Events

A celebration of the 1971 film Melody and it’s iconic filming Kennington locations Join me to discover this fantastic 1970s movie. A love story set in Kennington. A love letter to Kennington. With dozens of Lambeth school kids causing mayhem as extras.

David Turnbull is an author and Lambeth Tour Guide. His blog Lambeth Fantastical explores Lambeth’s connections to literature, cinema and television.

Melody (1971) marked the first foray into film production by the legendary, David Putnam, and the first foray into script writing by the equally legendary, Alan Parker. It marked the directorial move from TV to the big screen of Waris Hussain, director of the first ever episode of Doctor Who.

On this walk, celebrating the 55^th anniversary of the film’s release, you will discover how David Putnam obtained the rights to the Bee Gees songs which provided both the inspiration for Alan Parker’s script and the uplifting score for the movie. Hear the stories of the movie’s two big stars, Oliver’s Jack Wild and Mark Lester, and newcomer, Tracy Hyde, along with their stellar supporting cast which included Roy Kinnear, Sheila Steafel and Keith Barron.

Find out why Kennington was chosen as the film’s setting and visit key filming locations. Discover why, much to the dismay of Putnam and Parker, the film’s distributor changed its original title to S.W.A.L.K. Explore the film’s cult status in Japan and why it is still talked about five decades later. A play list of songs from the movie will be given out at the end of the walk. This is a step free walk, which is dog and child friendly. There are public toilets in Archbishops Park.

Location: meet at Lambeth North Tube station