Ironically, given the title of this strand, today’s play, The Long Distance Piano Player, was actually the first Play for Today, the strand that replaced the BBC’s The Wednesday Play. Starring Ray Davies of The Kinks as well as Norman Rossington and James Hazeldine, the play is the story of a piano player’s obsession to win the world long-distance piano-playing record, whilst his wife and agent argue around him. Written by future Hollywood scriptwriter Alan Sharp (Rob Roy, The Osterman Weekend), it’s a little inexplicable and Davies’ performance is variable, but it’s well worth a watch.
I’m Rob Buckley, a journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of although you might have heard me on the podcast Lockdown Land or Radio 5 Live’s Saturday Edition or Afternoon Edition. I’ve edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for TV producers magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider; written features for the even shorter-lived newspaper Soho Independent; and was regularly sarcastic about television on the blink-and-you-missed-it “web site for urban hedonists” The Tribe. Since going freelance, I've contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly, Action Network, TV Scoop and The Custard TV.
