| Author | Message | ||
     thom Unregistered guest |
I just bought the new Liberty Belle and 16 Lovers Lane sets and frankly didn't expect too much from the videos. But Spring Rain really bowled me over. A near perfect video in my book, just the right balance between a lyrics-related theme and performance shots. I like the "texture" too. And what a great performer Robert is! I saw him live first time at a solo show in perhaps 96 and he did this cabaret version of Snake Skin Lady with Glenn Thompson playing guitar - the same strange blend of expressiveness and self-mockery, very cool. I love the rain-lashed black and white shots - everybody seems to be actually enjoying doing play-back! The "wonderful Robert Vickers", especially, looking, exactly that. Does anyone know where it was filmed? Did the band come up with the idea/script? Does anybody else share my enthusiasm? I must say, I found the 16LL videos disappointing after this. Head Full of Steam, though, is funny in a weird sort of way (see Snake Skin Lady above) but not half as enjoyable as Spring Rain. | ||
| lindy morrison Member Username: Lindymorrison Post Number: 6 Registered: 09-2004 |
Spring Rain was filmed in Pyrmont Sydney. The video team had permission to open a water valve in the street, fire engines use those for water to kill fires but we used the water to make the rain. There was no script just a great video maker, John someone, I now run into him all the time in Sydney. It was the mid eighties in Sydney, and Robert and I went to a afternoon party in Glenmore Rd Paddington - it was ecstatic, a wild gay scene. This cab driver remembers us, I ran into him at Steve Kilbeys 50th the other night, I know it sounds weird but this guy comes up to me at the party and says I picked you and Robert up in Glenmore Rd and drove you to the video shoot, he said we fell out of the cab on arrival at the set. The instruments were crap so they could get wet. I was freezing from the rain. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2004 |
this is my favorite go-betweens video. that scene where robert is driving a muscle car with the trailor trash messing around in the back seat is classic. | ||
| thom Unregistered guest |
Thanks for the info/anecdote, Lindy! I did wonder about the instruments getting wet. I just watched it again - I don't think I'll ever tire of it. And I'm not usually into videos. I do like the car, too - Robert going through all those wonderfully camp motions and then driving a "muscle car" and looking very serious about it. | ||
| lindy morrison Member Username: Lindymorrison Post Number: 7 Registered: 09-2004 |
The director was John Whitteron and also Tony Stevens, I ran into John again last night. He told me Robert Vickers was so cold they had to keep wrapping him in plastic to keep him warm. I'd forgotten about the car scene filmed another time, but Robert used to drive around Brisbane in the late seventies in this big old tank probably a Holden, just like in the video. | ||
| jw Unregistered guest |
Dear Thom and Jeff John here, the director of the Spring Rain video. So glad that it is still remembered so fondly. The vid, we used to call them "film clips" in the olden days, was shot over one day in the western suburbs of Sydney and a night in Pyrmont, an inner city suburb. I remember all the locals coming out to watch the band cop a drenching as it was mid winter. Poor Robert Vickers took days to thaw out, but in his usual style didn't complain once. The others???? It was a lot of fun to make and I would have loved to do the next one for Our Town, but by then we had crossed the fashion barrier and the band moved on. Lindy, it was great to catch up last night, we must have that cup of coffee we keep talking about. John |