Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008) on Netflix
In early 1960s London, record producer Joe Meek makes hit records, among them the multi-million-selling Telstar. He is gay when that is illegal in Britain, and debt and paranoia press on him.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb6.5/102,055 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes79%
Trailer
Plot summary
Joe Meek is an independent record producer in London in the early 1960s. The songs he writes and produces become hits, among them "Have I the Right?", "Just Like Eddie" and "Johnny Remember Me", and his record "Telstar" becomes the biggest-selling record of its time. He works with a business partner, Major Wilfred Banks, and his landlady is Mrs Violet Shenton. Meek is gay at a time when homosexuality is illegal in the United Kingdom. Debt, paranoia and depression press on him.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
Scenes of Joe Meek falling in love and living with his real-life boyfriend Lionel Howard were filmed but cut from the film, surviving only as deleted scenes on Blu-ray releases in Denmark and Norway.- Robbie Duke, formerly Patrick Pink and once Meek's office assistant, complained after the premiere that the film portrayed him and Meek as lovers; he told the press and posted an open letter demanding a public apology.
- Singer Chas Hodges, who appears in the film as Meek's neighbor banging a dustbin lid over the noise, recommended Carl Barât of the Libertines for the role of Gene Vincent.
- The family of Heinz Burt criticized the film for portraying him as Meek's lover, saying the two were not close and that Burt was not homosexual, as the film showed.
