From five years ago on Flickennabok we posted this for Stephen Blackman who passed away some 14 years ago today. Some of you will have registered the photos of yours truly playing the guitar and the little polaroid profile shot were taken by one of my oldest pals the Director of Photography cameraman and all round kindest friend Stephen Blackman and this is for him!
For any petrol heads amongst you who care to enjoy this Stephen Blackman's last film released posthumously for DC Shoes of Ken Block driving, the cinematography is by Steve and yes they had to shut San Francisco to shoot it!
Steve loved his cars and this is nothing but astonishing not only for the driving but how do you actually set about filming this!?!
Enjoy!
He did!
R.I.P. Steve
we miss you
For Steve
if you know you know and if you don’t then just enjoy!
One of my old friend Stephen Blackman’s favourite Dylan songs . . . . that it made me reassess and think twice as I didn’t really considerate it much before!
Lest we forget my old friend Stephen Blackman was DoP on these adverts (amongst many others too many to list) but he loved filming these . . . . .and found Peter hilariously funny . . . . . he wasn’t wrong and they WERE beautifully shot! He recalled nearly weeping at the Engelbert Humperdinck one . . .
Mostly at this time of year for my old friend, master DOP, Stephen Blackman (always sorely missed) and he it was who turned me (back) onto the Stones and we started collecting versions of this song for maybe obvious reasons (we found it funny! It’s a long story!)
He loved The Stones . . . . . . along with many other shared musical tastes (we last went to see Bob Dylan at The Roundhouse together !!).
He turned me back onto the Stones after I left them about about the time Mick (Taylor) left after Sticky Fingers (no offence Ron and always loved your work as a bass player and Face!) and we listened to these three tracks in his mother’s old house on the Banbury Road Oxford . . . . . . . very LOUD indeed!
The Rolling Stones - Let’s Spend The Night Let’s Spend The Night Together (theVault Hampton Coliseum Live In 1981)
Thanks yet another reminder from Alice over at reds1981 . . . . . . .this we haven’t posted for a while I reckon but don’t think I would ever stop . . . a favourite of my dear old friend the much missed Stephen Blackman and perhaps his favourite album of all time . . . . .
International Times ( a favourite newspaper from the underground press that was part of my education) by coincidence posted this track today the anniversary of the death of my dear friend Stephen Blackman. This song became a running gag between us (we ended up collecting live versions of it and sending them to each other - its a long and largely filthy story!!!) and for reasons I best not go into here for fear it will get me chastised (SB had a very distinctive sense of humour!) I post it today.
Ten years ago we lost him and nary a day goes by I don't recall his friendship, his laughter, his bottomless (sic) generosity and his unending affection. Muso par excellence with a penchant for Bob Dylan, The Stones, Elvis Costello, early soul and R 'n' B, and all good music from everywhere! Cinematographer, DoP and cameraman par excellence he was always in demand throughout the advertising world and his work on John West Salmon ads, John Smith and Carlsberg beers with a variety of stars from Ozzy Osbourne to Engelbert Humperdink and music vids for Iggy Pop, Peaches, Emma Bunton and The Sugababes! And loads of car ads (always a keen petrol head he loved his cars!)
Miss you buddy!😎💙
My love goes out to his extraordinary father, the calligrapher and lettering designer, Alan Blackman (check out his wonderfully elegant font Galahad - in fact go buy it!)and his wonderfully multi-talented and beloved daughter, Catalina xx
again another in the series of album/records/albums/singles bought when they came out and my dear friend John Northcote of Sunshine Records here in Oxford and later with Virgin and then club owner extraordinary (Break For The Border etc) gave me this yellow paper insert bootleg and we really laughed about the title for the longest time!
High quality vinyl and great sound. This is an interesting recording because there is an announcer that comes on before each side of the record begins. The music playing while he speaks are pieces of Glenn Miller's "A String of Pearls" and "Moonlight Serenade". He touts the sound of the recording on side 1, and the example of a not so good sounding song is Gimme Shelter from "Burning at The Hollywood Palladium" on TMQ (RS 522) from 6/9/72. This label was obviously not very loyal to it's original roots! A picture of "Bedspring Symphony" can be found on page 152 of Geoffrey Giuliano & Chris Eborn's "The Rolling Stones Album", 1993. The photo for the cover insert is from the opening pages David Dalton's book "Rolling Stones: An unauthorized biography in words, photographs, and music", 1972. The insert covers came on both yellow and green paper shades.
The Stones' best live recording, surpasses even officially released live albums. This is the best mix of 1973 soundboard shows , better even than Rattlesnake's big release 'Definitive Brussels'.
The Rolling Stones 'Bedspring Symphony' 1973
A Box Lunch and Meat Whistle Live in Concert
Forest National, Brussels, Belgium
Wednesday October 17th, 1973
Excellent Stereo Broadcast
Track List:
01. Gimme Shelter
02. Tumbling Dice
03. Brown Sugar
04. Heartbreaker
05. Angie
06. Honky Tonk Woman
07. Midnight Rambler
08. All Down the Line
09. Street Fighting Man
10. Interview with Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts (Time 10:32)
Before his untimely death [4th July 2012] my old friend and compadre Stephen Blackman the cameraman DOP of some fine films, we used to discuss music (and film, I will never forget his almost frame by frame and scene by scene critique of what I consider to be one of the finest films ever made and certainly Hitchcock's greatest in Rear Window after Steve's analysis) but music was no exception too whether it be the work of Elvis Costello or our shared obsession Bob Dylan and always in great depth and The Stones were no exception too and as we began comparing notes, he kept finding versions of Midnight Rambler for example and we discussed its narrative and suitability for use as a filmic thriller or horror film and we enjoyed find different versions and sending them to each other
I dedicate this bootleg finding to him . . . . . . . .
and this . . . . .the year of the remix of the '73 album!
Lost to us all, his dear friends and wonderful family, nine years ago today - we miss you and carry your friendship and love with us every day . . . . . . . .
Thursday, July 04, 2019
STEPHEN BLACKMAN
It is the seventh year since my dear friend Stephen Blackman passed away after struggling bravely against a stroke and we miss him sorely and not a week goes by without remembering his humour, his professionalism, his kindness and boundless generosity. A master of his craft (Director of Photography) Stephen was responsible for shooting many of the greatest and often funniest adverts, he was DoP on the film of Ian McEwan's 'Cement Garden' which remained his tour de force and he was underused in the professional film world in my opinion. From his earliest student work we were all impressed and expected no less from him. He did promo films for Iggy Pop, The Sugarbabes, Emma Bunton to name a few. At root of all his work was an attention to detail and closeup focus camerawork that was peerless and I think groundbreaking in some aspects and this can be seen at his best in The Cement Garden. He was taken from us at aged 55 and I know he would have gone on to do more great work. He never lost touch with his childhood friends and I numbered myself with those of his pals who he could easily have left behind but he never did. I am honoured to know his father through our connection with his son, the eminent calligrapher Alan Blackman, and his fabulous daughter Catalina Blackman who goes from strength to strength as an actor and playwright and voice over actor. He would have been immensely proud and rightly so of her stellar skills talent and passions. Thanks to her and her mother, Annie, they chose the most beautiful burial site for Stephen out in the Oxfordshire countryside at the wonderful Fairspear Natural Burial Ground out near Leafield. I went on my own today to pay him my respects and felt I was visiting on behalf of all that knew him but especially his dear father who lives and works in San Francisco. Forty mile round trip from my home on my beloved scooter on a scorching hot day but it was lovely out there, calm and peaceful and breathtakingly beautiful.
Stephen's burial plot highlighted by the sun and resting just behind this silver birch tree
Fairspear Natural Burial Ground - the edge of the woodland looking out across the meadows
Wednesday, July 04, 2018
STEPHEN BLACKMAN
28th January 1957 - 4th July 2012
photo by Rob Hollier
Me and my carer sitting on Primrose Hill waiting to see Bob Dylan at The Roundhouse 2009 . . . . . . not a day goes by Stevie B
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
My dear friend Stephen Blackman turned me on to this lass . . . . . . .
10,187 plays
Mushaboomby Feist
So I dedicate this to his memory . . . . . . Stephen Anthony Richard Blackman 1957 - 2012 just because . . . . .
Fairspear Natural Burial Ground (the view from the bench)
Fairspear Natural Burial Ground (the view east from the bench)
Lovely to visit the burial site of my old friend Stephen Blackman and this year I was taken, if not shocked, by the changes in the site and the weather. It has always been 'dog days' warm and sunny and this day was unusually overcast and yet still warm. The grounds are astonishingly beautiful still but different. They are all much more over grown and this gave me pause. It is what the site is all about I realised there were trees to come either side of Stephen's grave. They are saplings yet but they have really grown tall. Bedecked as it all is with wild flowers and what many of us would call weeds it was amazing. I noticed no butterflies this year and in the past there have been many, Meadow Brown's in abundance and Gatekeepers and Marbled Whites too. This year though a hum with insects no butterflies . . . . . yet.
The seasons may change and yet you still lie at rest there Steve.
