DEC4 Podcast

Remembering the last of Dad's Army's 'Magnificent Seven', Ian Lavender (Private Pike), who passed away February 2nd, 2024, aged 77. This is a preview short from our main tribute episode, available at our website or on your favourite podcast platform. (Please note that there is the use of in-context profanity in Oliver's anecdote) Leading UK television historian, publisher, author and podcaster, Ol...

In this clip from our podcast series taking a deep dive into Elvis' 1973 satellite concert broadcast, Aloha From Hawaii, our leading contributor, Gary Wells, ‬ ( https://soulrideblog.com/ ), joins us to discuss Wayne Harada's review of Elvis' Hawaiian shows in late 1972, as well as local entertainment writer Eddie Sherman's charitable initiative, the Kui Lee Cancer Fund. Find the c...

In this clip from our podcast series taking a deep dive into Elvis' 1973 satellite concert broadcast, Aloha From Hawaii, our leading contributor‪, Gary Wells, joins us to discuss the importance of producer-director Mary Pasetta, and a memorable pre-production meeting with Elvis and the Memphis Mafia. Find our complete series on Aloha wherever you get your podcasts, on SoundCloud, or at dec4pod...

Our leading contributor , Gary Wells,‬ helps us get to grips with the ending to Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, offering his fascinating personal take on the unexpected twist that 'slightly' tampers with history. (Spoiler warning reminder!). This was the very first segment we recorded back in 2021, and we've also added a wishful moment from our more recent discussion on Buddy Ho...

In this clip sampled from our 'Beach Boys Book Club' episode, Gary recalls meeting Carl Wilson backstage at Canada's Wonderland in the early 1990s. In the full episode, we discuss some important and fascinating books on the Beach Boys - The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern California Experience (1994), by Timothy White, and Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach B...

In this clip from our podcast catalogue, our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( soulrideblog.com ), recalls a visit to 1034 Audubon Drive, the Presley family's first home in Memphis. Find the full episode, From Memphis to Vegas: A Vintage Leisure Tour, at our podcast website, dec4podcast.com , or on the usual platforms: On Spotify; https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/avNDJcoWpPb Thank you for li...

For this final upload of 2024, sampled from our end of year special back in 2021, our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( www.soulrideblog.com ), shares some personal Christmas and New Year reading, viewing and listening traditions for the vintage leisure enthusiast. The complete episode also features a discussion on the 1973 George Lucas classic, American Graffiti, and a preview of our podcast seri...

In this our second Elvis and the Press episode, we’re joined once again by our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( soulrideblog.com ), to take a deep dive into the coverage of Elvis’ New Year’s Eve performance in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the end of 1976. This was the second consecutive New Year’s Eve Elvis had worked, with touring now continuing throughout winter by financial necessity. Elvis’ P...

Actor, writer and music artist Andrew Mackintosh carved his own special niche in British television history as Detective Sergeant Alistair Greig, a key character in over 300 episodes of The Bill, one of the most successful and influential television dramas of all time. In this clip from our recent conversation, Andrew remembers his friend and colleague Kevin Lloyd (DC Tosh Lines), recalls the cons...

Oliver Crocker is a filmmaker, podcaster, publisher, and leading writer and historian on classic British television. In this clip from a two-part podcast recorded in 2021, we discuss Oliver's friend and mentor, BAFTA nominated television director Mervyn Cumming (1943-2021), including his extensive CV and brush with the BBC's ill-fated soap, Eldorado. We also talk a little more about Ian Cullen in...

In this clip from our previous Winter Dance Party (supplement) episode, our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( soulrideblog.com ), joins us to discuss some press coverage of a dispute within the family of the late JP Richardson (The Big Bopper), over the allocation of royalties. Find the original episodes, additional background, as well as detailed research notes and links to our sources, with some...

It's a great thrill and privilege this episode to welcome multi-talented actor, writer and music artist, Andrew Mackintosh, who carved his own special niche in British television history as Detective Sergeant Alistair Greig, a key character in over 300 episodes of one of the most successful and influential television dramas of all time, The Bill. But as we discover, there's so much more to...

In this clip from our 2022 episode, From Memphis to Vegas: A Vintage Leisure Tour, our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( https://soulrideblog.com ), talks about the serenity of an early morning visit to Graceland's Meditation Garden. He also takes us inside the mansion itself and to other significant areas including the racquetball court. Find the full episode here (website embed with images,...

Oliver Crocker is a filmmaker, podcaster, publisher, and leading writer and historian on classic British television. In this clip from a two-part podcast recorded in 2021, prior to the passing of Frank Williams (Vicar Timothy Farthing), Oliver shares some personal encounters with Dad's Army legends. Find the complete episode with some additional background, images and links, here: https://dec4...

In this clip from our 2022 episode, From Memphis to Vegas: A Vintage Leisure Tour, our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( soulrideblog.com ), recounts his joyous experiences at the Stax museum, and a memorable visit to Al Green's Full Gospel Tabernacle Church. Find the full episode here (website embed with images, links, background and additional local information); https://dec4podcast.com/2023...

Oliver Crocker ‪is a filmmaker, podcaster, publisher, and leading writer and historian on classic British television. In this clip from a two-part podcast recorded in 2021, we discuss Oliver's friend, Z-Cars legend Ian Cullen (1939-2019), and the evolution of police drama from Z-Cars to The Bill. Find the complete episodes, with links to suggestions for further viewing, reading and listening,...

In this clip from our podcast series taking a deep dive into Elvis' 1973 satellite concert broadcast, Aloha From Hawaii, our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( soulrideblog.com ), joins us to discuss some highlights from 1972. We consider Colonel Parker's hesitancy to play New York, and compare how the fans were showcased in two documentary movies, Elvis That's The Way It Is (1970) and...

Oliver Crocker ‪is a filmmaker, podcaster, publisher, and leading writer and historian on classic British television. In this clip from a two-part podcast recorded in 2021, we discuss how The Bill evolved throughout the course of its run, and how the skills of the writers and actors created some of the most admired and fondly remembered characters in British television. The Bill was an iconic ITV...

In this clip, we revisit our earlier podcast episode, From Memphis to Vegas: A Vintage Leisure Tour, in which our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( soulrideblog.com ), takes us on an audio journey to some of the important cultural sites in Memphis and Las Vegas. Here we recall Gary's visit to 1034 Audubon Drive (the Presley family's first home in Memphis), and to Sun Records. In the comple...

In this supplement to our episode on the Winter Dance Party tour, headlined by Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and JP Richardson (the Big Bopper), our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( soulrideblog.com ), joins us to discuss in more detail some of the friendships and professional relationships forged during the tour. We examine the culpability of the promoters taking into account the context of the ti...

In this clip from our 2022 episode, From Memphis to Vegas: A Vintage Leisure Tour, our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( https://soulrideblog.com ), talks us through the excitement of arriving in Memphis, first impressions and safety, and settling in ahead of visiting Graceland and other important cultural sites. Find the complete episode, including additional background, images and links, at our...

In this clip from our 2021 two-part podcast taking a deep dive into Elvis That’s The Way It Is (MGM 1970), featuring our leading contributor Gary Wells ( soulrideblog.com ), we look at one of the more interesting editorial decisions taken by two-time Oscar winning director, Denis Sanders (1929-1987). “What we’re trying to do,” Sanders told Jerry Hopkins for a feature in Rolling Stone, “is capture...

Actor and playwright Frank Williams passed away June 26th, 2022, just short of his 91st birthday. He is remembered with enormous fondness by generations of fans as Timothy Farthing, the perpetually exasperated Vicar in the BBC’s Dad’s Army; on television, radio, stage, and in two feature films separated by almost half a century. This is a clip from our complete tribute episode which was released t...

In this episode we pay tribute to the last of Dad’s Army’s ‘Magnificent Seven’, Ian Lavender (Private Pike), who passed away on February 2nd, 2024, aged 77. Leading UK television historian, publisher, author and podcaster, Oliver Crocker, joins us to share his thoughts on this very talented gentleman, and to recall his own memorable experience working with Ian Lavender on a segment for ITV’s This...

In this episode our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( soulrideblog.com ), joins us to take an in-depth look at the Winter Dance Party tour of early 1959, and explore what led up to a critical midtour decision to charter a light plane for a late night, 300 mile flight from Mason City, Iowa, to Fargo, North Dakota. Around five miles northwest of Mason City Airport the plane crashed on private farmla...