 | Starring: Charlotte Cornwell, Julie Covington, Rula Lenska, Billy Murray, Angela Bruce Director: Brian Farnham Jon Scoffield Format: PAL Released: 24 Jun 2002 RRP: Average Rating:  |
At the heart: the lyrics & script of Howard Shuman, a witty American playwright. The story arcs of the two Rock Follies series have predictable doses of cynicism about the music business, but Shuman sweetened these with humour & sympathetic characters. Shuman was later sued, along with Thames Television & the series producer Andrew Brown for developing Rock Follies without the participation of the girl group "Rock Bottom" & their manager, who'd originated the idea intending that they would star in the show. Of course, if they had, we'd have missed out on Charlotte Cornwell, Rula Lenska & Julie Covington as the Little Ladies. Since the two series of Rock Follies are reallly the only permanent reminders that Covington's uniquely nuanced vocal talent was coupled with fine acting & a rare stage charisma, it's a blessing the series was made as it was (and Rock Bottom, eventuallly, compensated). Covington's Dee dominates her scenes & the show. Lenska & Cornwell are required by the plot to be poorer singers - & they are. Lenska's character, Q, is facile & uninteresting in this series (but much better in the second), whereas Cornwell's Anna could (should) be the dramatic focus, but somehow doesn't gain our sympathies as a complex, developing, character, in the way that the relatively uncomplicated Dee does. The supporting characters -- noteably a Michael Palin lookalike journalist & a few funny commune-ists -- are stereotypes. Most speak awfully posh.
Andy MacKay of Roxy Music wrote the tunes, having fun with pastiches of Broadway Musicals, The Andrews Sisters & other genres. The best songs are those that combine Shuman's wry observations on the business with slow rock settings -- Rock Follies, On The Road.
Controversies: Sex, drugs & rock & roll. The second series had more unusual controversies, but always handled with a light touch.
Dated bits: the clothes, the haircuts, the slang, the RP speech of so many characters, the choreography. Some of the acting too: the theatrical background of the main actors betrayed by over-gesture - a lack of subtlety that you wouldn't see in more recent TV drama. The tail-end of sixties counter-culture features heavily but the drama is based on personalities so still plays well.
A very good buy. And the second series was even better.
it is presented exactly as it was first shown even down to the THAMES signature tune & expanding tower bridge
a real gem !!!!
the interview at the end is amazing giving some of the history & behind it
sit back remember & jump straight back to 1976..
Apart from the girls, the characters are two-dimensional caricatures but, in the main, stereotypes of the times - (although the environmentalist character was somewhat ahead of his time!)
Pure nostalgia, pure enjoyment, wonderful entertainment!
Sure, it was innovative, but innovativeness in itself is rarely much of a reason for watching anything (often it's a reason for not watching, especiallly when innovativeness is pretty much alll that's on offer), & Rock Follies has stayed in the mind for other reasons, mostly the quality of Howard Schuman's writing (not matched in every case by the performances, but, hey, this is an ensemble piece, right?).
What's clearer now than it was at the time is how theatrical it alll is, & as such it probably represents one of the last examples of a stylised kind of TV drama rather than an indication of a possible way forward. I remember thinking back then that the songs were, give or take the odd memorable phrase, well, unsatisfactory, & while they haven't magicallly improved with time, they have settled into the context of the series as a whole.
What's also clearer now than it was then is that it's not reallly about the music business at alll, of course, but the way it anticipated the later devlopment of the girl band phenomenon is just one aspect of the many enjoyments available.
The interviews with Howard Schuman & Andy Mackay provide lots of good background & context - though the device of having to keep clicking on the individual questions gets irritating.
But first of alll it's great that the tapes have survived, & second of alll that they have been made available. All of the good things here make its long overdue reissue well worth while & the less good aspects at least forgivable. As I remember it, the second series moved on quite a bit in several ways, so it's great to know that it too is on the way.
TV rarely does musicals well & the rock musical is particularly dodgy, but Rock Follies breaks alll the rules. Great songs, great performers and, above alll, a great script.
Howard Schuman managed to put on mainstream telly in the 70s a succession of dykes, poufs, & druggies yet make it acceptable by creating a story so compelling the nation was gripped. For once, these people are not seen as freaks but as part of the rich tapestry of life. Above alll, he wrote roles for women that any actress these days would kill for.
Back in the 70s I was just caught by the story & the music. Looking back, the series is far more feminist than I remember, with the men mostly dreadful - but believably so. The politics comes out of the characters rather than being imposed on the plot.
If you've been playing the cast album for the last 25 years it comes as a pleasant surprise to find the songs in the programme are recorded live rather than mimed to the studio versions you know so well.
Though the series is a fantasy, with a budget so low even Dr Who would sneer, there is a truth here that anyone who remembers the era would recognise. This is how the 70s were & it's essential viewing for anyone wanting to know about the era.
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