b'Director Interviews UKDICK & DAVEA certain fondness, Ive run a few recordHow was Robert Plant? quick. The thing about Roger Deakins, and companies, Island for a while, and it wasntHe wanted a lot of girls in his video, sothese guys filmed on 16mm. He is so quick, for Blackwell and his attitude, Id still beI went to a modeling agency and got somehell put up two lights to do what it takes running it. Its interesting, I came in as areally beautiful girls. He wanted a videoanother guy 36 lights to do. You just had to musician, so I always saw the bands aswhere he was with a bunch of different girls.keep moving, you know. We started using more than products, you know.There were a few he fancied, and he was athe same crew, Nigel would turn up as What was the biggest obstacle whensuperstar, and in the end, theyre allwould much of the Stiff staff when weNigel Dick, one time PR man foryou shot videos? packing up to go after a long day, and hedneeded bodies. You can see a lot of the Stiff Records who went on toWell, with Madness, you had to movebeen very flirty all day, as wed all been. Hesame people in those videos. But we were become a very successful musicquickly, because they had a very lowreally crashed when they left because hevery fast. That was the secret of it all. They video director, talks aboutthreshold for boredom. They had thesethought they fancied him and were going towerent belabored. A funny bit is a funny bit. extracurricular things they were doing theystay. I told him thats the way of aLike Max Sennett. I loved cranking the working with Dave Robinson:wouldnt tell you about, so I had toprofessional model, and I think I took himcameras, and in those days it looked like constantly keep them in front of me so Iout to a pub and we got pissed just to keepeverything happened in a jerky fashion. Firstly you never worked with Dave.knew where they were. Lock em up or thehim from committing suicide. (laugh) And if you have the right joke, the jerky shoot wouldnt happen. They were all pettyRobert Palmer, he was great, I got somefootage makes it work. Its funny, people you worked for him, and it was crazy.criminals a lot of the time. (laugh) Thingsgreat dancers and they were really into hisalways laugh at the jerky footage. Theres a When I started producing film for him itwould fall off the back of lorries, you know,music. Island had much morewhole period of American comedy films was no easier and, in an age before cellthey were street traders.I did a Blackglitz and glam in mind for him, but for theshot with these hand-cranked cameras, phones and the web, you had to think onSabbath video, and by the time we got tomoney they had for this video, I told thempeople laughed because of the your feet and find solutions very fast. the drummer for his shots, he was pissedthey were going to have to imagine it. I canundercranking, and it wasnt what they as a rabbit and so drunk he couldnt stay onmake it look better than the budget, but notwere doing, but the jerkiness of it made However, on the Robert Plant job, histhe stool. If you ever see the video, BillTHAT much better. He loved it. I thinkeveryone hysterical. Its an interesting guitar player didnt show up so I dashedWard is definitely wild-eyed and wooly. Itheyd only given me twelve grand or so toconcept. home and got my fifty-quid second-handcant remember which one that was. Theydo it. He was a fun guy.Now when you were doing those were fun and it was all right. It was live. NotDid it surprise you that he became anclips, they have their brand of humor. Les Paul copy and did my best to mimea huge amount of humor.icon of the era? Theyd come up with five or six things to Robbie Blunts solo. Halfway through IWas that Ronnie James Dio era? He did those videos with an Englishthey wanted to do. We want to have the sax found myself thinking, if thats RobertYes. photographer, Terence Donovan, with theplayer, and Id say fine. And Id say okay Plant then I must be Jimmy Page! Anything as a bright shining momentjiggling girls in the rubber suits, and thatand fill in all the rest. Id have an 8 by 4 Top: Robert Plant and the ladies in his video for "Burning Down One Side"in that time? became a whole thing. Thats the thingsheet with the lyrics on one side and the Bottom: Nigel Dick (with bandaged head for anonymity) on lead guitar in video Jonas Lewie and I had a few hairyabout videos. You never quite knew whichshots on the other. I cant stress enough moments along the way. when he wasvideos would last and shine. I still crack upthat we had this great team. John Mills was signed to the label. One of the ones thatand laugh at the ones we did even now.one of them, and all the people who worked stopped the calvary was that he didntSome of those from that era didnt reallyon those videos ended up doing want the brass band in the video. He hadage well, but I think most of the Stiff onesfantastically well in film or other things. A lot That is essentially my attitude. Thatsin a day. The thing about TV commercials Once, I gave a speech to the NY annualkeyboards playing those brass riffs. did. And the Madness style worked. I shotof people learned and trained with us, at exactly where I was at, because of timeis the people who make the money aredo-dah music thing they had, and I said, Itsthe Madness movie in five days. that speed. Everybody had to concentrate constraints. I was basically selling records,the production companies. As a director,all over now, and its called MTV. Music as itThere was always a bit of contention.With Tracey Ullman, I came up with alland be prepared to get some geezer off his that was my job, with running a recordyou only get a fee. To do TV commercialswas would never be the same again. INot everyone said, oh, what a greatof those concepts. She said Dave and me,butt so we could shoot. We never asked company. I had to get back to the job, soand make money, you have to set up athought the video would take over, and Ivideo youve made. We made videos forbut the concepts were all mine. Now, sheanybody, we just put people in position and the videos were always shot quickly. Youproduction company, and thats what I did.credit Stiff with getting some pretty obscureeverybody on the label, so no one felt leftdid have six or seven tricks we incorporatedshot until the police arrived. No permits, no had to be dogmatic about time. The scriptsThe production companies I had workedpeople on the charts with the videos. If theout, and if someone didnt like theirs, well,into it. But she was good fun, Im notsafety nets, and thats it. were always simple and usually about thewith were usually upset that I hadntvideos are funny and people look forwardthats the way of the world.knocking her or anything. We shot all of lyrics.stretched it over several weeks.I shoot it into them, you can barter them into key showsAnyone come to mind? They Dont Know in a day. We were really On the Madness ones, they reallya day, and the production company couldntand get them on.I used to have a baseball bat, and once bring their personality. make it ages long and inflate the budget. IWhat were some of the shows? in a while, Ill pull it out and smash it on my Well, the first time we made the saxjust never took that much time.TISWAS, thats the one I remember the asdesk for emphasis. I found that when I did player fly, everyone said, how did youDid you feel as the era moved alongthe key one, and the breakfast televisionthat, I wouldnt have any arguments for a do that? and its just a harness used bywith more outlets for music video, inwould interview the artist and show the video.couple of hours afterwards. trapeze artists. People say thats amazing,the business did you see the videosEach release was part of a movement but in reality, you can do just about anythingchange? internationally as long as we did it if you have a team and a basic wish toI cant understand why anyone wouldsimultaneously. And having a video was make it work. Its the illusion business.want to watch syncopated dance steps.easier than trying to get the band to every These videos, they were all illusions, so youThat just leaves me cold, I couldnt get intocountry. How did Paul McCartney end up in can make anything happen. And there areit, it just looks like crap to me.I like whenSince were reminiscing, do you lookTracey Ullman\'s "They Don\'t Know" video? techniques in using film crews, and I hadthe video reflects the song, the lyrics andback at that time with a fondness?some great people.Roger Deakins wasthe atmosphere of a song. I was running a our lighting cameraman on a lot of videos.record company, so the video was always aI told Paul we would only need him for ten I think we made Roger and we should becommercial for, say, a really good album I getting a percentage of his income. (laugh) wanted people to hear, and I wanted it tominutes. He said that if it took longer than that, You had a run of clips about 1983,have humor. I remember the funny ads, Ihe would want us to honor our agreement and you didnt direct much after that. remember the funny videos, so all my good I did three Robert Plant videos, a fewones were funny. If it wasnt funny, I wasntnot use it. He came in, we shot it in four, and I Robert Palmer videos, some commercialsreally good at it, really.said "You owe me six minutes." for British television, the Madness clips,How about the Descendents?and I did several in America for Epitaph,I was in L.A. at the time, their director a little bit. If I needed a little cash, I waspulled out, and the head of Epitaph, and wePaul McCartney & Tracey Ullman in "They Don\'t Know"always up for it, as long as it could be doneshot it like it was at a sperm bank. Robert Palmer "Pride"56MVTMISSUE #1 ISSUE #1MVTM57'