BBC - Ridley Road / 62 Group tv drama Oct 3rd

[Fozzie Bear]

BBC - BBC Trailers, Ridley Road

A young Jewish woman goes undercover in a neo-Nazi organisation in 1960s Britain

www.bbc.co.uk

Romance! Militant anti-fascism! The London Borough of Hackney!

All things dear to my shrivelled heart, which are in this new series that debuts on Sunday.

Some background to the series and the events that inspired it are here:

The 62 Group fought fascists in Hackney – now in a BBC drama

At an early 62 Group encounter outside Hackney town hall, Maurice charged at a huge fascist bruiser and smashed him to the ground. He then grabbed his jacket with such force that the lapels came aw…

hackneyhistory.wordpress.com

And a mini-review of the novel the series is based on by me from the "book challenge" thread:

6/30 Jo Bloom - Ridley Road

A romantic novel in which the male protagonist infiltrates Colin Jordan’s National Socialist Movement with help from the Jewish anti-fascist 62 Group. The female protagonist is mainly lovely and beautiful and worried, but there are some good scenes with her working as a hairdresser in sixties soho and having nights out with the girls.

It‘s pretty good I’d say (being a world expert on the romantic novel lol). Entertaining but probably not an essential addition to yer anti-fascist bookshelf. Soon to be a TV series so that will be interesting.

Crap or not crap - let Urban decide!

 

[Sue]

Do you know where they filmed it, Fozzie Bear?

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Do you know where they filmed it, Fozzie Bear?

I don't and it's hard to tell from the trailer...

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Looks like the female lead plays more of a role in infiltrating the fascists in the tv series, which doesn't happen in the book...

 

[Pickman's model]

Safe to say not filmed on Ridley road

 

[Pickman's model]

Do you know where they filmed it, Fozzie Bear?

Manchester

 

[Sue]

Safe to say not filmed on Ridley road

Yeah, seemed unlikely!

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Do you know where they filmed it, Fozzie Bear?

Filmed in Manchester alas, Sue!

Ridley Road was filmed on Tib Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, an area of the city which sits between Piccadilly and the Ancoats.

In November last year, people spotted camera crews transforming the road into 1960s London’s East End with additional signs and vintage features.

Ridley Road: Where is the show filmed and how many episodes are there?

Ridley Road is the explosive new BBC drama, written by Sarah Solemani, that we'll undoubtedly be hooked to in October this year.

www.goodto.com

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Ooops Pickman's model got there before me.

 

[Sue]

Filmed in Manchester alas, Sue!

Ridley Road was filmed on Tib Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, an area of the city which sits between Piccadilly and the Ancoats.

In November last year, people spotted camera crews transforming the road into 1960s London’s East End with additional signs and vintage features.

Ridley Road: Where is the show filmed and how many episodes are there?

Ridley Road is the explosive new BBC drama, written by Sarah Solemani, that we'll undoubtedly be hooked to in October this year.

www.goodto.com

I'd been looking forward to location spotting.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I'd been looking forward to location spotting.

Yep tricky that - we can at least have a giggle about how they've mangled it all I guess!

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Watched the first two and liked them mainly. The first ep started slow and a lot of the buildings were obviously Manchester. But I liked the stock footage of 60s London.

I think the novel hangs together a bit better, plotwise. But it all worked and it was good to see anti-fascists portrayed as underdog heroes on BBC1.

Good hair.

 

[Fedayn]

I was on Tib Street a few weeks ago, Afflecks Palace is there and just round the corner is the pub The Castle, ( a cracking boozer as The39thStep will attest) a recommended watering hole of Lletsa late of this parish, a sorely missed contributor imho. I was speaking to a mate when I was there about the filming. Tib Street was well camouflaged, quite a long street, not really 'dark' but as mentioned has Afflecks Palace on it so easy access for some period/vintage costume, it was where I used to pick up the odd 60's button down shirt on my sojourns down to the parental home to see family. It was also filmed in Bolton and Ashton-under-Lyme, all Manchester to you southern types but oooooh, all very different up north.

I must admit I half expected the main characters job ion a Soho hair salon to end up with us being introduced to a Vidal Sassoon-esque anti-fascist hairdresser, and we may well yet but Sassoon was 43 group not 62 group. As an aside to Fozzie Bear remark about women being a main character and infiltrator I went to a meeting to hear Maurice Beckman one of the founders of the 43 group and he, to some tuts of indignant outrage in the audience said that when the 43 Group were active the ladies were the typists and didn't get involved in the rough stuff. As an aside Beckman lived on Amhurst Road just round the corner from the real Ridley Road in Hackney Same as fozzie I enjoyed it, simply as a programme and drama at that where militant anti-fascists are the ostensible good guys. Eddie Marsan, an Eastender in real life, though Stepney not Hackney, is a brilliant actor,. Whilst,I am not a fan of his politics said he is one of the best actors these islands have produced in the recent decades and, imho, can make a film/drama watchable for his performance alone. I don't expect it to be some major piece of drama talked about for years to come but it is nice to watch telly where the good guys are actually portrayed as the good guys.

 

[A380]

I’ll give it another week. Not bad as drama goes.

I liked the CGI reimagining of the early 60s London Skyline.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Fedayn good to see you . There's some info in Daniel Sonabend's book on the 43 Group about a female infiltrator who ends up getting quite badly unstuck unfortunately.

 

[Pickman's model]

I’ll give it another week. Not bad as drama goes.

I liked the CGI reimagining of the early 60s London Skyline.

here is a map of ridley road

you'll note it bears no resemblance to the topography as shown on tv

 

[A380]

here is a map of ridley road
View attachment 291192
you'll note it bears no resemblance to the topography as shown on tv

I think the BBC have billed this as a drama, not a drama documentary.

I’m quite interested to see all the nit picking on here as the drama departs more and more from the actuality and also more commuted active anti- fascists get wound up about errors in policy, practice and trade craft.

 

[Fedayn]

Fedayn good to see you . There's some info in Daniel Sonabend's book on the 43 Group about a female infiltrator who ends up getting quite badly unstuck unfortunately.

Yeah, I got the impression he was being bit 'of his time', not exactly serious. And you too.

Also quite apt to be doing this thread today as it is the Anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. Btw, Sonabend was on BBC Radio 4 yesterday with some 43 and 62 group members giving a background to last nights first episode. Pretty sure it is on here BBC Radio 4 - Sunday, 03/10/2021

 

[Fedayn]

here is a map of ridley road
View attachment 291192
you'll note it bears no resemblance to the topography as shown on tv

Yeah, I knew Ridley Road quite well in the early 90s, I was dating a woman who lived on the Pembury Estate and the beigel shop was a favourite late night walk for some fantastic food. It was alot of market stalls on one side as I remember.

 

[Pickman's model]

I think the BBC have billed this as a drama, not a drama documentary.

I’m quite interested to see all the not picking on here as the drama departs more and more from the actuality and also more commuted active anti- fascists get wound up about errors in policy, practice and trade craft.

i'd be nit picking to pick up your typo

 

[A380]

i'd be nit picking to pick up your typo

Took you 13 minutes. 13! In your prime you’d have been back at me in less than 90 seconds.

 

[Pickman's model]

Took you 13 minutes. 13! In your prime you’d have been back at me in less than 90 seconds.

in your prime i would have been following your posts assiduously.

 

[A380]

in your prime i would have been following your posts assiduously.

we both know that was never true. But thanks.

 

[hitmouse]

I have not watched any of this series yet, or read the book, but I can confirm the Castle is a very nice pub. Just over the road from Gulliver's too. I suppose it's probably quite unlikely that disused shopfront that just says UN F EAR will end up in the show, though.

 

[Shechemite]

Did fash actually say ‘perish Judah’ back in the day?

 

[hitmouse]

Did fash actually say ‘perish Judah’ back in the day?

Yeah, iirc from Out of the Ghetto (or possibly the 43 Group book), it was widespread enough that they could just do graff saying PJ and it'd be understood what they meant by it. Cited here, for instance: Right Club - Wikipedia

 

[Shechemite]

Cheers

 

[moochedit]

Did fash actually say ‘perish Judah’ back in the day?

No idea but it was in the most recent peaky blinders series as well.

 

[Shechemite]

Yeah that’s where I noticed it before.

 

[kalidarkone]

I really enjoyed it.