Review of Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008) by Brian G — 23 Aug 2010

Moranâ??s film adaptation of his own stage play is wonderfully entertaining and one of the most enjoyable music biopics I have seen in recent years. Centering around a brilliant lead performance by Con Oâ??Neill as Joe Meek this grabbed me right from the start with its mixture of comedy and sense of pop culture history.

Iâ??ve been a distant fan of Meek since a BBC documentary about him years ago and the contradiction of a drug using homosexual producing Margaret Thatcherâ??s favourite single. The first half of the film is tremendous and youâ??re really dropped right into the thick of Meekâ??s home recording studio, taken along with his maverick approach.

As the film progresses, so the psychological aspects of it come to the fore and although the final third doesnâ??t match the other parts it is still nevertheless delivers a great little music biopic.