Telstar (3½ Stars)

After a brief conversation with a friend I decided to watch "Telstar" again today. It's appropriate that I should watch it the day after "At Eternity's Gate", two films in a row about mad geniuses. Maybe madness is essential to be a genius. Or is it the other way round? If you're a genius, the pressure of being surrounded by lesser people drives you mad.

As a young, independent record producer, Joe Meek didn't want to conform. He didn't want to work for anyone else. He didn't want to be told what to do. He had his own ideas about how to make records. Everyone else had to do what he wanted, and if they questioned his judgement he yelled at them.

Joe didn't have a professional recording studio. He had an apartment with small rooms spread over three floors at 304 Holloway Road, London. The musicians for any one recording were scattered around the apartment, with microphones in each room. The musicians who passed through his apartment are a Who's Who of 20th Century pop stars, many of them not yet famous.

Joe's downfall was his obsession with the German singer Heinz Burt, whose stage name was merely Heinz. Joe was in love with him and did whatever he could to promote him, even though it was obvious to everyone around him that Heinz had no talent. At first Heinz was aware of his own shortcomings, but after having a hit single, "Just Like Eddie", he became arrogant towards the other musicians who worked with Joe. Heinz lived with Joe for a while, but it's questionable whether he was really a homosexual. His family strongly denies it. He was a young man desperate to make it in the music business, and when his boss made sexual advances it was difficult to turn him down. Joe showered Heinz with gifts, like a car and a boat, to show him his love. At the same time he was behind with royalty payments for the other artists. Joe told Heinz to date girls "for the sake of your image", but he was heartbroken when Heinz fell in love with a girl and married her.

Joe's biggest hit was "Telstar", performed by the Tornadoes. It sold over five million copies, but he never received a penny for it, because a French composer accused him of stealing the song. The court case was decided in Joe's favour three weeks after his death.

On 3rd February 1967, the anniversary of Buddy Holly's death, Joe Meek committed suicide. He was bankrupt at the time, but that wasn't the main reason. He was suffering from paranoia. He was certain that other record companies were bugging his apartment. He fired his musicians one by one because he thought they were acting against him. He was a tragic figure.

The film is far from perfect in portraying Joe Meek's life, as I pointed out in my last review, but it still offers a fascinating insight into the music industry of the 1960's. How could someone who was so brilliant die so young? Just like Vincent Van Gogh.