REM
Most documentaries involving bands are used to promote an album and so are paid for by record companies. A Stirling Performance would be different because it would be independent. We had a definite idea of what we wanted the film to be -- an intimate look at a big band in a small town told from the town's perspective, definitely not a rockumentary. We wanted it to be funny and down to earth and let all the personalities shine through.
We got carried away with the whole idea. Then we noticed when the Stirling concerts were taking place. Two weeks time! It seemed impossible but we didn't want to let this one get away. We set about trying to organise everything and drew on the contacts we had in Stirling. REM were obviously a key part of the story but we thought it highly unlikely they would have the time or inclination to take part in the film. Still, we thought we had nothing to lose by letting them know what we were doing and so sent a short fax to Bertis. What we really didn't expect was a phonecall from him the next day saying they liked the idea and wanted to be involved! That obviously changed things dramatically and meant we could tell the story from both sides.
We left for Scotland almost immediately and started knocking on doors, trying to find people to interview. Soon they were finding us! It didn't take long for news to spread about the film and within a couple of days we were in the local paper and on the local radio station. We had so much help from everyone in Stirling and met some fantastic people who agreed to appear in the film, including local B&B owners Roy and Margaret Stirling (yes that really is their name). When Margaret said their B&B was full and she could take that extra money and buy a new pair of shoes, I knew we were achieving what we had set out to do.
