The Beiderbecke Tapes
Encyclopedia
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
drama serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
written by Alan Plater
Alan Plater
Alan Frederick Plater, CBE, FRSL was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.-Career:...
and broadcast in 1987. It is the second serial in The Beiderbecke Trilogy
The Beiderbecke Trilogy
The Beiderbecke Trilogy refers to three television serials written by Alan Plater and made by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network in the United Kingdom between 1984 and 1988. Each serial centres around schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne who work at a rundown comprehensive...
and stars James Bolam
James Bolam
James Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
and Barbara Flynn
Barbara Flynn
Barbara Flynn is an English actress. She first became known for her appearance in the ITV drama A Family at War, that followed the fortunes of a lower middle class family living in Liverpool from 1938 and through World War II.During the 1980s Flynn's acting skills led to her being cast in several...
as schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne. When a tape recording of a conversation about nuclear waste inadvertently falls into Trevor's hands, Trevor and Jill find themselves being pursued by national security agents.
Plot
Trevor Chaplin teaches woodwork and likes to listen to jazz. Jill Swinburne teaches English and wants to help save the planet. They live together and just want a quiet life. Then they meet John the barman who died but is much better now. John gave them a tape, which led to meeting Dave the wimp. They find out about The Peoples Front For The Liberation of West Yorkshire. The man with no name called Mr Peterson came to see them. He was followed by the six men in grey suits. Jill goes to see The Oldest Suffragette In Town. Trevor and Jill go on a trip to Amsterdam with their class from "San Quentin High". Trevor and Jill meet The Honourable Order of Elks who are "looking for a bit of action".In the same style as the preceding The Beiderbecke Affair, the plot isn't as important as the banter and interplay between the characters. The adventure unfolds to a soundtrack of jazz music in the style of Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...
performed by Frank Ricotti
Frank Ricotti
Frank Ricotti is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist.Ricotti played in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra while a teenager, then attended Trinity College of Music...
with Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker (trumpeter)
Kenny Baker was born on 1 March 1921 in Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire and died 7 December 1999. He was an accomplished player of jazz trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn, and a composer.-Biography:...
as featured cornet soloist.
Characters
- Trevor Chaplin - James BolamJames BolamJames Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
- Jill Swinburne - Barbara FlynnBarbara FlynnBarbara Flynn is an English actress. She first became known for her appearance in the ITV drama A Family at War, that followed the fortunes of a lower middle class family living in Liverpool from 1938 and through World War II.During the 1980s Flynn's acting skills led to her being cast in several...
- Mr Carter - Dudley SuttonDudley Sutton-Life:He served in the RAF as a mechanic before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which he was later expelled.Known for his eccentricity, he became a cult figure after playing a gay biker in The Leather Boys . He married American actress Marjorie Steele in 1961; she had previously...
- Mr Peterson - Malcolm Storry
- Mr Wheeler - Keith SmithKeith Smith (actor)Keith Smith is an English actor he is best known to for his roles in The Army Game and The Beiderbecke Trilogy. Smith also appeared in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin as a manager of a Grot shop.-Roles:* Private Hatchett, The Army Game * Mr Wheeler, The Beiderbecke Trilogy -External links:...
- Sylvia - Beryl ReidBeryl ReidBeryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...
- Mr Pitt - Robert Longden
- John the Barman - David Battley
- Charlie the Gravedigger - Peter MartinPeter Martin (actor)Peter Martin is an English actor who was known in the 1980s for his TV commercials for Jewsons Hardware. He played the fish shop man in First of the Summer Wine. He also played 'Charlie the moonlighting gravedigger' in the Beiderbecke Tapes...
- Tracy - John Alderson
- Leo - Don FellowsDon FellowsDon Fellows was an American actor, born in Salt Lake City, Utah, who spent the bulk of his career acting in England, mostly in television....
- Harry - Peter Carlisle
- Sam Bentley - Victor MaddernVictor MaddernVictor Jack Maddern was an English actor.Born in Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, Maddern was one of large group of dependable supporting actors that British film produced over the years....
- Pronk - Bill WallisBill WallisBill Wallis is a British character actor and comedian who has appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre....
- Yvonne Fairweather - Judy BrookeJudy BrookeJudy Brooke is an English actress born in Leeds, West Yorkshire on 21 February 1970. She is perhaps best known for her roles in The Beiderbecke Trilogy and Band of Gold...
- Tour Guide - Marlous FluitsmaMarlous FluitsmaMaria Louise Clara Albertine Fluitsma is a Dutch actress, known for her roles in Dutch films and on television in various Dutch language series. She was also well-known to Europeans outside the Netherlands for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, held in The Hague.-Early life:Fluitsma grew...
- Bella Atkinson - Maggie JonesMaggie Jones (actress)Margaret "Maggie" Jones was an English actress, best known for playing Blanche Hunt in the British soap opera Coronation Street, a role which she first portrayed in 1974 and played regularly from the late 1990s until shortly before her death.-Career:Jones graduated from the drama school RADA and...
- Dave the Wimp - Christopher Wilkinson
- Man Opposite - Dave Leslie
- Minister at Funeral - Geoff Oldham
- Man at Funeral - Alan Starkey
- Carstairs - Timothy CarltonTimothy CarltonTimothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English character actor. Among other work, he appeared in the sitcoms Executive Stress, Next of Kin and in the television film The Scarlet Pimpernel....
- First Grey Guardian (uncredited) - Philip Wilde
Filming locations
- Jill's House - Norfolk Green, Chapel AllertonChapel AllertonChapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, from the city centre, West Yorkshire, England. The Chapel Allerton electoral ward includes areas otherwise referred to as Chapeltown and Potternewton - the suburb is generally considered to be only the northern part of this...
, LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... - San Quentin High - Foxwood School, SeacroftSeacroftSeacroft is an outer-city suburb consisting mainly of council estate housing covering an extensive area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leeds city centre and lies in the LS14 Leeds postcode area....
, Leeds - School staff room & school hall - Moor Grange County Secondary SchoolMoor Grange County Secondary SchoolMoor Grange County Secondary School was located in the Leeds postal district of Leeds 16 at the junction of Parkstone Avenue and the West Park section of the Leeds Ring Road . Although it was named Moor Grange it was actually located in the Ireland Wood area with Moor Grange Estate being located...
, Ireland WoodIreland WoodIreland Wood is a small residential area in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately to the north west of Leeds city centre. The original planning for Ireland Wood began in 1950....
, Leeds - The Supermarket - SafewaySafeway (UK)Safeway was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom. It started as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold off in 1987....
, Roundhay Road, OakwoodOakwood, LeedsOakwood is an affluent suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, that lies between Gipton and Roundhay Park. It is within the LS8 postcode and part of the Roundhay City Council Ward.-Notable features:...
, Leeds (now SomerfieldSomerfieldSomerfield was a chain of small to medium sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company was taken over by the Co-operative Group on 2 March 2009 in a £1.57 billion deal, creating the UK's fifth largest food retailer. The name is currently being phased out and replaced by the...
) - The Pub - The Haddon Hall, BurleyBurley, LeedsBurley is a suburb of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, characterised by the red brick terraced housing, much of which was built in the period 1899 - 1903 and green spaces. Sometimes called 'The Cardigan Triangle , it stretches north from the main Kirkstall Road, towards Hyde Park and...
, Leeds - The Post Office - Town Street, HorsforthHorsforthHorsforth is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying to the north west of Leeds. It has a population of 18,928....
, Leeds - The Registrars Office - Yeadon Town Hall, YeadonYeadon, West YorkshireYeadon is a town within the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. It is home to Leeds Bradford International Airport.-History:...
- Peterson's office - Tower House, Merrion Street, Leeds
- Cemetery scenes - Lawnswood Cemetery, Leeds
- Ferry terminal - Kingston upon HullKingston upon HullKingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
- Bridge Leidsegracht, Leidse Straat, AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
- Pronk's hotel - Estherea Hotel, Singel, Amsterdam
- Oude Schans, Amsterdam
- Joodenbrees Straat, Amsterdam
- Amstel, Amsterdam
- Nieuwe Prinsengracht, Amsterdam
- Reguliers Grach, Amsterdam
- Heren Grach, Amsterdam
- Elks coach - Nassaukade, Amsterdam
- Elks coach - A9 near HoofddorpHoofddorpHoofddorp is the main town of the Haarlemmermeer municipality in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. In 2009, the population was just over 73,000...
and Badhoeverdorp - Elks coach - A4 motorway, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- Caledonian Hotel, EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
- Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh
- Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh
- "A bit of action" - Victoria Terrace and Lady Stair's CloseLady Stair's CloseLady Stair's Close is a close in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, just off the Royal Mile, close to the entrance to Gladstone's Land. Most notably it contains the Scottish Writers' Museum. The close contains the Makars' Court - inscribed stones to the great names of Scottish literature.-See...
, Edinburgh