The Beeching Report as a form of art

[Journeyman]

Not sure if this is the right place to write about this, but it seems like a good fit.

I was listening to BBC 6 Music last night, and heard a track called "Christ's Hospital" by Gilroy Mere. The presenter pointed out it was inspired by the railway station, and as it was a really interesting piece, I looked up the artist, and discovered they've released an album called "Adlestrop". The whole thing is an artistic interpretation of the Beeching Report. The first track on the album is called "Appendix 2", and consists of music with a ghostly voice reading the names of stations due to close, as in the appendix of the report. There follows a selection of tracks named after closed lines and stations, which all feature sounds recorded on the abandoned sites concerned (birdsong, wind, rain etc). "Adlestrop" also features the famous poem of the same name.

It's a fantastic atmospheric and moody collection, and it's quite something that it was inspired by a somewhat dry and dusty report, and its controversial impact on the country. Well worth a listen - the album can be streamed from the usual sources, but when stocks of vinyl are available next month, I'm going to buy it - the vinyl release comes with a cardboard model kit of a station!

Gilroy Mere - Adlestrop

Gilroy Mere - Adlestrop Pre-Orders from 3rd July 2020. Release date 24th July 2020. 600 hand numbered copies with download code...

www.claypipemusic.co.uk

 

[edwin_m]

Sounds like a contemporary update of Flanders and Swann.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Not sure if this is the right place to write about this, but it seems like a good fit.

I was listening to BBC 6 Music last night, and heard a track called "Christ's Hospital" by Gilroy Mere. The presenter pointed out it was inspired by the railway station, and as it was a really interesting piece, I looked up the artist, and discovered they've released an album called "Adlestrop". The whole thing is an artistic interpretation of the Beeching Report. The first track on the album is called "Appendix 2", and consists of music with a ghostly voice reading the names of stations due to close, as in the appendix of the report. There follows a selection of tracks named after closed lines and stations, which all feature sounds recorded on the abandoned sites concerned (birdsong, wind, rain etc). "Adlestrop" also features the famous poem of the same name.

It's a fantastic atmospheric and moody collection, and it's quite something that it was inspired by a somewhat dry and dusty report, and its controversial impact on the country. Well worth a listen - the album can be streamed from the usual sources, but when stocks of vinyl are available next month, I'm going to buy it - the vinyl release comes with a cardboard model kit of a station!

Gilroy Mere - Adlestrop

Gilroy Mere - Adlestrop Pre-Orders from 3rd July 2020. Release date 24th July 2020. 600 hand numbered copies with download code...

www.claypipemusic.co.uk

It's not really about the musical tracks but I really don't understand how anybody can seriously describe the Reshaping Report as "dry and dusty". The document is an amazingly concise presentation of the issues facing the railways in the early 1960s and covers the full breadth of activities across passenger and freight. It moves from remit through problem statement, disaggregated analysis through to prescription and summary in 60 pages. There is a large volume of quantitative evidence presented, case studies, 88 pages of appendices and an accompanying suite of maps. Plenty of revolutionary forward thinking about new tools like cost-benefit analysis, urban transport integration, possible subsidies and radical new methods of freight operation. It's been a gripping read ever since I was a kid. If only modern policy papers, reports and 'plans' had so much hard detail. And not an arty photograph in sight.

Meanwhile, after watching the 'pop video' with a loop of a random steam train against a soundtrack consisting of reading out station names in alphabetical order I can hardly contain myself waiting the Gilroy Mere's next project. Reading out the London Telephone Directory for 1963 would keep his rapt fans absorbed for days on end.

 

[Journeyman]

It's not really about the musical tracks but I really don't understand how anybody can seriously describe the Reshaping Report as "dry and dusty". The document is an amazingly concise presentation of the issues facing the railways in the early 1960s and covers the full breadth of activities across passenger and freight. It moves from remit through problem statement, disaggregated analysis through to prescription and summary in 60 pages. There is a large volume of quantitative evidence presented, case studies, 88 pages of appendices and an accompanying suite of maps. Plenty of revolutionary forward thinking about new tools like cost-benefit analysis, urban transport integration, possible subsidies and radical new methods of freight operation. It's been a gripping read every since I was a kid. If only modern policy papers, reports and 'plans' had so much hard detail. And not an arty photograph in sight.

With all the best will in the world, yours is not a typical opinion. Not many kids read stuff like this for fun. I studied it at uni and I agree it's a fascinating document, if you're a specialist, who understands the context and history. If you're an ordinary non-professional, non-enthusiast, you're going to get bored pretty quickly, and many people, even those with a lot of rail knowledge, still consider it to be fundamentally evil! I was just making the point that it's an unusual and interesting inspiration for an artistic project.

Meanwhile, after watching the 'pop video' with a loop of a random steam train against a soundtrack consisting of reading out station names in alphabetical order I can hardly contain myself waiting the Gilroy Mere's next project. Reading out the London Telephone Directory for 1963 would keep his rapt fans absorbed for days on end.

OK, you didn't like it, but I think that's quite unnecessarily harsh. The album as a whole really worked for me, and I thought it was a project that might be of interest to people here.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Fair enough. Each to their own.

 

[TheEdge]

For those who have it the album from the OP is available on Spotify in its entirety, I might have a listen later tonight.

The suitably titled iLiKETRAiNS released this back in 2006.

 

[pdeaves]

Meanwhile, after watching the 'pop video' with a loop of a random steam train against a soundtrack consisting of reading out station names in alphabetical order I can hardly contain myself waiting the Gilroy Mere's next project. Reading out the London Telephone Directory for 1963 would keep his rapt fans absorbed for days on end.

The Master Singers sang (an extract from) the highway code in 1966 (they called the B side Rumbletum Song and that was just more highway code in a different musical style). So, although intended as a (light-hearted, I hope) 'put down', if done properly the telephone directory could be interesting.

'Highway Code' included references to how to deal with tram tracks, if I recall correctly.

 

[Journeyman]

For those who have it the album from the OP is available on Spotify in its entirety, I might have a listen later tonight.

The suitably titled iLiKETRAiNS released this back in 2006.

Great band, and I like a lot of their stuff, but I do feel like they're editorialising a bit here. I think the report was/is basically sound.

 

[yorksrob]

I think the report was/is basically sound.

Hmm. I feel this could be debated until the cows come home.

 

[Journeyman]

Hmm. I feel this could be debated until the cows come home.

Let's not go there, it's been done to death.

 

[O L Leigh]

In a similar vein, Public Service Broadcasting did their own version of Night Mail for their album Inform-Educate-Entertain using narration from the original GPO film together with lines from W H Auden's poem.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

With all the best will in the world, yours is not a typical opinion. Not many kids read stuff like this for fun. I studied it at uni and I agree it's a fascinating document, if you're a specialist, who understands the context and history. If you're an ordinary non-professional, non-enthusiast, you're going to get bored pretty quickly, and many people, even those with a lot of rail knowledge, still consider it to be fundamentally evil! I was just making the point that it's an unusual and interesting inspiration for an artistic project.



OK, you didn't like it, but I think that's quite unnecessarily harsh. The album as a whole really worked for me, and I thought it was a project that might be of interest to people here.

If some indie band released a song or album called "The Beeching Report was actually quite sensible for the time, the only real mistake was not protecting alignments of those routes that would do okay now" 6Music probably wouldn't play it (well, Marc Riley probably would, but Laverne wouldn't touch it with a big stick). It would cause riots (or rather, snide nasal tutting) at indie discos from Brighton to Pollockshaws...

I quite like the music posted above, but @Dr Hoo 's review (Now there's a blog idea: "Dr. Hoo's Pithy Reviews"...) cracked me up. If you put art out into the world, you're opening it to critique.