Wednesday 29 August 2012

Chillin' Wiv Da Yoof....

We news cameramen are always banging on about the variety of differing filming jobs we get. And it's true, we get to meet and film with the scum of the earth to the highest of society and everything in between. Whilst on the road of doom, we listen to a lot of music and radio.

Last week, i found myself surrounded by musical hipsters, music journo's, bands and groupies backstage at the Reading Festival.

The BBC Reading Festival popular music beat combo reporting dream team.

Any of you younger readers out there would be creaming their pants right about now at the thought of actually being paid real cash money to attend such a gathering. Me..? Water off a ducks back. You see, my interest in music sort of faded away at the mid eighties, when hair was big, leggings were spangly, and makeup was heavy. Back in the day, i could body pop with the best, sweat to the disco beat and crick my neck dancing to Aga-Doo.

We even got to interview one of the hippest, up to date Radio 1 DJ's, Greg James. Tall, handsome and impossibly good looking, destined for the highest of status within the community of today's youth, with their bangin' choons, wicked mixes and chill out anthems. I had to ask my young, hip journo who he was.

So, i hefted my TV camera around the festival with a dignified grace of a man who still listens to The Stranglers, Squeeze, Ian Dury and the Blockheads and possibly a little AC/DC. I mentally blocked out the pumping bass of today's popular music beat combo's from the stage and filmed vox-pops with the drunk, the wasted and the intellectual cream of today's festival going public. All in the name of news. And news it was, as many of the bands appearing on stage were news to me. I've even stopped listening to Radio 2 ( The future home of Greg James when he hits 35+ ) Bloody noise.

I hope the news watching public are grateful for what we put ourselves through, but at the end of a long day, i get into my news truck, wipe the blood from my ears and tootle off home to the soothing sound of some proper music. The Sex Pistols, Sham 69 and The Ramones. That Sheena... she's been a punk rocker for longer than i care to remember. 

Paul Martin is @ukcameraman on Twitter.

www.media-attention.co.uk


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