DEC4 Podcast

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...

In this clip compiled from our 2022 Beach Boys Book Club episode, with our leading contributor, Gary Wells ( www.soulrideblog.com ), we focus on Timothy White's wide-ranging 1994 biography, The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience. Gary explains what sets this apart as more than just a rock and roll bio, we discuss Timothy White's asses...

Our leading contributor, Gary Wells, joins us this episode to take a close look at Elvis' concert at the St Paul Civic Centre on April 30th, 1977, which was the subject of a devastating review in the St Paul Pioneer Press, by a very well regarded sports reporter named Charley Hallman. Many claims in the article are open to question, and it's an interesting chapter in the saga of Elvis and...

Oliver Crocker is one of Britain’s leading and most respected authors, historians, podcasters and publishers on classic British television, whose work on iconic productions like The Bill and All Creatures Great and Small is valued and appreciated as much by the creators as by the fans. He has put together something very special for us this episode, as we remember actor and playwright, Frank Willia...

In this episode we sample a clip from our Beach Boys Book Club conversation, as our leading contributor Gary Wells tells us how he and an accomplice managed to find themselves backstage at an early 1990s Beach Boys concert in Canada, chatting to Mike, Al and Carl. It’s a little comical, poignant, and slightly eccentric at various moments, but it’s a great story with some treasured memories. We als...

In this latest episode, we present clips sampled from our conversation with Australian radio legend, Steve Collins, Once Upon a Time in Sydney , in which Steve took us on a nostalgic, personal journey through the intense Sydney music scene of the 1970s. As well as his studio work for pioneering rock radio station 2JJ, Steve was at the heart of an incredible era of authentic, in-your-face live musi...

In this episode, we reflect on a couple of important 50th anniversaries in 2023; Elvis’ pioneering satellite concert, Aloha From Hawaii, which was broadcast internationally in January of 1973, and the August release of one of the iconic movies of the 1970s, American Graffiti, both of which we’ve discussed in previous episodes. These were landmark moments in entertainment, but both faced potential...

In this special extended episode, Gary Wells ( www.soulrideblog.com ) is our guide for an immersive audio tour through Memphis and Las Vegas. We’re considering these destinations wholly in the context of mid-twentieth century entertainment and culture, and what are essential places of interest for the ‘vintage leisure’ enthusiast. We begin in Memphis, and visit Sun Records, the Stax Museum, Al Gre...

This episode is inspired by our regular contributor Gary Wells’ popular website, www.soulrideblog.com , Your Home for Vintage Leisure; specifically, his reviews of two 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 Boy (2016), by Mik...

We're delighted for this episode of the DEC4 Podcast to be joined by a genuine legend of Australian radio, Steve Collins, who takes us on a nostalgic, personal journey through the intense Sydney music scene of the 1970s. As well as his studio work for pioneering rock radio station 2JJ, Steve was at the heart of an incredible era of authentic, in-your-face live music, working at iconic venues, and...

Gary Wells is back with us for our final instalment in our deep dive into the landmark entertainment event, Elvis Aloha From Hawaii . This time, we look beyond the international concert broadcast to the hit double-album release, the single, and then the domestic television special that aired in the US in April, 1973. This is the only available preserved visual record in its original edit, and we s...