This has been on line for a while now but split up into several parts but thanks to uploader Hezakya Starr he's stuck up the whole showing of filmmaker Tony Palmer's documentary "All My Loving", originally recorded for the BBC Omnibus series.
(Although dear Hezakya did us all one good turn with this he was less generous when it came to pasting his logo throughout the footage. (bottom left of frame). Cheers for that HS.)
Anyway earlier today (or last night) the documentary did get noticed and thanks to a few blog posts Dangerous Minds via Beatles Video of the Day it's gotten passed around a bit. So let's join in and show a few details.
'All My Loving' was the first of Tony Palmer's fascination into pop culture, then going on to make a succession of films with rock and pop as it's subject.
All My Loving (1968)
Cream 'Farewell Concert' (1968)
200 Motels - Frank Zappa (1971)
Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour (1974)
Rope Ladder to the Moon - Jack Bruce (1969)
Colosseum and Juicy Lucy (1970)
Fairport Convention & Matthews Southern Comfort (1970 )
Ginger Baker in Africa (1971)
All You Need is Love : The Story of Popular Music(1976–1980)
This last one was Palmer's real opus and also his definite statement on pop culture
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"'All You Need is Love' : a 17 part series on the history of modern pop from the mid-19th century and 1976, including folk, ragtime, Tin Pan Alley, vaudeville and music hall, musical theatre, country, swing, jazz, blues, R&B, rock 'n' roll and others.
John Lennon was a friend and mentor to Palmer during the production of the series...
although punk rock had entered the pop music scene while the series was being constructed, Palmer was refused the funding and time to include the genre" wiki
Palmer was to never return to a follow up on the punk era or pop music in general as a subject for his films. Maybe pop music's social and political relevance had passed by the 80's.
Uploader Hezakya made a good point in his notes to the film being viewed today - "for those who want to get a feel for the era"
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"All My Loving is not a film for everyone; certainly not for the very young and not for those who can't take the raw violence. It is for those who want to get a feel for the era; for the moment and for what made the change from the Summer of Love to the violence that shook 1968 all the way to the Chicago Democratic National Convention."
There are some excellent moments in "All My Loving" during its 55 minutes and well worth the watch just to hear the likes of Frank Zappa and Eric Burden speaking so clearly about the times they were living in, writer Anthony Burgess (Clockwork Orange) analysing the art in his irresistible tone, and the impact of the news clips against the backdrop of music that defined the era is powerful indeed.
In 1970 novelist L. P. Hartley wrote, "the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there".
44 years on "All My Loving" looks just that way.
