BRIAN PERN HIGHLIGHTS
Created, Produced, Written and Directed by Rhys Thomas
BRIAN PERN HIGHLIGHTS
Created, Produced, Written and Directed by Rhys Thomas
Created, Produced and Directed by Rhys Thomas.
Written by Rhys Thomas and Simon Day
“Heaven help anyone who tries to make a serious rock documentary after this.” — The Guardian
Brian Pern follows the life, music and increasingly questionable decisions of an ageing progressive rock legend, played by Simon Day. Former frontman of Thotch, Brian inhabits a world of ambitious concept albums, eccentric bandmates, strained reunions and charitable causes, all documented with the solemnity usually reserved for genuine rock royalty.
Combining fictional interviews, painstakingly recreated music videos and manipulated archive footage with appearances by real musicians and broadcasters, the programme grew from BBC online comedy films into three television series and a farewell special, broadcast between 2014 and 2017.
How it came about
The idea grew out of Rhys’s love of music and rock documentaries. Bob Mortimer and David Baddiel encouraged him to explore Genesis, with Bob buying him The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway for his 25th birthday.
When the BBC asked Rhys to develop an online comedy, Peter Gabriel’s monthly website updates and Brian May’s Soapbox provided inspiration. Rhys approached his Fast Show and Down the Line colleague Simon Day, another Gabriel fan, to play Brian. An afternoon of filming and improvisation at Rhys’s house helped establish the character.
Brian developed into an affectionate amalgamation of several musicians, with Thotch’s internal tensions also drawing on Pink Floyd. Rhys’s experience making genuine music documentaries helped shape the programme’s style and attention to detail.
The Television Series
The Life of Rock with Brian Pern — 2014
The first television series launched on BBC Four in February 2014. Brian presented his own unreliable history of rock, from its prehistoric beginnings to its supposed demise, accompanied by former bandmates, genuine musicians and some highly questionable archive evidence.
Brian Pern: A Life in Rock — 2014
The second series moved to BBC Two later that year, expanding Brian’s world through theatrical projects, festival plans and further career mishaps.
Brian Pern: 45 Years of Prog and Roll — 2016
Returning to BBC Four and BBC Two, the third series celebrated Brian’s 45 years in music, taking in a new marriage, a radical change of appearance, attempts to conquer America and a Thotch reunion.
Brian Pern: A Tribute — 2017
The story concluded with a spoof obituary following Brian’s death in a Segway accident. Friends, former wives, collaborators and bandmates gathered to remember him, while Thotch prepared a Royal Albert Hall concert in aid of Segway Awareness. The special was followed by Brian Pern at the BBC, a compilation of his musical performances. These two specials were written by Rhys alone, with additional material from Simon Day.
Cast and guest stars
Alongside Simon Day, the central cast included Paul Whitehouse as guitarist Pat Quid, Nigel Havers as keyboard player Tony Pebblé and Michael Kitchen as Brian’s formidable manager John Farrow. Lucy Montgomery played Pepita and other characters, with Philip Pope and David Cummings completing Thotch’s line-up.
Across the series, the guest cast included Martin Freeman, Kathy Burke, Jack Whitehall, Suranne Jones, Christopher Eccleston, Anna Maxwell Martin, Simon Callow, Roger Allam, Tom Davis, Will Sharpe, Jane Asher, Peter Bowles, Matt Lucas, Denis Lawson, Alan Ford, John Thomson, Al Murray, Tony Way, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. Peter Davison also appeared in the farewell tribute, recalling Brian’s ill-fated acting career.
The programme brought real figures from music and broadcasting into Brian’s fictional world, including Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Mel C, Dermot o Leary, Chrissie Hynde, Roger Taylor, Rick Wakeman, Jools Holland, Billy Bragg, Martin Kemp, Noddy Holder, Rick Parfitt, Mark King, Sir Tim Rice, Sir Roger Moore, Paul Gambaccini, Annie Nightingale, Tony Blackburn, Noel Edmonds, Kirsty Young and Alan Yentob. Gabriel himself joined in the joke with appearances in the series.
Reviews
The Times — ★★★★
“A clever and lovingly detailed combination of comedy and archive footage.”
In a separate Pick of the Day, The Times praised the programme’s documentary satire:
“Every self-referential rock documentary ever made is spoofed with merciless accuracy by Rhys Thomas.”
“After this, it will be impossible to make — or watch — another straight-faced rock doc again.”
The Guardian — Stuart Heritage
“If 2014 throws up a British programme funnier than this new series of Brian Pern, I’ll be staggered.”
Radio Times — Jack Seale
“This is the funniest Pern yet. Every line of Thomas and Day’s script brings a laugh.”
Review extract and attribution.
Radio Times
“Sensationally funny rockumentary spoof.”
Heat — Boyd Hilton — ★★★★
“Following on from the previous brilliant spoof rockumentaries about fictional rock legend Brian Pern, here’s a hilarious new series.”
Classic Rock — David Stubbs
“A more full-blown, immensely satisfying rockumentary.”
Stubbs praised the series’ expansion into a broader satire of rock, highlighting Michael Kitchen’s performance and its references to Genesis, Queen, Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd.
The Stage — Harry Venning
“Affectionate derision, pure silliness and a non-stop array of gags is very hard to resist.”
Venning selected The Life of Rock with Brian Pern as his comedy of the week.
Review extract and attribution.
Radio Times also included Brian Pern in its Top 40 TV Shows of 2016.
Praise for Brian Pern: A Tribute
Radio Times — Mark Braxton
“Obituaries aren’t meant to be hilarious but trust us, this one is.”
The Guardian — Jack Seale
“Sublime.”
Beyond the Joke — Bruce Dessau
“This will be hilarious for anyone who has ever chanced upon a quickly cobbled together programme about a dead celebrity.”