S.H.A.D.O. CON
Derby celebrates Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s UFO – by our Flying Saucer Correspondent Harry Dobermann.
Saturday 3rd June 2017, we attended “S.H.A.D.O. CON”, the first convention devoted to Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s UFO in nearly 30 years. Held at the Quad Film Theatre in Derby, it was a heck of a gamble but organisers “Markers Universal” pulled it off.
Attendees received a “goody bag” full of treasures including patches, fake merchandising from”andydrewz” (including Alan Fennell’s long-lost Century 21 Records Mini Album “SID Speaks”), a 64 page booklet about the series called “Close Up” and a slick, colour convention brochure. There was too much happening during the day to pay much attention to the contents, but the “goody bag” certainly kept me entertained on the train home.
WHO ARE THEY?
Guests included Shane Rimmer, the voice of Thunderbirds’ Scott Tracy, who also played both a SHADO pilot and a spacesuited alien in UFO. Shane revealed that one encounter with the alien’s costume was enough and when he walked into a tree, he couldn’t get the helmet off fast enough. Ayshea Brough spoke about making episodes of “UFO” while also appearing in the Granada pop show “Lift Off With Ayshea”. This cross-promotion was planned but seemed to suit both companies, as Ayshea often featured in publicity for UFO. The “A” medallion which Ayshea wore in both series was her own idea; she worried that people might struggle over her name but but would remember “the girl with the A round her neck.” You can read about Ayshea's 'Best of' CD here.
Organiser Steve Hardy & Michael Jayston draw the raffle
Michael Jayston and Susan Jameson were interviewed together following a screening of their episode “The Sound of Silence”. Since this is the “Patrick Wymark Boardroom” you’ll be wanting to know what Michael Jayston recalled of “The Power Game” – inevitably, it was mainly problems with Wymark trying to get his lines out after “lunch”. Intriguingly, Jayston recalled that there was talk of the magnificent Barrie Ingham taking the lead as Garfield Kane in any fourth series of “The Power Game” (thanks to Ian Fryer for this – in tribute to Patrick Wymark, our “lunch” at the Exeter Arms had over-run and we missed Michael Jayston’s talk.)
Director Alan Perry recalled working with Ed Bishop and Michael Billington on the explosive climax to “Kill Straker,” and expressed bemusement that Ed Bishop was never again used for a lead role.
Keith Alexander appeared live by Skype link-up from his home in Australia. He recalled Roy Thinnes on Doppelganger as being one of the more affable and co-operative American stars and revealed that his only souvenir of UFO was the white SHADO socks he had worn throughout production. The idea of Skype interviews might set something of a precedent for Conventions – why schlep actors halfway across the country when you can talk to them from their spare bedroom?
Gary Raymond interviewed by Chris Gibbings
Gary Raymond (who appeared in the episode “The Man Who Came Back”) was questioned by an audience member about the Rolex watch he wore in the episode. Raymond admitted that he had been surprised and sad to see the watch – one he had been given during the making of the US TV series “The Rat Patrol” – and which had been stolen from a stage dressing room some years later.
He also recalled fencing with Tony Curtis in The Persuaders episode, “The Ozeroff Inheritance” and Dame Gladys Cooper’s last scene as the Grand Duchess, literally her last role, toasting “To Life” and throwing the champagne glass in the fireplace.
Surprise guest Alan Harris (the Skydiver Sonar operator in “Destruction”) revealed some of the tricks of the trade from his long career as an extra. While he had been given lines of dialogue in “Destruction”, Alan said it was generally important to stay as far away from the camera as possible because that meant you’d be asked back the next day. Extras were generally paid cash-in-hand as casual labour, although Sylvia Anderson made an exception for the first series of “Space:1999”. Because “Moonbase Alpha” was cast adrift in space, she believed it made sense to have a core of extras in every episode and he was guaranteed regular work, generally sitting at the control desk next to Ziena Merton. Probably his proudest moment was explaining the studio to Princess Diana during her visit to the set of “The Living Daylights”. His theory is that because he wore a white coat (as the man with the ghetto-blaster rocket-launcher), Princess Diana thought he was a technician and started asking him questions about the studio equipment.
WHAT DO THEY WANT?
Last but not least, Ed Bishop and Michael Billington were represented by some great old convention footage – chatting as they get stuck in a hotel lift, and reminiscing at a panel event. There was also a documentary narrated by Ed Bishop, tracking down the much abused cars from UFO. The highlight of this was Michael Billington making a surprise visit to then then-current owner of “Foster’s Car” and recalling how difficult it was to drive. Peering into the wreckage, the owner asks if it originally had automatic gears. “I don’t want to disillusion you, “ Billington says, “But it never got out of first gear. It was basically a lawn mower.”
In addition to the talks and screenings (courtesy of Network DVD), there were model displays – including LEGO, convincing recreations of the SHADO Moon Shuttle, and the evoD from Doppelganger, and even some roving, shooting, blasting radio-controlled SHADO mobiles. For attendees who wanted merchandise, there was even Richard Farrell, selling copies of Andersonic , one of the rare surviving breed of print fanzines that come out regularly
The event was modelled on the Doctor Who Conventions which local group, “The Whoovers” have been holding at The Quad. Outside of Derby there was some general scepticism – certainly the ticket price of £45 seems eye-watering. However, by comparison Fanderson’s next convention is charging £65 a day and you’ve got to buy a £10 trial membership of their fan club on top.
The price for SHADO Con was comparable with the Whoovers events, and I assume takes in the cost of hiring the Quad and general guest logistics. This convention was Crowd Funded, with £1,400 raised in 56 days. Some attendees were disappointed at the lack of merchandising on sale. I understand attempts were made to attract stallholders but there was some natural scepticism about an unproven event. With Memorabilia Fairs erupting all over the country, the customer base has been dissipated and merchandisers are naturally worried about even making their costs back.
WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?
I’d agreed to meet up with the organisers of The Power Game 50th Anniversary Meet ( See Here ) to see if we could get any ideas for a Fourth Series celebration in 2019. While our logistics man Pete Wild was busy in Exeter on the Friday, I met up with ace interviewer Denis Richardson at Jorrocks, “Derby’s Most Haunted Pub”. It boasts a human skull over the bar (albeit not The Skull of the Marquis De Sade), so it was a most appropriate venue. After a couple of drinks we collected our tickets from “The Quad”, and then discovered that there was a pub called “The Exeter Arms” just five minutes away over the Derwent Street bridge. We decided this was an omen and agreed to bring Pete back the next day. After a couple of drinks, we decided to look for “The Voicebox” in Foreman Street, where local group “The Whoovers” were holding an interview with Bob Baker, writer of the “Wallace and Gromit” films.
Unfortunately, after stopping off for some Tapas and Cocktails at the Revolucion De Cuba, we misread our directions, confusng Derby’s old municipal art gallery with the new museum and art gallery. Having taken a wrong turn we spent some time wandering around Derby’s red light district. As we threaded our way through the colourful streets we intuited that the Whoovers must have chosen the venue because of the Dr Who associations in the area – eg: (Anthony) Coburn Place, (meddling, not decaying) Monk Street, (Jill) Curzon Street – and the actual location of the VoiceBox in (Susan) Forman Street. After another half hour wandering about in a circle, we found some ladies sitting on the doorstep of their establishment who directed us round the corner to the renovated Victorian brewery, now used as an arts centre.
It was an entertaining evening – Bob Baker revealed that he and co-writer Dave Martin had been extras on the BBC children’s serial “Triton” starring Jonathan Adams and Paul Grist as Royal Navy agents in the Napoleonic era. Their friend Keith Floyd got the job as catering manager for the film unit, although he was quickly appraised that the crew didn’t want all that “posh stuff” and preferred bangers and mash. However, it was a script based on Floyd’s experiences in the army which brought Baker and Martin to the attention of the Dr Who production team and eventually led to them writing for the show.
As the evening wound up and we left the venue, we spotted the now floodlit Cathedral and realised that we were only ten minute’s walk from our starting point. Just time for a quick couple of drinks in the city centre.
“THE MOMENT THEY BRING OUT THOSE HOME MOVIES YOU DEVELOP A TERRIBLE HEADACHE”
The following morning, we met up with Pete Wild, who’d caught a very early train from Exeter. We lingered in the early morning sun outside the steel and glass exterior of the Quad. Could there be a secret base located somewhere beneath its structure? A few other early arrivals were there, distinct in their t-shirts and purple wigs from the sleekly-dressed guests trying to find their way to a wedding at the Registery Office next door in Tennant Street (Tennant Street….is someone in Derby Planning Department a Dr Who fan by any chance? )
As the clocks flipped over to Ten Ayem, we breezed through the ultra-modern entrance of the Quad, collected our goody bags and wandered upstairs to the main event. Screenings and interviews were held in the plush “Sir John Hurt Cinema” while model and memorabilia exhibitors (not forgetting Andersonic magazine) were off in an adjoining space. After watching the unforgettable Dr Frank E. Stranges in the teaser for “The Dalotek Affair”, we made our way out to the display space. As we’d come to do research we linked up with the fans we’d met outside to measure their cognitive dissonance (ie find out where they thought the organisers had got it wrong). Not surprisingly, the lack of merchandising was the biggest gripe, although the big “Do Not Touch” sign on the models was a concern too, since the natural reaction is to want to pick them up and play with them (I can still recall the kids jumping up and down over one of the full-size “Star Wars” spaceships at the October 1980 Marvel Comics Film & Fantasy Convention).
After a restorative drink of ginger beer (it wasn’t 11 am yet) we watched the interview with Alan Perry and the ground-breaking Skype interview with Keith Alexander. This introduced an extra element of tension and drama. As everyone except Microsoft knows, the IT never works the first time round and there was much huddling around the laptop and darting of the mouse over the screen as Keith furrowed his brow on-screen signalling that he couldn’t hear us (and we couldn’t hear him). Host Steve Hatcher tried to fill in with helpful comments like, “I told them to record it last night”, and observing that the profile of Gerry Anderson fans seemed to be different from Dr Who fans because there were less young people and less women. A good point, and another reason to hold another convention before the fan base dies.
How ironic that when the audio connection was finally made, the first question was about Keith Alexander’s voice-over work for Topo Gigio and the Anderson puppet shows. Keith revealed that Gerry Anderson was always searching for the best paper to type scripts on so they didn’t make a noise in the recording studio. Eventually he found something like blotting paper which was silent, but all the pages stuck together.
“LET’S INVITE THE ALIENS ROUND FOR DRINKS”
At 12 noon the Quad Cafeteria began selling alcohol, so Pete, Denis and I popped downstairs for another Four Yorkshiremen session. The attendees appeared to be enjoying themselves, with the model-makers putting their radio-controlled SHADO mobiles through an assault course on the pavement outside the Quad. There was also a chance to pay to have your photograph taken professionally with one of the star guests, or pay for an autograph. While some people felt the episode screenings were superfluous, they did provide context to the interviews, and it’s easy to forget that not everyone has the DVD’s. The other point is that if the programme is full of items you want to see, you end up having to miss something just to get a bite to eat.
Even so, I can sympathise with those who said the interview slots were too short; it’s inevitable that some speakers will seem fascinating and others will seem boring – and each of our reactions will be different, depending on if we’ve heard them speak before. Perhaps more themed panel interivews (as at comic conventions) would mix it up a bit more.
With the schedule appearing to slip a little, Denis, Pete and I made the aforementioned decision to pop across to the Exeter Arms for lunch. You can read my Tripadvisor review here
Over lunch we compared notes and agreed that conventions had changed over the past 30 years. Some of it’s down to the environment – this kind of stuff has become much more mainstream – meaning the audience is wider, but the competition is also heavier with “Memorabilia Fairs” and “Geekfests” popping up everywhere. At the same time, there is so much new product out there (including Dr Who) that it’s hard to be sure you’re giving the public what they want – or what they’ll turn up for. Niche events such as S.H.A.D.O. Con are one way of finding your audience.
As we got deeper into discussion, time slipped away. By the time we got back to the “Sir John Hurt Theatre”, we were just in time to see the raffle draw.
So did we learn anything? Well, yes – it’s obviously possible to raise a convention from scratch. It helps if you’re working from an established model (ie The Whoovers events) but if the audience is different, the challenges are different. We all agreed that it was an impressive debut, but as a second convention was mentioned, we also agreed that (looking at the average age of the audience) they’d better not leave it another 20 years.