Tornados – Telstar

Dave posted this on January 16th on his Turntable Talk series. The theme was instrumentals. The problem wasn’t finding one…it was choosing one between all of the instrumentals out there.

I can’t really say how this song makes me feel. It still sounds futuristic, but I also feel nostalgic about an era before my time. It sounds both uplifting and melancholy at the same time.

This was the best-selling British single of 1962. It was also the first song by a British group to hit #1 in the US. This did not happen again until The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” in 1964.

The legendary Joe Meek wrote and produced this song. This was an adventurous instrumental record for the time and ahead of its time. The song took off and peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, in Canada, New Zealand, and the UK in 1962.

Meek was ahead of his time. He was doing things in a studio that the Beatles found years later like playing things backwards and getting different effects in 1962. Meek was a genius at recording. Some say he was a mad genius because some say he had mental illnesses and a narcissistic personality disorder. There is a movie I would recommend watching… Telstar: The Joe Meek Story.

An instrumental with space sound effects, this was inspired by the Telstar communications satellite, which was launched shortly before this song was written. Telstar had been launched for 5 weeks when this song came out. Telstar no longer functions but still orbits the earth to this day.

The Tornados were a club band that disliked the song, but Meek added his effects at his home studio above a leather shop in northern London. An overdubbed Clavioline keyboard provoked spooked space effects, while a backward tape of a flushing toilet evoked all the majesty of a space-bound rocket. The Clavioline was an early electronic keyboard that could create a range of otherworldly sounds, to play the main melody of the song, which he then layered with other instruments and sound effects to create an orchestral and ethereal sound that evokes the vastness and wonder of space.

The Tornados received little money from the song. Meek had leased the record to Decca Records and having negotiated a 5% royalty of the record sales he received 29,000 pounds, very little of which was passed on to The Tornados.

I’ve listened to the first demo of it and it’s not like anything the finished product sounded like.

A little more on Meek…that’s who developed this song. George Martin had just left EMI in 1965 and the head of EMI was Sir Joesph Lockwood. Lockwood thought of Joe Meek as a suitable replacement for Martin. Martin still produced the Beatles as a contractor, but Meek could fill in his other EMI duties. Meek was told about the job offer but he didn’t want to give up his independence, but it was tempting. Meek was unable to decide. On January 17, 1967, Sir Joseph finally called him to press for a decision. Meek joined the meeting accompanied by his lawyer. It’s not known how the meeting went, only the result is known: Joe Meek said no. Meek would be dead of a murder (his landlady) suicide the next month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-ee6p4z29Q

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

32 thoughts on “Tornados – Telstar”

  1. It definitely was an unexpected pick, Max, which is part of the fun. To borrow creatively, Turntable Talk is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you gonna get!

    Also, after I’ve watched the clip again, I have a few additional clever observations: While the music is generally upbeat, there’s a bit of an uneasy undercurrent. The bassist’s slightly creepy smile reinforces that vibe.

    The keyboarder looks more like some Hollywood actor than a musician. He reminds me a bit of Cary Grant.

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    1. The video is strange…I was going to say something about the bass player…Heinz Burt… he did do that creepy smile…plus just the feel of it all.

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      2. LOL…yes the song is futuristic and old at the same time…I can’t put my finger on it but it was ahead of it’s time. He also beat the Beatles in backward effects and sounds by a few years.

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  2. As I mentioned on Dave’s post this was a great pick. Very representative of a time when instrumentals charted, in particular guitar songs. Part of the reason Los Straightjackets are so much fun. Takes me back to tunes like Telstar.

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  4. I remember going outside at night to look for Telstar making its way across the night sky. It was covered in solar panels, a big deal in 1962, as was seeing a satellite.

    The synthesizer on this may be a Jennings Univox – same company as the Vox amplifiers favored by the Beatles, guitar played by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, and organ played by many including Augie Meyers of the Sir Douglas Quintet and Texas Tornados. This was the future in 1962!

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  5. thanks, as always , for taking part Max, and also as usual, for a good choice! Great groovy song that was ahead of its time, even more so I think after reading about all the studio techniques they used to get that spacey sound.

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    1. For some reason the song is kinda creepy to me…maybe it’s the video but it’s kind of odd but I like it. Yea they beat the Beatles to the special effects by years…Im sure people were playing with them…but not on major releases.

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  6. Reverse toilet effect- now there’s something your sound engineer might appreciate, but not your plumber.
    It is just off kilter in a way- its no typical Shadows toe-tapping straightforward instrumental.

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  8. Now that is a groovy tune. When I listen to it I think of a Space Cowboy (no not the pompatus of love one.) When I read this: “Telstar no longer functions but still orbits the earth to this day.” if that isn’t a radioactive kernel for a story I don’t know what is. Dayum! Imagining someone or something or a half-earthling/half-ET doing some rustic camping up there and being discovered by space trash collectors.

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    1. Oh yea…we have a trash heap circling the earth everyday….I’ve read where some of them have been sent out further or some have fallen and was burnt up….but Telestar is still there!

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  10. This is one of my all-time favourite number ones. It’s just so evocative – of a time twenty five years before I was born, but still! – and atmospheric. My two favourite producers of the 60s, Joe Meek and Phil Spector, were unfortunately very troubled souls…

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  13. Dave’s exploration of this instrumental piece unfolds a sonic journey through time, encapsulating both futuristic and nostalgic elements. The song’s emotional complexity aligns with its groundbreaking nature, and the innovative genius of Joe Meek shines through in his unconventional studio techniques. The Telstar satellite connection adds an extra layer, making it a tribute to technological advancements.

    The financial struggles of the Tornados reveal the challenges faced by musicians in that era, despite chart-topping success. The anecdote about Joe Meek’s potential role at EMI, contrasted with his tragic end, highlights the fragility accompanying brilliance. His refusal to sacrifice independence for corporate structure remains a poignant testament to his character.

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    1. I do admire him for not taking the bait and going to EMI. George Martin wanted out of there long before The Beatles to do his own thing.
      Meek had a lot of problems/demons but his talents were undeniable.

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  15. classic! My dad bought this when he got our first 45rpm record player in 1966, so it was a futuristic-sounding soundtrack to my childhood. Still sounds like the future, and the sound style was borrowed in the 90’s by the wonderful Saint Etienne on You’re In A Bad Way, well worth a listen. The B side Jungle Fever is also good, played that a lot at the time too.

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