Telstar. James Hicks

Set in the backdrop of early 60s London, Telstar is the story of the World's first Independent record producer, Joe Meek. A maverick genius who enjoyed phenomenal early success with ‘Telstar’, the biggest selling record of its time, before bad luck, depression, heart break and paranoia forced him to murder and suicide.A gay, amphetamine addicted, talented but deeply troubled soul who dabbled in the occult, Meek is already an iconic figure in the world of British pop, whose messy end had a bizarre inevitability.Far from being a maudlin tale, this stranger than fiction true story is a brilliantly sharp and beautifully observed satirical comedy.Telstar opened at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End in June 2005, with a blistering central performance from Con O’Neill as Joe Meek.