After being absent from the public eye for over a decade, Rick Buckler is back where he rightfully belongs.  Playing the drums with a new band called The Gift. A live outfit that perform hits from Rick’s former band The Jam.

At ZANI’s office, we often have a flippant discussion on which fictional address we would like to reside at. Our favourite fantasy abode is the famous Rock and Roll address of 1134 North Beechwood Drive, Los Angles California USA. The residence of sixties pop legends The Monkees.

Oasis were on the brink of massive success and this interview was prior to the release of Shakermaker.

This was a big story for us. It was done in the summer of 1990 when Paul Weller hadn’t done an interview for 2 years.

ZANI At 12 Bar Club


From the words of The Comic Strip’s Bad News, “Sound checks are very boring”.  The fine tuning of the sound is completed hours before the audience arrives, then the band has to find ways to kill time before showtime… which can vary from having a drink to just going for a walk, anything to shake off the combination of pre-gig nerves and boredom.

The public and the media often forget how dangerous The Rolling Stones were perceived in the sixties, not just by the press but by the establishment. Not for drunken antics or aggressive behaviour. No, they were feared as revolutionaries, capable of uniting the youth of the sixties and bringing the country down.
 

Luca Zingaretti (11th November 1961 Rome, Lazio) is known across the world as the philosophical and street wise policeman, Inspector Montalbano. Set in the fictional town Vigata, Sicily the plots range from child smuggling to cold case murders, strong and engaging storylines. All shot beautifully in the province of Ragusa, with a wonderful array of characters, Ispettore Giuseppe Fazio (Peppino Mazzotta) the young go-getter copper,

Prospects was a comedy drama originally aired 19th February 1986, which ran for 12 episodes on Channel 4 at 21.00, produced by the recently regenerated Euston Films after a 20 year hiatus. Re- launched in March 2014, with former Eastenders producer Kate Harwood, as the new managing director.
     
Euston Films produced highly successful series’, for example Van der Valk, (1972–1973, 1977, 1991-1992) The Sweeney (1975 - 1978) and Minder (1979 - 1994),  and other highly rated ones such as Special Branch (1969-74), Widows (1983-85) Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983) and a few more . Much of their drama was gritty, usually set in the underworld or fringes of society, all shot on location, as opposed to a studio set, offering a more film style production to their drama.

Unfortunately, the chance of ever owning Z Cars the complete box is pretty remote, as the BBC, visionary as ever, lost or wiped many of the original recordings. However many episodes do remain, (perhaps someone at the BBC forgot to take the bins out one night) and Acorn DVD (part of the RLJ Entertainment Group) have  recently released Z Cars Collection Two, following the success of Collection One.

Between 10th November to 12th December 1983, BBC 1 ran a six part series, Johnny Jarvis.  A story of two friends spanning over a six year period, starting in 1977 and ending in the then present, 1983.  The series was set in Hackney and its surrounding boroughs, all shot on location with no studio scenes. Written by author, screenwriter and playwright Nigel Williams (20th January 1948) an Oxford graduate and talented writer who creates engaging and intriguing plots, with an emphasis on character study and development. Despite stemming from a public school education, much of Williams’ early work displays empathy for the working class, in particular teenagers.