Last time we saw Brian Pern he had had a heart attack and it looked like he might be retiring. But you don’t get rid of prog rockers like Pern – played by Simon Day – that easily. He is on TV again for a new series exploring the highways and byways of the rock world.
It is not just a new series. It is new teeth, new hair, new look and new girlfriend. Formidable hippy control freak Astrid, played by Suranne Jones, wants to boot out old manager John Farrow (Michael Kitchen) and buff up Brian’s aura. And in fairness Farrow makes some dodgy decisions for his client, turning down Celebrity Crimewatch and, more importantly, Children in Need which gets him blacklisted by the BBC just as he is about to hit the comeback trail.
So instead the best offer on the table is a fan convention on a ferry to the Isle of Wight Festival, organised by superfan Perry Bulsara (factoid - Bulsara is Freddie Mercury's real surname and Pern filmmaker Rhys Thomas is an obsessive Queen fan). Pern also gets to play the festival but that doesn’t work out quite as hoped either.
The main joy of this ongoing series - there are three instalments in this run – is not just in the detail, though that’s good. At one point he appears on Desert Island Discs and Farrow advises him to choose eight of his own records - beating the real record of opera singer Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, who chose seven of her songs. I love the way that real rock history is twisted. For instance, we discover that Altamont-style security at a past Isle of Wight festival was provided by the Salvation Army - fine until someone spiked their tea.
The other joy, however, is in the cameos and there are some lovely ones in this episode. Rick Wakeman and Chas Hodges barely say a word, Kirsty Young, Dermot O’Leary and Paul Gambaccini are good sports, but best of all is Martin Kemp, whose appearance is so funny it is not fair to spoil it here in case you are watching this on catch-up. It’s also, erm, nice to see a partial-Fast Show reunion, with Day joined by Paul Whitehouse as grumpy Thotch guitarist Pat Quid and the aforementioned John Thomson.
All in all, a wonderful return to form. Best line? Farrow describing Pern’s new tanned, toothy look as a “Bee Gee gone wrong”.
Thursdays from January 14, 10pm, BBC4. The first episode is on iPlayer here.
