The Beiderbecke Affair

Rather than following a usual linear story structure, The Beiderbecke Affair – set in Leeds in 1985 – is a character-led drama with a plot that initially appears rather unclear, moving as it does from one seemingly unrelated event to another. These events – and the characters involved with them – are eventually shown to be interconnected.

Geordie Trevor Chaplin (James Bolam) teaches woodwork, enjoys football and is passionate about jazz. Jill Swinburne (Barbara Flynn) is interested in neither football nor jazz but teaches English and wants to help save the planet, standing in a local election as "your Conservation candidate". After Jill left her husband, her colleague Trevor began giving her lifts to school and from there a relationship blossomed. They have an easy-going relationship where half the words seem to be left unspoken but the viewer is never in any doubt as to the subtext.

Clayton Grange Flats, Moor Grange, Leeds used as 'The Multistorey Block of Flats' in the Beiderbecke affair, taken in June 2008, 24 years after filming

Trevor tries to buy some jazz records from a "dazzlingly beautiful platinum blonde" who calls at the door raising funds for the local Cubs’ football team. When the wrong records are delivered, a hunt begins that draws the pair into unforeseen intrigue.[2] Thrown into the mix are Sgt Hobson (Dominic Jephcott), a suspicious yet seemingly incompetent graduate police detective, and a pair of local black economy tradesmen, "Big Al" (Terence Rigby) and "Little Norm" (Danny Schiller), who agree to help "average-sized" Jill and Trevor with their school supplies problems. There are elements of political and social commentary, whilst bureaucracy (within the police and local government) and the educational system are frequent targets of ridicule.

Setting the scene for the sequels, the series ends with Jill and Trevor 'running away to the hills' (Beamsley Beacon, Beamsley). Unlike subsequent episodes the series ends with this scene and Big Al and Little Norm listening to the radio at their allotment; the viewer hears from this that a local senior police officer has been suspended, and a businessman and a councillor have been arrested. It is later revealed in the Beiderbecke Tapes that Mr McAllister and Councillor McAllister were imprisoned.

It all unravels to a soundtrack of jazz music in the style of Bix Beiderbecke, performed by Frank Ricotti with Kenny Baker as featured cornet soloist. Extensive use is made of leitmotifs for the various characters. The theme song of the series uses the actual Bix Beiderbecke instrumental "Crying All Day" by Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra released in 1927 on Okeh Records and re-released in 1941 as part of the "Hot Jazz Classic" series on Columbia Records.

The cast was as follows:[3]

• Trevor Chaplin – James Bolam. Chaplin is a laid-back, slightly eccentric woodwork teacher at a comprehensive school. He is based on Mr Keaton from Get Lost!. Chaplin is in a relationship with Jill Swinburne.
• Jill Swinburne – Barbara Flynn is a committed environmentalist and social campaigner. An English teacher, she is educated and cultured. The name Swinburne was "inherited" from her ex-husband. The character was inspired by that of Mrs Threadgold from Get Lost!, but differs significantly in that Jill has a good sense of humour .
• Big Al – Terence Rigby. Big Al is a somewhat neurotic and insistently eccentric wheeler-dealer, recently unemployed from the building industry. He is the dominant half of the enterprise.
• Little Norm – Danny Schiller Little Norm is the submissive partner in the business with his "brother" Big Al. The plot makes it clear that Al, Norm and Janey are not in fact related, although they use sibling-based pronouns for each other on many occasions.
• Janey – Sue Jenkins Known by Trevor as 'that dazzlingly beautiful platinum blonde', Janey sells him records in aid of the Cubs football team, the consequences of which drive the plot of the "affair".
• Sgt Hobson – Dominic Jephcott is a young, enthusiastic, graduate police officer. Well-spoken and knowledgeable about police procedure, he is however singularly incompetent – spending most of his duty hours investigating hypothetical crimes, and using his notes for his next thesis.
• Chief Superintendent Forrest – Colin Blakely Forrest is a plain-speaking and effective police superintendent. Jaded by the job, he has become thoroughly corrupt. Based on a character from Get Lost!, who was likewise disparaging towards his counterpart, however unlike Forrest he was neurotic and somewhat detached from reality.
• Mr Carter – Dudley Sutton Mr Carter is a jaded and cynical history teacher, and an ally of Jill and Trevor.
• Mr Wheeler – Keith Smith the school head teacher. A petty, neurotic jobsworth he is loathed by pupils and staff alike, but remains largely oblivious to the contempt in which he is held.
• Harry – Keith Marsh. A retired bookie's runner and would-be supergrass. A seemingly harmless pensioner, often out walking with his dog, Jason. He is regularly referred to by the ambiguous description "The man with the dog called Jason".
• Helen McAllister (Helen of Tadcaster) – Alison Skilbeck Helen is the somewhat needy ex-fiancée of Trevor Chaplin. Her father is a successful local businessman, involved in corruption with the local council and police, who uses Helen to get to know Trevor, whose friends he sees as acting in a manner which is counterproductive to the equilibrium he sees necessary to balance his business.
• Mr McAllister – James Grout Helen's father, an affluent and less than legitimate businessman.
• Reverend Booth – Ian Bleasdale The Reverend Booth is the local vicar. Fed up with his occupation and casual in both the application of church policy, and towards life in general. He provides a cellar from where Big Al runs his "business".
• Mr Pitt (Pitt the Planner) – Robert Longden. The head of the town planning department. A meek jobsworth, he nonetheless becomes concerned about the endemic local corruption. It is revealed later in the series that he is a jazz fan.

The six episodes are titled by incipit, that is, the title is simply the first spoken words heard in each episode.

Trevor and Jill in the opening scene of the first episode

Episode Opening

Big Al, Trevor and Jill in the church crypt/warehouse

• "What I don't understand is this..." – Trevor orders some jazz records which fail to turn up while Jill begins her campaign to stand for the council. Sgt Hobson becomes suspicious of the activities of Trevor, Jill, Big Al, Little Norm and later Big Al's 'sister' (the platinum blonde).
• "Can anybody join in?" – After attending a local football match in order to track down his missing records, Trevor agrees to referee. The match is abandoned after the police led by Sgt Hobson raid the pitch following crowd trouble. Trevor and Big Al meet to resolve the problem with the records.
• "We call it the White Economy" – Mysterious events aimed at intimidating Jill and Trevor begin to unfold, yet there is no indication who is doing this. Jill's election meeting is sabotaged, meanwhile a former girlfriend of Trevor's 'Helen of Tadcaster' turns up unannounced at the election meeting. Meanwhile, Big Al's warehouse is subjected to a police raid.
• "Um...I know what you're thinking" – Trevor uncovers the cause of the events going on, after abducting Harry, but the motives for such still remain a mystery. Meanwhile, Jill and Helen have a meal and the two toss a coin over who gets Trevor, Helen winning.
• "That was a very funny evening" – The motives behind the recent events become clearer after the reasons behind Helen's appearance start to be realised. Meanwhile, Jill contacts the town planning department and Trevor goes to dinner at Helen's.
• "We are on the brink of a new era, if only..." – Trevor, Jill, Big Al, Little Norm, Mr Pitt and Sgt Hobson begin to gather evidence of corruption amongst local businesses, the town planning department and the local police. Jill loses the election, while Jill's and Trevor's houses are raided in an attempt to recover the evidence. Sgt Hobson presents the file to the chief constable and DCI Forest is sacked while Councillor McAllister and Mr McAllister are arrested by Sgt Hobson.

All three series are available on DVD as individual boxed sets, and as a Collection DVD Set (the Beiderbecke Trilogy), with an additional 6 Disc Set, the Beiderbecke Trilogy 21st Anniversary Edition (containing the Beiderbecke Trilogy plus Get Lost!, CD Soundtrack, cast interviews and commemorative booklet as special features) released for Region 2. The series is also available as of 2021 on Britbox.

The Beiderbecke Tapes was released in the US on 29 September 2009.

• The Beiderbecke Tapes at the British Film Institute's screenonline
• The Beiderbecke Affair at IMDb
• The Beiderbecke Tapes at IMDb
• The Beiderbecke Connection at IMDb