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{{Short description|British ITV comedy drama, 1st of trilogy}}
{{notability|Television|date=April 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=NovemberAugust 20122021}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox television
|show_name image = The = Beiderbecke Affair.jpg
|image caption = Beiderbecke Affair.jpg
|caption alt_name =
|aka genre = [[Comedy]] [[drama]]
|genre creator = [[Comedy]] [[drama]]
|creator writer = [[Alan Plater]]
|writer director = [[Alan Plater]]{{Plainlist|
|director =* David Reynolds & <br>Frank W. Smith
* Frank W. Smith
|starring = [[James Bolam]] <br> [[Barbara Flynn]] <br> [[Terence Rigby]] <br> Danny Schiller <br> [[Dudley Sutton]] <br> [[Dominic Jephcott]] <br> [[Keith Smith (actor)|Keith Smith]] <br> [[Keith Marsh]]▼
}}
|voices =▼
▲| starring = {{unbulleted list|[[James Bolam]] <br> |[[Barbara Flynn]] <br> |[[Terence Rigby]] <br> |Danny Schiller <br> |[[Dudley Sutton]] <br> |[[Dominic Jephcott]]|[[Sue <br> Jenkins]]|[[Keith Smith (actor)|Keith Smith]] <br> |[[Keith Marsh]]}}
|narrated =▼
▲| voices =
|theme_music_composer = [[Frankie Trumbauer]] and [[Chauncey Morehouse]]
|opentheme narrated = “Cryin' All Day”=
| theme_music_composer = {{Plainlist|
|endtheme =
* [[Frankie Trumbauer]]
|composer =
* [[Chauncey Morehouse]]
|country = UK▼
}}
|language = English▼
|num_seasons opentheme = "Cryin' All Day"
|num_episodes endtheme = 6
|list_episodes composer =
▲| country = UKUnited Kingdom
|executive_producer = David Cunliffe▼
|co_exec language = English
|producer num_seasons = Anne W. Gibbons
|location num_episodes = =6
|cinematography list_episodes =
▲| executive_producer = David Cunliffe
|camera_setup =
|runtime producer = Anne W. Gibbons
▲|narrated location =
|channel = [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] ([[ITV Yorkshire|Yorkshire Television]])
| cinematography =
|picture_format = [[Film]] [[PAL]] ([[576i]])
|audio_format runtime =
|first_run company = [[Yorkshire Television]]
|first_aired channel = 6[[ITV January(TV 1985network)|ITV]]
|last_aired first_aired = 10 February{{start date|1985|01|06|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1985|02|10|df=y}}
|preceded_by =
▲|language related = English{{Plainlist|
|followed_by =* ''[[The Beiderbecke Tapes]]''
|related = [[Get Lost!]]
* ''[[Get Lost!]]''
|website =
}}
|prod_website =
}}
'''''The Beiderbecke Affair''''' is a [[television]] series produced in the United Kingdom by [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] during 1985,<ref name="Seely">{{cite web |last1=Seely |first1=Michael |title=All That Jazz: The Beiderbecke Trilogy » We Are Cult |url=http://wearecult.rocks/the-beiderbecke-trilogy |website=We Are Cult |publisher=We Are Cult |accessdate=9 August 2019 |date=27 November 2018}}</ref> written by the prolific [[Alan Plater]], whose lengthy credits in British television since the 1960s included the four-part mini series ''[[Get Lost!]]'' for ITV in 1981. ''The Beiderbecke Affair'' has a similar style to ''Get Lost!'', wherein Neville Keaton ([[Alun Armstrong]]) and Judy Threadgold ([[Bridget Turner]]) played in an ensemble cast. Although ''The Beiderbecke Affair'' was intended as a sequel to ''Get Lost!'', Alun Armstrong proved to be unavailable and the premise was reworked. It is the first part of ''[[The Beiderbecke Trilogy]]'', with the two sequel series being ''[[The Beiderbecke Tapes]]'' (1987) and ''[[The Beiderbecke Connection]]'' (1988).▼
 
▲'''''The Beiderbecke Affair''''' is a [[television]] series produced in the United Kingdom by [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] during 1985, written by the prolific [[Alan Plater]], whose lengthy credits in British television since the 1960s included the four-part mini series ''[[Get Lost!]]'' for ITV in 1981. ''The Beiderbecke Affair'' has a similar style to ''Get Lost!'', wherein Neville Keaton ([[Alun Armstrong]]) and Judy Threadgold ([[Bridget Turner]]) played in an ensemble cast. Although ''The Beiderbecke Affair'' was intended as a sequel to ''Get Lost!'', Alun Armstrong proved to be unavailable and the premise was reworked. It is the first part of ''[[The Beiderbecke Trilogy]]'', with the two sequel series being ''[[The Beiderbecke Tapes]]'' (1987) and ''[[The Beiderbecke Connection]]'' (1988).
 
==Plot==
Rather than following a usual linear story structure, ''The Beiderbecke Affair'' —– set in [[Leeds]] in 1985 —– is a character-led drama with a plot that initially appears rather unclear, moving as it does from one seemingly unrelated event to another. These events—andevents – and the characters involved with them—arethem – are eventually shown to be interconnected.
 
[[Geordie]] Trevor Chaplin ([[James Bolam]]) teaches woodwork, enjoys [[football (soccer)|football]] and is passionate about [[jazz]]. Jill Swinburne ([[Barbara Flynn]]) is interested in neither football nor jazz but teaches English and wants to help save the planet, standing in a local election as "your Conservation candidate". After Jill left her husband, her colleague Trevor began giving her lifts to school and from there a relationship blossomed. They have an easy-going relationship where half the words seem to be left unspoken but the viewer is never in any doubt as to the [[subtext]].
[[Image:Clayton Grange, Moor Grange Leeds.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Clayton Grange Flats, [[Moor Grange]], [[Leeds]] used as 'The Multistorey Block of Flats' in the Beiderbecke affair, taken in June 2008, 24 years after filming]]
 
Trevor tries to buy some jazz records from a "dazzlingly beautiful platinum blonde" who calls at the door raising funds for the local [[Cub Scouts (The Scout Association)|Cubs]]’ football team. When the wrong records are delivered, a hunt begins that draws the pair into unforeseen intrigue.<ref name="rt">{{cite web |title=The Beiderbecke Affair (1985) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beiderbecke_affair |website=www.rottentomatoes |publisher=Fandango |language=en}}</ref> Thrown into the mix are Sgt Hobson ([[Dominic Jephcott]]), a suspicious yet seemingly incompetent graduate police detective, and a pair of local [[black economy]] tradesmen, "Big Al" ([[Terence Rigby]]) and "Little Norm" (Danny Schiller), who agree to help "average-sized" Jill and Trevor with their school supplies problems. There are elements of political and social commentary, whilst bureaucracy (within the Policepolice and Locallocal Governmentgovernment) and the educational system are frequent targets of ridicule.
 
Setting the scene for the sequels, the series ends with Jill and Trevor 'running away to the Hillshills' ([[AlmscliffeBeamsley Crag]]Beacon, [[North RigtonBeamsley]]). Unlike subsequent episodes the series ends with this scene and Big Al and Little Norm listening to the radio at their allotment; the viewer hears from this that a local senior police officer has been suspended, and a business manbusinessman and a [[councillor]] have been arrested. It is later revealed in the ''Beiderbecke Tapes'' that Mr McAllister and Councillor McAllister were imprisoned.
 
It all unravels to a soundtrack of jazz music in the style of [[Bix Beiderbecke]], performed by [[Frank Ricotti]] with [[Kenny Baker (trumpeter)|Kenny Baker]] as featured cornet soloist. Extensive use is made of [[leitmotifs]] for the various characters. The theme song of the series uses the actual [[Bix Beiderbecke]] instrumental "Crying All Day" by [[Frankie Trumbauer]] and His Orchestra released in 1927 on [[Okeh Records]] and re-released in 1941 as part of the "Hot Jazz Classic" series on [[Columbia Records]].
 
==Characters==
The cast was as follows:<ref name="KA">{{cite web |title=The Beiderbecke Trilogy |url=https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/Guide/Beiderbecke.htm |website=www.historyfiles.co.uk |publisher=Kessler Associates |accessdate=9 August 2019}}</ref>
*'''Trevor Chaplin - [[James Bolam]]'''. Chaplin is a laid-back, slightly eccentric woodwork teacher at a comprehensive school. He is based on ''Mr Keaton'' from ''Get Lost!''. Chaplin is in a relationship with Jill Swinburne.
*'''Trevor Chaplin – [[James Bolam]]'''. Chaplin is a laid-back, slightly eccentric woodwork teacher at a comprehensive school. He is based on ''Mr Keaton'' from ''Get Lost!''. Chaplin is in a relationship with Jill Swinburne.
*'''Jill -Swinburne – [[Barbara Flynn]]''' is a committed environmentalist and social campaigner. An English teacher, she is educated and cultured. The name Swinburne was "inherited" from her ex-husband. The character was inspired by that of ''Mrs Threadgold'' from ''Get Lost!'', but differs significantly in that Jill has a good sense of humour .
*'''Big Al -– [[Terence Rigby]]'''. Big Al is a somewhat [[neuroticism|neurotic]] and insistently eccentric wheeler-dealer, recently unemployed from the building industry. He is the dominant half of the enterprise.
*'''Little Norm -– Danny Schiller''' Little Norm is the submissive partner in the business with his "brother" Big Al. The plot makes it clear that Al, Norm and Janey are not in fact related, although they use sibling-based pronouns for each other on many occasions.
*'''Janey -– [[Sue Jenkins]]''' Known by Trevor as 'that dazzlingly beautiful platinum blonde', Janey sells him records in aid of the Cubs football team, the consequences of which drive the plot of the "affair".
*'''Sgt Hobson -– [[Dominic Jephcott]]''' is a young, enthusiastic, graduate police officer. Well-spoken and knowledgeable about police procedure, he is however singularly incompetent -– spending most of his duty hours investigating hypothetical crimes, and using his notes for his next thesis.
*'''Chief Superintendent Forrest -– [[Colin Blakely]]''' Forrest is a plain-speaking and effective police superintendent. Jaded by the job, he has become thoroughly corrupt. Based on a character from ''Get Lost!'', who was likewise disparaging towards his counterpart, however unlike Forrest he was neurotic and somewhat detached from reality.
*'''Mr Carter -– [[Dudley Sutton]]''' Mr Carter is a jaded and cynical history teacher, and an ally of Jill and Trevor.
*'''Mr Wheeler -– [[Keith Smith (actor)|Keith Smith]]''' the school head teacher. A petty, neurotic jobsworth he is loathed by pupils and staff alike, but remains largely oblivious to the contempt in which he is held.
*'''Harry -– [[Keith Marsh]]'''. A retired [[bookie]]'s runner and would-be [[Supergrass (informer)|supergrass]]. A seemingly harmless pensioner, often out walking with his dog, Jason. He is regularly referred to by the ambiguous description "The man with the dog called Jason".
*'''Helen McAllister (Helen of Tadcaster) -– Alison Skilbeck''' Helen is the somewhat needy ex-fiancée of Trevor Chaplin. Her father is a successful local businessman, involved in corruption with the local council and police, who uses Helen to get to know Trevor, whose friends he sees as acting in a manner which is counterproductive to the equilibrium he sees necessary to balance his business.
*'''Mr McAllister -– [[James Grout]]''' Helen's father, an affluent and less than legitimate businessman.
*'''Reverend Booth -– [[Ian Bleasdale]]''' The Reverend Booth is the local Vicarvicar. Fed up with his occupation and casual in both the application of Churchchurch policy, and towards life in general. He provides a cellar from where Big Al runs his "business".
*'''Mr Pitt (Pitt the Planner) -– [[Robert Longden (actor)|Robert Longden]]'''. The head of the town planning department. A meek jobsworth, he nonetheless becomes concerned about the endemic local corruption. It is revealed later in the series that he is a jazz fan.
 
==Production==
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[[Image:Abbeydaleoval.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Abbeydale Oval, in [[Kirkstall]], [[Leeds]]. The house on the right featured as Jill's house.]]
[[Image:East Leeds Family Learning Centre.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[East Leeds Family Learning Centre]] (former Foxwood School) in [[Seacroft]], Leeds was used as 'San Quentin High' (picture taken June 2008). Demolition of the complex began in December 2009]]
[[File:StMarksChurchWoodhouse.jpg|thumb|right|200px|St Marks Church in [[Woodhouse, Leeds|Woodhouse]] was the Parish Church of St Matthew in ''The Beiderbecke Affair''. ItSt Mark's was closed for over a decade but has beenwas bought by Gateway Church and iswas beingcleared and renovated in 2014.<ref>{{citationcite news |title=Leeds Nostalgia: St Mark's Church, Woodhouse set for grand unveiling |work=Yorkshire Evening Post needed|date=March31 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://gatewayleeds.net/about/#story |website=gatewayleeds.net |publisher=Gateway Church |access-date=16 February 20162021}}</ref>]]
 
*Jill's Househouse -– 39 Abbeydale Oval, [[Kirkstall]], [[Leeds]]
*Trevor's Househouse -– 67 Clarendon Road, [[Woodhouse, Leeds|Woodhouse]], Leeds
*Big Al's allotment and office -– Ash Road Allotments, Ash Road, Headingley, Leeds 6
*San Quentin High -– [[Foxwood School]], [[Seacroft]], Leeds (demolished 2009) and [[Abbey Grange Church of England High School|Abbey Grange School]], [[Horsforth]] Leeds
*The Alderman What's-His-Name Memorialmemorial Playingplaying Fieldsfields -– Butcher Hill Playing Fields, Abbey Grange, Leeds
*The Multimulti-storey Blockblock of Flatsflats -– Clayton Grange Flats, Moor Grange, Leeds
*The Multimulti-storey Carcar Parkpark -– Woodhouse Lane Multi-storey Car Park, [[Leeds city centre]]
*The Police station exterior - Horsforth Police station, Broadway, [[Horsforth]], [[Leeds]]. (Demolished circa 2012-2014)
*The location of exterior that Trevor drives round while Jill sees Mr Pitt at the Planningplanning Departmentdepartment is the County Hall, Wakefield, West Yorkshire<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086668/locations | title=The Beiderbecke Affair (TV Mini-Series 1985)| website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref> but Mr Pitt's office is on Cookridge Street, Leeds and is actually above where Revolution bar now is and the view from his window looks up Rossington Street (the old City of Leeds School is on the right, and the Merrion Centre can be seen at the top of the street).
The actual Leeds City Council planning offices are just over the road in The Leonardo Buildingbuilding which wasn't there at the time of filming back in 1984.
*The Towntown Hallhall/Jill's meeting room and venue for the counting of the votes -– Yeadon Town Hall, High Street, Yeadon<ref>Not, as previously said, Greenacre Hall, Rawdon. The confusion comes from a poster on the wall to the right of the doors which is advertising services held at Greenacre Hall which is a totally different building and was not used in the filming for exterior or interior shots of which Yeadon Town Hall was. Yeadon Town Hall was also to feature in the Beiderbecke Tapes as the registrar's office which again with Mr Pitt.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}</ref>
*The Hills - [[Almscliffe Crag]], [[North Rigton]]
*The hills – Beamsley Beacon, [[Beamsley]]
*The Level Crossing - Forest Lane Level Crossing, [[Starbeck]], [[Harrogate]]
*Grassed residential road nearThe level crossing -– FairwaysForest DriveLane, [[Starbeck]], [[Harrogate]]
*Grassed residential road near level crossing – Fairways Drive, Starbeck, Harrogate
*The Parish Church of St Matthew (exterior) - [[St. Mark's Church, Woodhouse|St Mark's Church]], [[Woodhouse, Leeds|Woodhouse]], Leeds
*The Parishparish Churchchurch of St Matthew (exterior, and nave interior) -– [[St. PeterMark's Church, Stanley, West YorkshireWoodhouse|St PeterMark's Church]], [[StanleyWoodhouse, West YorkshireLeeds|StanleyWoodhouse]], WakefieldLeeds.{{refn|For a view of the original interior of St Mark's Woodhouse (demolishednow 2014cleared out), see minutes 41–43 of episode 3 of ''The Beiderbecke Affair''|group=nb}}
*The parish church of St Matthew (interior) – [[St. Peter's Church, Stanley, West Yorkshire|St Peter's Church]], [[Stanley, West Yorkshire|Stanley]], Wakefield (demolished 2014)
*The Police Station - Horsforth Police Station, Leeds.
*The steep hill that cub scout walks up followed by Trevor is Carr Lane, Rawdon, LS19
*The Parishparish church/cub scouts meeting hall is actually St. Peters Church, Rawdon on Town Street/Layton Road, Rawdon, LS19
*The houses used as the setting for where Jill lived, which were new at the time of filming, were replaced with an older terrace house in Hill View Avenue at its junction with Norfolk Gardens in [[Chapel Allerton]] for the setting in subsequent series.
*The house that Jill and Trevor look for that they find is a demolished street is an area off Hartley Crescent/Glossop View, Woodhouse Moor, Leeds. This area is now a grassed space with some trees and benches at the top end.
*The corner of Grange Avenue, on the way from Big Al's allotment, is the corner of Grange Avenue and Windmill Lane, Yeadon.
*The telephone box that Trevor uses is at the junction of Parliament Road (now closed to traffic) and Hall Lane, near Armley Prison.
*The [[River Nidd]] and [[Knaresborough Viaduct]] can be seen in the background during Helen and Jill's night out.
 
==Episodes==
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[[File:Beiderbecke2.jpg|thumb|right|Episode Opening]]
[[File:Beiderbecke3.jpg|thumb|right|Big Al, Trevor and Jill in the church crypt/warehouse]]
 
[[File:Ash Road.jpg|thumbnail|The Ash Road allotments in Headingley were used for Big Al's allotment and office.]]
*'''"What I don't understand is this..."''' -– Trevor orders some jazz records which fail to turn up while Jill begins her campaign to stand for the council. Sgt Hobson becomes suspicious of the activities of Trevor, Jill, Big Al, Little Norm and later Big Al's 'sister' (the platinum blonde).
*'''"Can anybody join in?"''' -– After attending a local football match in order to track down his missing records, Trevor agrees to referee. The match is abandoned after the police led by Sgt Hobson raid the pitch following crowd trouble. Trevor and Big Al meet to resolve the problem with the records.
*'''"We call it the White Economy"''' -– Mysterious events aimed at intimidating Jill and Trevor begin to unfold, yet there is no indication who is doing this. Jill's election meeting is sabotaged, meanwhile a former girlfriend of Trevor's 'Helen of Tadcaster' turns up unannounced at the election meeting. Meanwhile, Big Al's warehouse is subjected to a police raid.
*'''"Um...I know what you're thinking"''' -– Trevor uncovers the cause of the events going on, after abducting Harry, but the motives for such still remain a mystery. Meanwhile, Jill and Helen have a meal and the two toss a coin over who gets Trevor, Helen winning.
*'''"That was a very funny evening"''' -– The motives behind the recent events become clearer after the reasons behind Helen's appearance start to be realised. Meanwhile, Jill contacts the town planning department and Trevor goes to dinner at Helen's.
*'''"We are on the brink of a new era, if only..."''' -– Trevor, Jill, Big Al, Little Norm, Mr Pitt and Sgt Hobson begin to gather evidence of corruption amongst local businesses, the town planning department and the local police. Jill loses the election, while Jill's and Trevor's houses are raided in an attempt to recover the evidence. Sgt Hobson presents the file to the chief constable and DCI Forest is sacked while Councillor McAllister and Mr McAllister are arrested by Sgt Hobson.
 
==Home media==
All three series are available on DVD as individual boxed sets, and as a Collection DVD Set ([[The Beiderbecke Trilogy|the ''Beiderbecke Trilogy'']]), with an additional 6 Disc Set, the ''Beiderbecke Trilogy 21st Anniversary Edition'' (containing the ''Beiderbecke Trilogy'' plus ''Get Lost!'', CD Soundtrack, cast interviews and commemorative booklet as special features) released for Region 2. The series is also available {{as of|lc=y|2021}} on [[Britbox]].
 
''The Beiderbecke Tapes'' was released in the US on 29 September 2009.
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==In other media==
===Books===
There are four books associated with the series. Alan Plater's first-ever book was a novelisation of ''The Beiderbecke Affair'' ([[Methuen Publishing|Methuen]], 1985) and then he originally wrote ''The Beiderbecke Tapes'' as a novel (Methuen, 1986) before dramatising it for ITV. Four years after the final serial aired, he novelised ''The Beiderbecke Connection scripts'' (Methuen, 1992). An omnibus edition [https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0749317000/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0749317000&linkCode=as2 ''The Beiderbecke Trilogy''] was released by Methuen in 1993.
 
In 2012, the British Film Institute published a book about the series in its range examining key television shows: [https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1844574695/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1844574695 ''BFI TV Classics: The Beiderbecke Affair''] by [[William Gallagher (writer)|William Gallagher]]. The book is non-fiction but it includes a Beiderbecke short story, "A Brief Encounter with Richard Wagner" by Alan Plater. It was written for BBC Radio 4 in the 1990s and this is its first publication in print.
 
Accompanying the non-fiction book, the British Film Institute released an [http://www.facebook.com/author video/video.php?v=406006049465697&notif_t=video_processed Author Video] plus a series of [https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-beiderbecke-affair/id561953303 official ''Beiderbecke Affair'' podcasts] that include a video interview with William Gallagher and with Plater's wife, Shirley Rubinstein, plus audio commentaries by Gallagher for selected episodes of the Beiderbecke series.
 
==References=Show===
A show called "Beiderbecke and All That Jazz" was developed in the mid 1990s, featuring Alan Plater and Kenny Baker.<ref name="surreal">{{cite news |last1=Plater |first1=Alan |title=It is real surreal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/feb/17/mondaymediasection4 |work=The Guardian |issue=17 February 2003 |date=2003}}</ref>
 
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=nb}}
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}
 
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