Working with Joe Meek (1967)

Cliff Cooper shares memories of Joe Meek, the legendary British producer behind Telstar and early experiments in pop recording innovation.

Cliff Cooper, Orange Amps Founder and CEO, remembers:

“While I was in The Millionaires—a name Joe Meek himself gave us—we had a top-20 hit with Wishing Well, which I co-wrote with my brother Ken and which Joe recorded and produced.

“Joe was a special talent who, like Phil Spector with his pioneering Wall of Sound recording techniques, was way ahead of his time. He was completely dedicated to music, and with his company, RGM, was constantly experimenting and searching for new sounds. It was a privilege to watch him at work in his Holloway Road home studio.”

A Fragile Genius

“Unfortunately, towards the end of his life, Joe was visibly stressed and living increasingly on the edge. I remember one particular incident in the studio: our bass player, Staz, was coming up the narrow stairs into the control room just as Joe was coming down. Really, Staz should have stepped back, but instead he tried to squeeze past. Joe suddenly flared up and threw his tea all over him.

“At the time, I heard the source of Joe’s stress was a copyright dispute around Telstar, the huge hit he produced for The Tornados that went to number 1 in both the UK and US charts in 1962.

“Joe took his own life in February 1967, which shocked everyone in the music business. We hadn’t had long to work with him, and he was already planning a follow-up single for us.”