moxey63 Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 (edited) 1981 was the year before I got involved so I'm surprised to see Barrow and Ellesmere Port listed since we certainly didn't go to places that far away (bar Belle Vue) in my time. I suspect that KM might have had a deal with a local guy to market their work on their behalf. I can certainly vouch for the volume of meetings covered after then though - it was most nights of the week. Bear in mind we also covered football, ice hockey and basketball at that time so either end of the speedway season was downright hectic. I am still recovering from two seasons of being the Crystal Palace FC club video commentator :-( but the ice hockey (Streatham, Richmond, Lee Valley, Nottingham and Durham) was good fun. Once the ScreenSport work started we also had the small matter of weekly stock car coverage to contend with too. Rob McCaffery Rob Did you suffer from any form of cramp, once you'd hung up the microphone? Edited October 29, 2009 by moxey63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Rob Did you suffer from any form of cramp, once you'd hung up the microphone? The hand was frozen to it once - but that was after four hours in -25c covering ice racing in Leningrad. Couldn't wear a glove and write up a programme. Another memorable moment was covering indoor rallycross in Holland (I kid you not) when nobody noticed a door had been opened at the end of the hall and suddenly we were confronted with an empty hall and brake lights flashing in the car park section of the track. That would have made a good indoor speedway track - an agricultural hall in Leeuwaarden. There were other commentators though, notably Edwin Overland, Dave Welch, Bob Radford, Mike Hunter and my immediate predecessor, Gareth Rogers together with a guy called Ian French. Rob McCaffery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoestringtours Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 CAN ANYONE HELP WITH THIS ONE!! Recordings of boston 1980/81 crayford 1981/82 and peterboro 1983/84 The man you need to speak to is Mike Hunter at Edinburgh who did me video recordings of some Boston meetings. 1981 sees Boston v Berwick 1983 Boston v edinburgh home and away. I intend to contact Mike during the close season as he intends to do me these on DVD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilK Posted November 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 The man you need to speak to is Mike Hunter at Edinburgh who did me video recordings of some Boston meetings. 1981 sees Boston v Berwick 1983 Boston v edinburgh home and away. I intend to contact Mike during the close season as he intends to do me these on DVD. Thats interesting par_darrell, was only speaking to Mike a few nights back, would certainly like to obtain a copy of Boston v Berwick from 1981! Will have to have a word with him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireblade Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Boston were covered by Screensport many times in the 80's. I know for certain that 1984 Edinburgh 1986 Poole, Rye House and Long Eaton were filmed. One of them meetings were scrubbed off the master tape. I have 'em all somewhere. Incidentally when Tommy Rander and his company Transmission TV and Media provided the pictures in the late 80's Mike Bennett, Warwick Mead and myself were amongst the staff. Clive Fisher did the commentary. Mike Bennett worked for Paul Bonner in 1987 the year when British League coverage overtook National League. I can remember Edwin Overland, Dave Lanning, Chris French and others also providing commentary. Dave Lanning for me the voice of TV speedway, but Edwin didn't do a bad job either. I would be interested to see footage from the following tracks that I visited but are now long gone. Weymouth, Scunthorpe (Both Quibell and Ashby), Birmingham (Old Perry Barr). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 I would be interested to see footage from the following tracks that I visited but are now long gone. Weymouth, Scunthorpe (Both Quibell and Ashby), Birmingham (Old Perry Barr). Somehow I managed to get Birmingham v Cradley from Perry Barr complete with an interview with a young Simon Wigg. I've also got a Boston maeeting somewhere. Right now I can't transfer to DVD but as soon as I can sort out my VCR dubbing I can sort out the 'library' for want of a better word. I think I may have a Scunthorpe v Middlesbrough match from Ashby Ville as well. I lost contact with Paul Bonner many years ago now but I suspect that there could be a useful niche market for him here if the masters still survive. At least copies are out there. Maybe some kind of speedway video archive could be put together sometime, after all there must be a huge mountain of VHS still with customers by now. Rob McCaffery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoestringtours Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 I can remember trying to track down KM video a few years back and got in touch .They had quite a catalogue in storage but didn't really offer any help,but did offer to let me into their warehouse to search for tapes. If you get any luck then I wold love to know. I'm sure it was in the Essex area.It was in the days when Essex was a long way away. Being a lorry driver nowadays i would jump at the chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 I'm sure it was in the Essex area.It was in the days when Essex was a long way away. Being a lorry driver nowadays i would jump at the chance. Paul was originally based at Woodford Green in Essex but moved to Hoddesdon about the time I lost contact. Rob McCaffery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatface Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 I used to have the first three tests from England v USA in 1983 from Wimbledon, Swindon and Poole from KM Video on Betamax! There was some cracking racing, particularly from Blunsdon. I think it was a christmas present for this wee lad. I must have been a good boy that year. I gave that tape some serious airtime! If ever any Hyde Road action ever becomes available on DVD, please let me know, I'd be dead keen to get my hands on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 I used to have the first three tests from England v USA in 1983 from Wimbledon, Swindon and Poole from KM Video on Betamax! There was some cracking racing, particularly from Blunsdon. I think it was a christmas present for this wee lad. I must have been a good boy that year. I gave that tape some serious airtime! If ever any Hyde Road action ever becomes available on DVD, please let me know, I'd be dead keen to get my hands on it. We covered Belle Vue back then when the Bamforths would let us in. If the archive survives there'll be some Hyde Road footage in there. Rob McCaffery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilK Posted December 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2009 (edited) If anyone has any footage from or involving Mildenhall I would be interested to hear from them! Also anything from KM Video from Weymouth, Barrow, Scunthorpe, Newcastle, Workington, Crayford or Ellesmere Port please! Edited December 11, 2009 by PhilK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted December 11, 2009 Report Share Posted December 11, 2009 If anyone has any footage from or involving Mildenhall I would be interested to hear from them! Also anything from KM Video from Weymouth, Barrow, Scunthorpe, Newcastle, Workington, Crayford or Ellesmere Port please! I can definitely do you Scunthorpe, Phil. I've finally sorted out my VHS-DVD dubbing so I am expecting to finally get down to some serious copying next week. You're top of the list. Rob McCaffery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomcat Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 I have asked on the forum before, but no-one really seemed interested. I have been looking for any footage of the 1979 BLRC from Hyde Road, when Bruce Penhall and John Louis had one awesome race which eventually decided the title that year, with it going to Louis. Wally Loak kindly sent me a copy of the audio commentary he did of the meeting, which is something really special I have to add, but am still desperately trying to locate any film of that meeting. Moxey, got your list by the way, a huge Thanks for that. You have meetings there that I started to remember very vividly, you lucky man. I am going to hunt through my stash of GP video's, as I am sure I have copies of the ones on the end of your list, where you say you're looking for better copies. Bear with me and I'll check to see if A: I have those meetings and B: That they are clear enough to watch. I'll drop you an e-mail back after we get Christmas out of the way. Merry Christmas to one and all. Stay safe and see you all in a few days no doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asturmer Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Personally I think the racing was much better years ago than it is now. Newbies criticise people like me for saying it was, saying we’re dinosaurs. But they wouldn't know any different. I feel despair if, say, in 15-20 years time, the newbies of today are saying that racing was better when they started watching the sport. Imagine what speedway will be like then! Racing in the 70s was much more spectacular and unpredictable! Roger Johns in the outside dirt, overtaking two riders on 3rd and 4th bends at Wimbledon, Barry Thomas, from the back in every race without exception!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomcat Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 Racing in the 70s was much more spectacular and unpredictable! Roger Johns in the outside dirt, overtaking two riders on 3rd and 4th bends at Wimbledon, Barry Thomas, from the back in every race without exception!!! Absolutely agree. The trouble is, that back then, the bikes were more standardised, ie: none of this special carburettor stuff, special internal parts (Flywheels etc), all were pretty much as they came out of the crate. It was down to rider ability, pure and simple. Add the fact that there was more dirt on the tracks and you have a better product. Now it all seems to be about how much money you can throw at the sport, from a machinery point of view. Back in the earlier years, it was down to a particular rider, if he had the brass balls to drop a tooth on the rear gearing, wind the trottle on that bit more, or for a little longer than the guy in front etc. Now its all down to who can get the most out of his machine via tuning and those special parts. Even the reigning World Champ has admitted in the past, he may have been on a Jawa cased engine, but the internals were nothing like a Jawa, in fact I believe he did say that it was more akin to a GM inside. Get the sport back to what it should be and speedway may gain a better outlook from the media and also claw back some of the mssing fans. Likewise the tracks, better prepared tracks produce better racing...fact. They don't have to be a foot deep in dirt, but a more consistant surface all over and a sensible amount of grip and watch the difference. I await the usual 'Dinosaur' comments that the younger fans seem to dish out when those of us that have seen better racing in the past speak out. Unfortunately, many of thoe that dish out that sort of comment weren't about to see the racing in the 60's,70's & 80's, where as we were and can see the huge differences between the era's. A few clips on YouTube don't even start to help their arguments. There were definitely more good meetings than bad, unlike today, which seems to be one poor meeting after another on super slick motorways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradford Ace Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 I can definitely do you Scunthorpe, Phil. I've finally sorted out my VHS-DVD dubbing so I am expecting to finally get down to some serious copying next week. You're top of the list. Rob McCaffery If you find any footage from The Shay or Hyde Road then i'd love to get my hands on copies of this. My 2 fave tracks are sadly a distant memory but would be great to see some action from either of them again. Cheers, Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 If you find any footage from The Shay or Hyde Road then i'd love to get my hands on copies of this. My 2 fave tracks are sadly a distant memory but would be great to see some action from either of them again. Cheers, Jamie Hi Jamie, I wish I could help with those two but although we covered Belle Vue from time to time I have no copies and I can't remember us eveer going to the Shay. Hopefully others could help. On a more general note I've fsaced fresh technical problems - new VCR/DVD combo won't track-into old VHS tapes. The KM Video trail has also gone cold - I've established that Paul sold his business to his kids and retired to Spain. I'm still trying to track down the next generation but they certainly don't trade under the old name. It's all very frustrating. Rob McCaffery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parklife Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 There are quite often old meetings for sale on e-bay. My husband used to work for Mike Bennett who I believe has a back catalogue from MK (Both venues), Long Eaton, Rye House, Wimbledon, Newcastle, Bradford, King's Lynn, Wolverhampton, Mildenhall (Old circuit) and odd meetings from Berwick (Lough) and others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilK Posted February 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 If anyone has any footage from or involving Mildenhall I would be interested to hear from them! Also anything from KM Video from Weymouth, Barrow, Scunthorpe, Newcastle, Workington, Crayford or Ellesmere Port please! Have managed to obtain an excellent recording of Ellesmere Port v Middlesborough from 1985 Screensport, watching it reminded me of what a great track Ellesmere was over 400 yards and plenty of room, great memories of trips there following Mildenhall came flooding back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 There are quite often old meetings for sale on e-bay. My husband used to work for Mike Bennett who I believe has a back catalogue from MK (Both venues), Long Eaton, Rye House, Wimbledon, Newcastle, Bradford, King's Lynn, Wolverhampton, Mildenhall (Old circuit) and odd meetings from Berwick (Lough) and others. That's good to hear. Sadly, attempts to track down the KM Video/Screen Sport archive have drawn a blank Rob McCaffery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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