Film

A new 30 minute film documentary ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Island’ has been produced, featuring interviews with key players, fans and club-goers of the Eel Pie Island Hotel Club, who were there in the 50s and 60s.

Filmed in June 2013 in Twickenham, interviewees included Top Topham from The Yardbirds, Paul Stewart from The Others, Geoff Cole from the Ken Colyer Band, Bob Dwyer from Steve Lane’s Southern Stompers, Don Craine and Keith Grant from The Downliners Sect, Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, Kinks drummer Mick Avory, and Phil May from The Pretty Things, as well as Eelpiland fans and clubgoers. Additional footage was recorded during 2014/2015, including some with Rod Stewart.

We also reunited Sally Taylor, Maud Kent and Gillian Green, three women from the well known photo of five teenage girls leaning on a bar at the Eel Pie Island Hotel in the 1960s, which features on the heritage board outside the Barmy Arms, to talk with them about their memories of the club.

Combining these interviews with original images and footage from the era, including extracts from the well known ‘Look At Life’ film made about Eel Pie, the documentary explores the history of how this small island in the River Thames became the focus of a R&B and rock ‘n’ roll explosion, and a formative part of the UK and international music scene.

“A colorful musical doc about England’s iconic blues and rock venue.” Broadway World

 

 

 

Festival and Award Success

20 – 23 October 2016 Rock n Roll Island shown at the International Family Film Festival in Hollywood. Cheryl Robson won best director for the film.

19 – 23 October 2016 Rock n Roll Island shown at the Carmel International Film Festival.

3 October 2016 Rock n Roll Island shown at the Glendale International Film Festival in California at the Pacific Theatres at the Americana. The film won the Best Documentary film award.

16 – 18 September 2016 Rock n Roll Island selected for Covellite International Film Festival and screened at the Festival in Butte, Montana, where it won the award for Best Documentary short film.

April 2016, Rock n Roll Island produced and directed by Cheryl Robson and Helen Walker won the top award (The Gold Remi) for short film documentary at WorldFest, the Houston International Film Festival.

October 2015 Rock n Roll Island had its World Premiere at London’s Raindance Festival.

Read Garth Pearce’s piece in the Daily Express on Rod Stewart and Eel Pie Island and the documentary  ‘Rock n Roll Island’ produced and directed by Cheryl Robson.

 

Gillian Green, Sally Taylor and Maud Kent reunited with their teenage selves

‘Congratulations to the team for a really excellent production.’  Clive Sibley

‘We really enjoyed the film. So much critically important music was able to be ‘born’ here, and so important to document this… for future generations to be inspired by’ Siobhan Pestano

‘I think the film is fantastic’  Mick Stone