Sound… I cannot go on… (Alan Clayson)

peterchecksfield.com/2018/12/11/channelling-the-beat-review-from-ugly-things-magazine/

[petercheck]

Just a quick plug: I'll be on Spencer Leigh's Radio Merseyside show at 7pm on Sunday (16th December), talking about 'Channelling the Beat!'.

www.bbc.co.uk/radiomerseyside

[petercheck]

The Radio Merseyside 'On the Beat' interview with Spencer Leigh can be heard here:



As well as chatting about the book, we included rare recordings by The Rolling Stones, Gene Vincent, The Kinks, The Hollies and Eden Kane!

[tom rogers]

Thanks for posting that audio, Peter. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

And boy, that Kinks performance was indeed abominable. Yikes! So-Bad-That-I-Still-Can't-Believe-It ...

[petercheck]

Dec 23, 2018 18:53:15 GMT tom rogers said:

Thanks for posting that audio, Peter. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

And boy, that Kinks performance was indeed abominable. Yikes! So-Bad-That-I-Still-Can't-Believe-It ...

Thanks Tom!

Must clarify, I adore The Kinks, but they were rough on that night...

[tom rogers]

Dec 23, 2018 22:17:49 GMT petercheck said:

Dec 23, 2018 18:53:15 GMT tom rogers said:

Thanks for posting that audio, Peter. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

And boy, that Kinks performance was indeed abominable. Yikes! So-Bad-That-I-Still-Can't-Believe-It ...

Thanks Tom!

Must clarify, I adore The Kinks, but they were rough on that night...

Hey, don't get me wrong - I adore them as well (as should everyone, imvho). I understood from the interview that they were having a rough night and had to close the show following the Beatles. I have just never heard a live recording of theirs that sounded so clearly off and it surprised me. They seem to recover a little about 2/3rds the way in only to flag again at the end. Ah well, even the giants stumble sometimes

[petercheck]

There's a pretty good review of the book in the latest issue of 'Mojo' magazine, also, the price is currently reduced from £24.95 to £21.49, ($32.95 to $27.95 in the USA). So now's a good time to grab a copy!

[petercheck]

Hi All,

It’s been a year since I finished writing ‘CHANNELLING THE BEAT!’, and in that time much new info has surfaced. So I’ve now updated it, and published a ‘REVISED 2nd EDITION’.

Included are new and revised entries on The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Hollies, The Pretty Things, Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, Billy Fury, Cilla Black, Clodagh Rodgers, Billie Davis and many more.

Combined with a cleaner , more user-friendly, lay-out (including an alphabetical contents list), has resulted in the book being expanded by almost 100 pages!

Links to the UK and USA Amazon sites are below:

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1097956695

www.amazon.com/dp/1097956695

Thanks for your interest!

Peter Checksfield (May 2019)

PS. Also still available are ‘LOOK WOT YOU DUN!’: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1795757310

and

‘THE BEATLES: TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE’: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1092943951

[johnleach]

Hi Peter

Is their going to be a ebook version of the 2nd edition? - my preferred format, excellent reference book BTW - many thanks for all the hours of work it must have taken.

[petercheck]

May 14, 2019 6:33:25 GMT johnleach said:

Hi Peter

Is their going to be a ebook version of the 2nd edition? - my preferred format, excellent reference book BTW - many thanks for all the hours of work it must have taken.

Hi John,

Yes, a kindle version is available world-wide.  Here are the ebook links to the UK and US sites:

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RTQCDZ9

www.amazon.com/dp/B07RTQCDZ9

Thanks for the compliment! Very proud of all 3 of my books (will probably do more eventually, though I've no immediate plans).

[ajsmith]

May 13, 2019 14:11:36 GMT petercheck said:

Hi All,

It’s been a year since I finished writing ‘CHANNELLING THE BEAT!’, and in that time much new info has surfaced. So I’ve now updated it, and published a ‘REVISED 2nd EDITION’.

Included are new and revised entries on The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Hollies, The Pretty Things, Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, Billy Fury, Cilla Black, Clodagh Rodgers, Billie Davis and many more.

Combined with a cleaner , more user-friendly, lay-out (including an alphabetical contents list), has resulted in the book being expanded by almost 100 pages!

Links to the UK and USA Amazon sites are below:

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1097956695

www.amazon.com/dp/1097956695

Thanks for your interest!

Peter Checksfield (May 2019)

PS. Also still available are ‘LOOK WOT YOU DUN!’: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1795757310

and

‘THE BEATLES: TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE’: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1092943951

Looks like I may have to buy this all over again! The original book is great but I need the update! Also I see from the preview that a lot more fascinating detail has been added to the existing entries!

[johnleach]

May 14, 2019 7:12:41 GMT petercheck said:

May 14, 2019 6:33:25 GMT johnleach said:

Hi Peter

Is their going to be a ebook version of the 2nd edition? - my preferred format, excellent reference book BTW - many thanks for all the hours of work it must have taken.

Hi John,

Yes, a kindle version is available world-wide.  Here are the ebook links to the UK and US sites:

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RTQCDZ9

www.amazon.com/dp/B07RTQCDZ9

Thanks for the compliment! Very proud of all 3 of my books (will probably do more eventually, though I've no immediate plans).

Thanks for that  - well worth buying again