Retro Speedway: KING'S LYNN SUPER STARS DVD

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KING'S LYNN SUPER STARS DVD

KING'S LYNN SUPER STARS 1965-90
ON TRIPLE DISC DVD

RE-LIVE the first 25 years of speedway at Saddlebow Road with some of the key men behind the early history of the King's Lynn Stars.

Thrill to the action from the Norfolk track that evolved from a 'run-down dog stadium in a field' in the mid-60s into an FIM circuit by the early 80s and is now one of the most universally acclaimed race tracks in the world.

Rare colour action footage from the second ever meeting held there in 1965, plus see the Stars racing at home in 1967, the 70s, 80s and early 90s.

This mammoth six-hour, triple-disc DVD set includes new and previously unseen interviews with all of the Stars' early greats, talking candidly and controversially about their experiences of being part of this homely East Anglian set-up.

Interviews with:

'Mr King's Lynn' and ultimate Stars legend
TERRY BETTS
Bettsy on: His rivalry with Simmo, Howard Cole's white scarf, how Maury Littlechild tempted him back into the saddle, why Phil Crump was the one who got away, helping Michael Lee, his unplanned departure from Lynn, and problems he had when returning as team manager.

Stylish superstar and England international
MALCOLM SIMMONS
Simmo on: His rivalry with Bettsy, why he had to get away from Lynn, the Saddlebow Road track, his regrets as co-promoter, why signing the wrong rider cost the club a fortune, and why his partnership with Bill Barker ended after one tough season.

Former teenage sensation and the club's first World Champion
MICHAEL LEE
Mike the Bike on: going from starry-eyed fan to overnight sensation, the glory and the despair, why things turned sour, comebacks he regretted, and why Lynn will always have a place in his heart.

Spectacular local favourite
IAN TURNER
Tiddler on: going from coal truck driver and the 'village boy' to pro speedway rider, spills and thrills with the second division Starlets, his very limited expectations, riding for fun, and why he has never liked his nickname.

Young English thrill-maker
MARK LORAM
Loramski on: why he chose Lynn instead of Oxford, the pros and cons of a fast and fair home track, his decision to leave for Exeter.

Local 'hard man'
CLIVE FEATHERBY
Feathers on: his hard-man image, why beating Ivan Mauger was no big deal and the heartache of losing his son, former Stars rider Craig, in a track crash.

Co-founder and promoter
CYRIL CRANE
Cyril on: why King's Lynn rose out of the ashes of Norwich, his 'Odd Couple' partnership with Maury Littlechild, how he built the Saddlebow Road track, why the BSPA regarded King's Lynn as 'country bumpkins' and initially blocked their entry to the league, the reason why he had to quit racing, how his nephew David beat polio to ride for the club, trials and tribulations with Michael Lee, his big regret at allowing Terry Betts to leave, the cost of tracking the world's top two, why Dave Jessup wasn't as popular as his team-mates, his and Violet Littlechild's decision to sell out to Martin Rogers in 1983.

General manager and promoter
MARTIN ROGERS
Martin on: being Lynn's man of many parts, the story behind the clubs' emergence as a force in the 70s, turning down Jan Andersson in favour of Richard Hellsen, the story behind Terry Betts's departure and why Dave Jessup was brought in for a world record fee, the highs and lows of handling Michael Lee and why he gave him two more chances before finally doing without the former world No.1, why he decided to quit and go it alone in 1980, what tempted him to buy the promoting rights from Norfolk Speedways in 1983, the mid-80s struggle to keep Lynn in business and reject temptation to drop down a division, and his and wife Lin's decision to bow out at the end of 1987.

Plus audio interviews with
DAVE JESSUP, JOHN LOUIS, GORDON KENNETT & JOHN DAVIS

Among other former Stars featured in action: David Crane, Richard Hellsen, David Gagen, Pete Smith, Melvyn Taylor, Craig Featherby, Kevin Jolly, Colin Richardson, Keith Bloxsome, Richard Knight, Lance King, Mick Poole, Stephen Davies, Armando Dal Chiele, Henka Gustafsson.

Remembering those fiercely contested clashes with arch rivals Ipswich and the 1977 KO Cup Final triumph over Reading - Stars' first major trophy. The individual Pride of the East classic, local lads made good, the Boston connection, the takeovers, big money transfers, five-figure crowds, controversies, tragedies, highs and lows.

Tributes to founding promoter and Stars co-owner Maurice Littlechild and his son Alan, who was team manager from 1972-82, plus what they say about the modern King's Lynn under Buster Chapman.

If you are a serious King's Lynn supporter, you shouldn't be without this.

HOW TO ORDER

Phone Retro Speedway on 01708 734 502 and pay by credit or debit card.

OR ORDER ONLINE

Or send cheque/postal order for £20 ( £18 + £2 p&p UK) payable to Retro Speedway to:
Retro Speedway (King's Lynn DVD)
103 Douglas Road
Hornchurch
Essex
RM11 1AW

Add £2.50 per DVD for overseas airmail P&P

REVIEWS

"Doomsayers have been writing an epitaph for the sport for many years, yet the King's Lynn Super Stars triple DVD set provides a constantly rewinding reminder of just why speedway refuses to lie down and die."

AS British speedway negotiates a path through the latest in its succession of so-called crisis times, nostalgia for the good old days has never been more fashionable.

Doomsayers have been writing an epitaph for the sport for many years, yet the King's Lynn Super Stars (1965-90) triple DVD set provides a constantly rewinding reminder of just why speedway refuses to lie down and die.

For all its travails, people continue to care about it, love it irrationally and unconditionally, and almost invariably look back on times past with misty-eyed fondness.

After having been given an almost indecent amount of air time in which to reflect and reminisce upon my times at Saddlebow Road, I am honoured and grateful to be able to share the journey with many of the towering figures of the club's first quarter-century.

Retro Speedway publisher and editor Tony McDonald 'gets' what it is all about, which is why his acclaimed club histories and other publications so successfully resonate with the fans.

His talent is to gently coax people to talk freely about what it all meant to them, the wins, the losses, supporters, promoters, the distillation of the best years of their lives as contributors to the King's Lynn history. It's heart on the sleeve stuff.

You can't mistake the wistful undertones as long-time skipper and golden boy Terry Betts recalls his 13-year love affair with the place, revisit the best and worst of times with World Champion and human headline Michael Lee, and marvel at the journey which took Ian Turner from the terraces to the ultimate local-boy-made-good scenario.

True to form Cyril Crane, who with co-founder Maurice Littlechild shared and then lived the dream, doesn't hold back; Malcolm Simmons is typically forthright and others to weigh in with their opinions and recollections include Dave Jessup and John Louis.

As befits a perennially optimistic outfit preparing for its golden jubilee in 2015, the King's Lynn story is one which keeps on giving.

Tony Mac confirms as much. There's action and archival footage to complement the words. He set off to compile a two-disc, four-hour tribute which blew out to a bonus chapter, so much material was there to accommodate.

On their own admission King's Lynn Stars haven't ever been what you would call a glamour club. But they have provided an object lesson in how to engage with the community and to weather the ups and downs which are part of sporting life at all levels.

And overlaying this whole production is a fondness, enthusiasm and sense of parochial pride which precisely sums up how East Anglian folk first embraced the arrival in a hitherto sleepy market town of their speedway - and still do to this day.

Martin Rogers, general manager/promoter, 1973-79 & 1983-87

"Betts' contributions are sometimes humorous but always matter of fact and make compulsive listening. Rogers and Crane give fascinating insights into the motives of the promotion over the quarter of a century covered."

The story of speedway at Saddlebow Road is arguably Retro Speedway's finest track history to date as it is truly comprehensive, painstakingly researched and extremely well illustrated both in terms of video footage and opinions.

This three DVD, six-hour compilation is composed of numerous sub-plots which could easily make fascinating features in their own right - the 'Terry Betts Story', 'Martin Rogers - My Life in Speedway' 'Reflections of Cyril Crane', 'Tiddler Turner tells it as it was' or 'The Amazing Rise and Fall of Mike the Bike', etc...

The package serves as a direct follow up to Retro Speedway's hugely nostalgic 'Memories of Norwich Speedway', only this time McDonald is obviously blessed with more modern and therefore better quality footage plus much fresher memories from the extensive list of people interviewed.

Betts' contributions are sometimes humorous but always matter of fact and make compulsive listening.

Rogers and Crane give fascinating insights into the motives of the promotion over the quarter of a century covered.
Turner comes across as simply Mr Nice Guy, who was almost overawed by his own exploits as he exercised a seemingly insatiable zest for life, while Lee leaves you wondering how anyone that talented and apparently bright, let so much dwindle to so little.

When Crane helped move Norwich's Firs operation 45 miles west along the A47 to the little known fishing port of King's Lynn during the winter of 1964, he could hardly have imagined that the massive success and enthusiasm experienced at Norfolk's county town could ever be replicated at a dilapidated rural dog track.

But the crowds flocked in and loved the steadily improving new venue, the racing just got better and better as the track was fine tuned and, while the trophy cabinet was never to be stretched to the limits of those at bigger metropolis-based clubs like Belle Vue , Cradley, Coventry, Oxford or Poole, how many of those can claim to ever have boasted numbers one and two in the World at the same time?

Crane, Betts (surely an honorary East Anglian!), Turner, Clive Featherby, David Gagen, Richard Knight and Lee personify the 'local' flavour that was injected into the venture from day one and this seemed to make for an enormous camaraderie between both team members and the fans.

Several times it is pointed out that the diminutive Turner virtually brought his whole village to watch on race-nights and the question is posed: might the large number of foreigners and lack of locals to associate with be a partial reason for the decline of crowds at UK tracks today?

Club legend Betts, who'd been a teenage favourite at Norwich, was part of Lynn from the off - the open meetings in 1965 - and reflects on the events of 13 years during which he made 638 appearances, scoring almost 7,000 points including a phenomenal 105 maximums.

His memories of a less than satisfactory final split with the Stars differ slightly from those of then general manager Rogers but any ructions barely register in comparison with the constant turmoil caused by Lee's meteoric but consistently controversial rise to fame in the years that followed.

Having combined with Dave Jessup to give the Stars the sensational spearhead who climbed onto the top two steps of the 1980 World Final rostrum, the tall, gangly East Anglian repeatedly pressed the self-destruct button to an extent that even he seems to struggle to account for.

Former Speedway Star scribe, Saddlebow Road announcer, general manager and later promoter Rogers' measured comments give an ongoing explanation of what was happening behind the scenes during his tenure while founder co-promoter Crane's reflections make interesting listening.

Malcolm Simmons and Mark Loram give further insight into either end of the 25-year period covered, while Jessup and John Louis and the likes of Featherby and Gordon Kennett explain the shorter but significant parts they played in putting Lynn firmly on the map.

Some fabulous racing features many of the top riders of era battling it out with the 'Super Stars' and one particularly vivid altercation between Belle Vue's Alan Wilkinson and Eric Boocock and a referee help make this a potent package of speedway memorabilia.

Keith McGhie, Speedway Star (w/e November 15, 2014)

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