Fans of rock and roll will have no problem at all
recognizing the band named The Who. They’ve been around since the sixties and
were perhaps the biggest rock band behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Known for the offstage antics as well as the dynamic performances that went
from small clubs to Woodstock to continued world tours, they have been one of
the preeminent bands to exist. But the names Lambert and Stamp probably aren’t
as familiar. That’s about to change.
LAMBERT AND STAMP is a new documentary concerning the two
promoters/managers who took a small town group playing local clubs and teen
dances and turned them into one of the biggest bands of all times. Two young
men with aspirations of becoming the newest thing on the film scene they
decided in the early sixties to make a movie about the rise and fall of a
modern day rock band. The band they chose was called the High Numbers, a name
they ditched for them changing them to The Who.
The two men came from very different backgrounds. Chris
Stamp came from a working class background and was the brother of Terence
Stamp, an actor on the rise at that time. Kit Lambert came from a background of
wealth and influence. While being completely different they meshed well
together and their love of film is what brought them together.
As their dream of a film about a rock band took more and
more of their time, as well as the band becoming more successful than expected,
they abandoned the film and decided to become full time managers instead. Taking
the group and changing various things about them they made them the super band
that they became. At the same time it wasn’t just the image that took them to a
higher stratosphere but the true musical abilities of all involved as well.
The movie begins with the meeting of Lambert and Stamp and
carries on past their eventual breakup with the band and then culminates with a
reunion with Chris Stamp not long ago. During that time we see behind the
scenes workings of the band, the problems they faced with drummer Keith Moon
who was headed for self-destruction, the creative energy found in their rock
opera TOMMY and more. A combination of footage taken at the time mixed with
more current interviews move us back and forth in time to get a more complete
look at the band and how they not only changed with the times but were affected
by them as well.
More than that we are presented with a deeper knowledge of
the two men that helped to make them who they are. While the focus of the film
is about Lambert and Stamp the fact is that while they were influential to what
became of the band it was through the band that they found their fame and
fortunes as well. There is no way to tell their story without tying it together
with that of The Who.
This film is one of the better documentaries I’ve seen in
some time. It takes the subject matter and hand and presents them, warts and
all, in a way that’s both interesting and informative. Before the film ends you
wonder what would have happened had they taken on a different band as well as
what would have happened had they done things better in the later years they
had with the band.
If you’re a fan of rock and roll and especially if you love
The Who then you’ll want to make a point of seeing this film. For the truly
die-hard fans it will soon be taking up a place on your shelf. A well-made
movie that looks behind the curtain at the life of one of the biggest bands of
all time.
Click here to order.
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