Shane Meadows Interview: Some Buddy to love

Shane Meadows is calling from his car, after a long day scouting locations for the upcoming television series This is England ’90. A sequel to his well-regarded 2006 drama, expectations are already high. Which is a relief, given that Meadows was unsure as to how he would go about adapting the film for television.

“TV’s quite different now – even from when we did the first one,” he muses. “The smaller, high quality dramas are all over the place. At the time there was a bit of snobbery going round: ‘Why’s Shane doing telly?’ I poured as much into that series as I did the film. It is the new art form. I was massively inspired by The Sopranos, the best weeks-long film you’ve ever seen. It comes in waves; when BBC2 and Channel 4 kicked off, there were really amazing dramas – people like Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Stephen Frears would do them. So I wanted to get back to that, while taking inspiration from what the Americans were at.”
For now, though, Meadows is promoting The Living Room, his intimate documentary about his childhood friend, musician Gavin Clark. Though Clark helped score all of Meadows’ films, The Living Room finds him down on his luck, delivering pizza around his hometown of Stoke.
“It baffled me,” admits Meadows. “He’s such a beautiful musician and there he was delivering pizzas at 36. He’d lost his record deal, but more importantly lost his confidence – on his own with the guitar he was so beautiful, but in front of people he’d get too nervous. So I just thought if we made a short film it might help kickstart his career. We could use some of the budget to invest in getting equipment and trying make a record – but also to see if we could get him to record and find that connection to his music again.”
A redemption story of sorts, Meadows encourages Clark to resume playing – but despite dreams of tours and records, his first show is a heartbreaking disaster.
“Gavin’s music is so personal. I think it adds to his nerves. We set up this gig in his living-room, but it was probably the worst idea I’ve had! Because it’s all these people who love him and so desperately want him to do well – they’re sitting two inches from him, and can see him shaking. The first song he plays is agony, he’s struggling to even move his fingers. It’s awful but I knew he needed to get back on track and get his incredible songs out there.”
The endearing film sees Meadows become director, interviewer, therapist and friend to Gavin, as the two wander around their old neighbourhoods, reminiscing about youthful indiscretions and their teenage dreams. The nostalgia got Meadows thinking about the people who had faith in his abilities and encouraged him the way Clark so desperately needs to be.
“My Dad was a huge inspiration; he really taught me not to take shit from people. He’d rather lose his job than to be told he wasn’t worth anything or to be spoken to a certain way. And he passed that on to me: he didn’t teach me to cause trouble, but if teachers were unfairly picking on me, he’d back me up and wouldn’t let people treat me like I wouldn’t amount to anything. He gave me belief in myself as a person. I also had an amazing man who took me under his wing when I was making short films, and pushed me to continue. So I know what it’s like to need someone to help you out and encourage you to believe in your talents. I knew it would be criminal not to do the same for Gav.”