This episode, we’re enormously privileged to welcome award winning filmmaker and author, David Leaf, to discuss his latest book, SMiLE: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Brian Wilson. This celebratory work takes us to the very heart of Brian Wilson’s lost musical masterpiece; its traumatic unravelling in 1967, and the road to a triumphant rebirth in 2004 as an ecstatically received live concert experience and studio album.

David affords us some fascinating, behind the scenes insights into his 2001 television special recorded at Radio City Music Hall, An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson, his Grammy-nominated documentary, Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE, and talks candidly about some of the life experiences that shaped Brian’s exquisite artistry.

Brian Wilson’s epic journey through the music of SMiLE is a dramatic and inspirational story, and we’re so lucky to learn about it from someone with such a uniquely close and personal perspective, who was critical to bringing SMiLE back to life, and to whom Brian Wilson himself said, ‘I can’t do this unless you’re there with me every day’.

Our dedicated webpage for this episode has some additional background, images and links, with some suggestions for further reference;

https://dec4podcast.com/2025/04/09/david-leaf-smile-the-rise-fall-resurrection-of-brian-wilson/

Our leading contributor, Gary Wells, joins us to explore two tumultuous decades in the lives of the Beach Boys, through the lens of Malcolm Leo’s 1985 BAFTA nominated biographical documentary, The Beach Boys: An American Band.

We learn about some of the key people on both sides of the camera, and of Malcolm Leo’s established method of sourcing a wide variety of music and interview clips (long before the easy accessibility of digital archives) to create an intimate, first-person narrative.

The Beach Boys: An American Band is a fan’s movie; if you already love the Beach Boys, you’ll love them even more after immersing yourself in this documentary. But, it’s worth noting that it was far from the complete story even then, and there have been 40 more years of eventful Beach Boys history since.

Main episode on all the usual platforms, and at our website;https://dec4podcast.com/2025/03/05/gary-wells-the-beach-boys-an-american-band/

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.

In this clip, Andrew remembers his friend and fellow cast member, Kevin Lloyd, whose character, DC Tosh Lines, was one of the most popular characters of all...

Find the complete conversation on your favourite podcast platform, with some additional background at this episode's webpage;

⁠https://dec4podcast.com/2024/09/17/a-conversation-with-andrew-mackintosh/

Our leading contributor Gary Wells (www.soulrideblog.com) joins us to explore two tumultuous decades in the lives of the Beach Boys, through the lens of Malcolm Leo’s 1985 BAFTA nominated biographical documentary, The Beach Boys: An American Band.

We learn about some of the key people on both sides of the camera, and of Malcolm Leo’s established method of sourcing a wide variety of music and interview clips (long before the easy accessibility of digital archives) to create an intimate, first-person narrative.

The Beach Boys: An American Band is a fan’s movie; if you already love the Beach Boys, you’ll love them even more after immersing yourself in this documentary. (Spoiler – we love it!). If you’re just starting out on a journey of discovery learning about the Beach Boys and their impact on 20th century music and culture, this is a wholly enjoyable place to begin. But, it’s worth noting that it was far from the complete story even then, and there have been 40 more years of eventful Beach Boys history since.

More background, images, and suggestions for further reference can be found at this episode's dedicated webpage;https://dec4podcast.com/2025/03/05/gary-wells-the-beach-boys-an-american-band/

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.

In this clip, Andrew recalls being on location for The Bill, and being pleasantly surprised by a new level of luxury for relaxing between scenes...

Find the complete conversation on your favourite podcast platform, with some additional background at this episode's webpage;

https://dec4podcast.com/2024/09/17/a-conversation-with-andrew-mackintosh/

We’re delighted to be joined once again by leading author, publisher and podcaster on classic British television, and hugely valued contributor to this podcast, Oliver Crocker. This episode we take an in-depth look at his definitive history of the iconic BBC television series, All Creatures Great and Small, based on the bestselling books by James Herriot, which ran for 90 episodes between 1978 and 1990.

For All Memories Great and Small, Oliver sourced rare production documents and photographs, and personally interviewed 75 cast and crew, including the producer and stars, so we get unprecedented access behind the scenes and learn about the series directly from those who made it.

Oliver shares some personal anecdotes about meeting the fascinating people who were key to making All Creatures Great and Small one of the BBC’s most beloved series of all time, and we find out just how warmly Oliver and his work have been embraced in the heart of James Herriot country.

Our dedicated webpage has additional background, images, and suggested links;

https://dec4podcast.com/2025/02/07/oliver-crocker-all-memories-great-and-small/

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/), is with us to discuss what happened immediately after the international live broadcast went out.

Once the audience had departed, Elvis and his band returned to the stage to record some inserts for the US television edit under the direction of Marty Pasetta, preliminary audience figures came in, and Colonel Parker expressed his feelings in a 3.00 am letter to Elvis.

Our source for Colonel Parker's correspondence is Peter Guralnick's definitive biography, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley.

Find the complete episodes here, and on all the usual podcast places:

https://soundcloud.com/georgefairbrother/sets/gary-wells-elvis-aloha-from

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, 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 Morning.

Although Private Pike remains his most enduring and universally beloved creation, we also take a wider look at Ian Lavender’s remarkable career beyond Dad’s Army, encompassing television, radio, feature films and theatre.

Episode's Webpage:

https://dec4podcast.com/2024/04/08/oliver-crocker-remembering-ian-lavender/