Telstar (instrumental)

Background

The record was named after the Telstar communications satellite, which was launched into orbit on 10 July 1962. Written and produced by Joe Meek, it featured either a clavioline or the similar Jennings Univox, both keyboard instruments with distinctive electronic sounds. It was recorded in Meek's studio in a small flat above a shop in Holloway Road, North London. "Telstar" won an Ivor Novello Award and is estimated to have sold at least five million copies worldwide.

"This was one of the first sci-fi-influenced pop songs," observed Tim Wheeler of Ash. "For its time it was so futuristic and it still sounds pretty weird today. It features Matt Bellamy's dad George on guitar… You can hear traces of it in Muse. 'Knights of Cydonia' was definitely him tipping his hat to his dad."

Plagiarism claim

A French composer, Jean Ledrut, accused Joe Meek of plagiarism, claiming that the tune of "Telstar" had been copied from "La Marche d'Austerlitz", a piece from a score that Ledrut had written for the 1960 film Austerlitz. This led to a lawsuit that prevented Meek from receiving royalties from the record during his lifetime, and the issue was not resolved in Meek's favour until three weeks after his suicide in 1967. Austerlitz was not released in the UK until 1965, and Meek was unaware of the film when the lawsuit was filed in March 1963.

"Magic Star" and other vocal versions

Meek produced later in 1962 a vocal version of "Telstar" titled "Magic Star", sung by Kenny Hollywood. It was released as a single by Decca Records (cat. nr F11546), with "The Wonderful Story of Love" on the B-side, written by Geoff Goddard. The musical direction for both songs was done by Ivor Raymonde. "Magic Star" was covered by Margie Singleton, released by Mercury Records (cat. nr 72079) in January 1963, with "Only Your Shadow Knows" on the B-side.

Luxembourg-born German language singer Camillo Felgen recorded the German vocal version as "Telstar (Irgendwann Erwacht Ein Neuer Tag)" (literally, "Someday a new day will awake") with lyrics by Carl Ulrich Blecher in 1963.

The song was re-recorded in 1975 by four of the original Tornados members - Cattini, LaVern, Burt and Bellamy - who briefly reunited as the Original Tornados.

Piero Umiliani, under the name L'ingegner Giovanni e famiglia (Engineer Giovanni And His Family), made a Moog version in 1975.

Two Spanish vocal versions were released by Alberto Cortez and the Latin Quartet, titled "Magica Estrella".

Poet and musician Robert Calvert wrote lyrics to accompany the song, which he performed in 1981.

In 1986, Scottish duo the Knits sampled the original sounds and mixed them with text excerpts from Marx's "18th Brumaire of Louis Napoleon." Their song was called "Passivism."

With French lyrics by Jacques Plante, the song was released by Les Compagnons de la chanson under the title "Telstar - Une Étoile en Plein Jour" (A Star in Broad Daylight).

Commercial performance

The record was an immediate hit after its release, remaining in the UK Singles Chart for 25 weeks, five of them at number one, and in the American charts for 16 weeks. "Telstar" was the first U.S. number one by a British group. Up to that point, and since World War II, there had only been three British names that topped the U.S. chart: in May 1962 "Stranger on the Shore" by clarinetist Mr. Acker Bilk; the second was "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" by Laurie London (1958), whilst the first was "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" by Vera Lynn (1952). See List of songs by British artists which reached number-one on the Hot 100 (USA).

Track listing

1. "Telstar"
2. "Jungle Fever"

The Tornados

Other

Cover versions

There have been numerous other artists who recorded "Telstar." Most notable are:

Use in popular culture

Other uses