The Mayfair Set, subtitled Four Stories about the Rise of Business and the Decline of Political Power, is a BBC television documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis. It looks at Britain's decline as a world power, the invention of asset stripping in the 1970s, and how buccaneer capitalists shaped the climate of the Thatcher years, focusing on the rise of Colonel David Stirling, Jim Slater, Sir James Goldsmith and Tiny Rowland—members of London's elite Clermont Club in the 1960s. It won a BAFTA Award for Best Factual Series or Strand in 2000.
The opening episode focuses on Colonel David Stirling and the birth of the global arms trade in the 1960s.
Originally broadcast on 18 July 1999.
Duke of Richmond and Gordon, friend of David StirlingJohn Aspinall (filmed 1971)Maj. Bernard Mills, ex-SAS; commander in Yemen OperationColin Campbell, friend and business partner of David StirlingSaid Aburish, Arab historianCol. Johnny Cooper, ex-SAS; commander in Yemen OperationLord Healey, Minister of Defence 1964–70; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1974–79Geoffrey Edwards (archive)Lord Caldecote, Director, English Electric 1953–69Sheikh Ahmed Yamani, Saudi Energy Minister (interviewed 1974)Victor Lownes, Head of British Playboy 1966–81Marilyn Cole, receptionist at Clermont Club 1974–77Mayfair resident (filmed 1974)Col. David Stirling (filmed 1974)Kate Losinska, Head of Civil and Public Services Association 1979–82Dr Mohammed Abu Shadi, Head of Arab Investment Bank (filmed 1976)Ronald Ellis, Head of Ministry of Defence Arms Sales (filmed 1977)The rise of accountant, game theorist and asset stripper Jim Slater, who became famous for writing an investment column in The Sunday Telegraph under the nom de plume of The Capitalist.
Originally broadcast on 25 July 1999.
Sir Anthony Grant, Conservative MP 1964–97Jim SlaterMalcolm Horsman, Executive, Slater Walker 1965–71Andrew Coote, Manager, Cork Manufacturing 1965; son of Colonel CooteChristopher Fildes, financial journalist since 1963Una Mary Parker, Mayfair socialite, 1960sJohn AspinallBrian Basham, financial journalist, 1960sEric Armitage, Chief Accountant, Lonrho 1969–72Tiny Rowland (interviewed 1973)Col. A. J. Aylmer, nephew of General SpearsDr Mathias Mpande, Deputy Minister of Mines, ZambiaTerry Smith, City analystJohn Bentley, Head of Slater Walker satellite 1970–75 (archive)James Goldsmith (archive)Maj. Colin MacKenzie, member of Lonrho board 1961–73Douglas Hurd, political secretary to Edward Heath 1968–75Capt. Bill Wilming, Tiny Rowland's pilot 1968–91This episode tells the story of how Sir James Goldsmith, through a series of corporate raids, became one of the world's richest men, and a victim of his own success.
Originally broadcast on 1 August 1999.
G. Christian Andersen, banker at Drexel Burnham Lambert 1978–89Steve Wynn, Chief Executive, The Golden NuggetTim Metz, financial journalist, Wall Street Journal 1966–89Prof. J. K. Galbraith, economistIan Wilsdon, Executive, Crown-Zellerbach 1975–84Scott Weldon, Executive, Crown-Zellerbach 1978–85Don Engel, banker at Drexel Burnham Lambert, 1981–90Al DunlapTom Peters, management theorist (speaking 1986)Gordon Binns, Head of Pension Fund, General Motors 1982–94Ira Milstein, lawyer representing pension fundsLord Spens, merchant banker, 1980sCharles Woodward, Chief Executive of Pension Fund, British Airways 1984–91Nick Fitzpatrick, Head of Pension Fund, British Rail 1976–86Clive Gilchrist, Deputy Director of Pension Fund, Post Office 1978–87Brian Crozier, private counter-intelligence operationRoland Franklin, Finance Director; strategist to James GoldsmithRudolph Giuliani New York District Attorney 1986 (archive)By the late 1980s, the day of the buccaneering tycoon was over. Tiny Rowland, Sir James Goldsmith and Mohamed Al-Fayed were the only ones left.
Originally broadcast on 8 August 1999.
Derek Brightwell, Director, Bovril 1968–74Sir David Scholey, merchant banker, S. G. Warburg & Co., 1960sLord Tebbit, Conservative government minister 1979–87Lord Spens, Director of Morgan, Grenfell & Co. 1972–82Larry Elliott, Economics Editor, The GuardianBasil West, Finance Director, Lonrho 1973–79John Beveridge QC, barrister to Tiny RowlandRowan Bosworth-Davies, Detective, Metropolitan Police Fraud Squad 1980–85Mohammed Al FayedAnthony Howard, Deputy Editor, The Observer 1981–88James Goldsmith (filmed 1992)Edward Epstein, friend of James GoldsmithRoger Seelig, merchant banker at Morgan, Grenfell & Co. 1978–87Ian GreerAndrew Roth, author: Parliamentary ProfilesBrian Basham, PR adviser to Mohammed Al FayedGeorge Soros, currency speculatorJohn Aspinall
