Good Vibrations

This is a biopic about Terri Hooley, the owner of Good Vibrations record shop and record label. His biggest claim to fame was in getting The Undertones seminal single Teenage Kicks to DJ John Peel. Considering that this became Peel's favourite song of all time, this is something of note. I hadn't heard of Hooley, or Good Vibrations but this isn't too surprising seeing as – aside from The Undertones who were only involved with him briefly – the other punk bands on his label were very minor players such as The Outcasts and Rudi. It's probably fair to say that the movie overstates the significance of Hooley and of Belfast as a punk capital.

Nevertheless, this is still a good film. It successfully illustrates how punk rock served a different purpose in Belfast compared to most other places. It happened during the height of The Troubles and music was a means of bringing people together from both sides of the fence, while the youthful anger of punk rock tapped into something very relevant in a population living in grim times with the fear of violence a constant situation. To help give a better feel for the times there are actual newsreels from the period spliced into the story. Although the politics always hover in the background and never really move into the central ground of the story. This is above all a story about the love of music and its power to overcome wider concerns. Although, admittedly it failed to bring an end to the civil war, seeing as it lasted for a further twenty years.

The story is a fairly standard feel-good biopic with a little bit of adverse drama thrown in about two thirds of the way in. In fairness, it's only being true to its source material which is fairly slight to begin with. The period setting is captured quite well in its beige horror although there were some (very) dodgy wigs on display. This will connect most with folks who remember the punk times, especially ones who were in Belfast at the time. But it is a good film about a minor piece of music history.

It's the morning after the night before, and I'm feeling more than a little fragile as I may have overdone the celebrating a bit. I very rarely drink at all, but I got caught up in all the reminiscing and nostalgia last night. My head is splitting and I'm croaking like frog, yeah! As you've probably already guessed it was a killer night.

The'Good Vibrations' movie has been a longtime coming - jeez, the film has been in the pipeline for around 13 years and it's been over two years since the excellent 10 minute fund raising pilot film was made and then screened one Sunday afternoon in Feb 2010 at the 'QFT'. Understandably I couldn't wait to see this film.

I'm absolutely delighted that the 'Good Vibrations' film is here at last, and not only is the movie making its high profile red carpet debut it's also launching the 'Belfast Film Festival. For the first time ever there's a big screen erected especially for the premiere in the historic Ulster Hall which is celebrating its own 150th birthday this year. There was TV coverage all through the glorious day on the local news bulletins. which is not surprising as this is the true (ish) story of a most unlikely Belfast anti hero & the hottest ticket in town for quite some time. Requests to attend the premiere far out stripped supply so two more screenings were quickly arranged (& sold out) to cope with the overwhelming demand.

It was great to catch up again with the ex punks / Harp Bar regulars from that time as we were the kids that lived a confrontational and exciting lifestyle during a very dangerous time. We did hang out in the Good Vibrations shop, we pilfered the posters from the staircase wall, and we did buy our 45's, fanzines etc etc from the man of the moment himself.

The writers and producers totally understood from the get-go just how important this movie was going to be to a generation of kids who stood together studded shoulder to shoulder before and alongside 'Terri Hooley' kicking against the pricks, they treated Terri and the punk's tale with empathy, respect and some very dark humour. Certain scenes in the movie were laugh out loud, while others like Gordi Owens visiting the shop for the first-time and then the subsequent 'Rudi' gig in The Pound just lifted my heart, it was so vivid and evocative of that great time. The sinister side was Terri's beating by two skinheads, which was very realistic, vicious and hard to watch gritty film-making.

Now the important question everyone is asking "did the 'Good Vibrations' film live up to all the hype & expectation?" Of course it did, and as you'd expect it has an exceptional soundtrack.

There was a long and well deserved standing ovation for all the main players who were all brought on stage together and seemed genuinely taken back & moved by the ecstatic reaction to their little independent film which is now set to go global. Richard Dormer is a revelation, he is so realistic and believable. He actually does Terri better than Terri himself does, and if justice is done this will be recognised as an award winning performance by the movie industry movers & shakers.

My son Steven ($$) and I can't thank Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn, David Holmes & Chris Martin enough for giving us the opportunity (even though we weren't actors) to participate in the film, they are four really talented and very nice people, we are very grateful indeed. '$$' and his pal Chris Smith (plus my authentic punk era 'Rudi' logo emblazoned leather jacket) got the chance to reprise their roles from the original pilot film, only this time on the hallowed Ulster Hall stage. '$$' also spent a very long day back in September 2011 down in Dundalk filming his part as the 'Rural Punk Kid', which is in the finished movie. I was more than happy to be in there as my teenage punky self in a 1979 'Something Else' TV clip with the real 'Rudi' and to be included in the end credits vintage punk photo reel.

Yeah! I've really only commented on the musical aspects of the film here because of word limits, but Terri's non punk private & personal life during this time period is also featured heavily throughout.

Congratulations to everyone involved with 'Good Vibrations', you've delivered a movie we can all be proud of.

For anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of meeting 'Mr Hooleygan' he is a real one off character, a storytelling socialist press darling anarchist local legend, and possibly one of the worst business-men ever. But through thick & thin and with eternal optimism he has kept the 'Good Vibrations' name alive as a legendary brand. The actual 'GV' record shop still exists and resides in its current form on Royal Avenue in Belfast City Centre, and rumour has it the record label is set to return. The fact that regardless of the location he's still out there doing it 36 years later is his two fingered salute to the world, because he's never let the bastards grind him down.

31.5.12 was the real celebration. 'God Save Terri Hooley'.

A good film to go and see. The protagonist, Terri Hooley, is a self obsessed music lover who stumbles across punk while running his independent record shop in Belfast in the late 70's early 80's and goes about promoting and recording punk bands from Northern Ireland.

The acting is great, great script and unlike the Commitments this is a true story.

Positives: Filmed in colour and atmosphere that portrays the era. The subtle humour and the last line of the movie which I will not give away but will stand as a great movie quote.

Negatives: Adrian Dunbar's wig - Cheap is not the word for it.

Mark Kermode had been raving about this for some time, citing it as his favourite film of the year thus far so I was expecting something special. I wasn't disappointed. It tells the story of Terri Hooley, a record store owner in 1970's Belfast who became one of the most important figures in the brief rise of punk music in N. Ireland. It's a commendable comedy drama which cleverly intertwines the story of Hooley's life with archive footage of the troubles affecting the city.

There are some wonderful scenes, most notably when Hooley first discovers the anarchic, pulsating sound of punk in a Belfast club - his face transforming from impassive to bewilderment to absolute joy in the space of a few seconds. There are genuine laugh out loud lines and it is a film which despite the times it lives in is full of warmth and heart. It's not perfect, it slowly drifts into an overly sentimentalised story and some plot turns are annoyingly predictable. That said it never stops being an intriguing and funny film with a brilliant central performance by Richard Dormer as Terri.

Although I was born in Belfast, this occurred in the mid-70's so I really knew very little of the people and events in this film, even if I knew the music. I'm not really a punk fan either, but it was the country connection that made me interested in watching the film. The story is sort of based on reality, although of course I think a lot of it is rather simplified for the sake of telling a good story. Terri Hooley (so spelt as he only has one eye) loves his music and at a time when Northern Ireland is splitting down the middle along religious lines, he opens a record store selling reggae and the like. Through this he is put in contact with the punk scene and becomes an unexpected leader to bring it to greater attention.

The main thing the film does very well is capture the sense of place and time; the bits of the film I recognise are instantly so and the rest it delivers so convincingly that one goes along with it and really feels it. The sets, costumes and locations are a big part of it as they capture the 70's real well, but the use of music is the real impact. I'm not a big punk fan but the music throughout the film worked very well and I liked that it even held back its biggest track until that famous moment that Peel played it twice. The story around the music is engaging and it touches on quite a few things but really it is about the energy and passion for it and in this regard Dormer is strong in the lead.

One of several Game of Thrones cast in the film, Dormer's energy is infectious even if his flawed character is evident, he leads the viewer into the passion really well. He is well supported by many unknown faces who do great jobs while also having plenty of recognizable faces kicking around – although Moran, Cunningham and others have not too much to do. The direction of the film is really good and the film has a great look – even when it is in dark, chaotic bars, it still looks clear and crisp.

It isn't a perfect film but it does tell an engaging personal story with energy and passion. The music and sense of place drive the film while the infectious and engaging performances add a lot. Very enjoyable film for what it does well.