Tom Petty : Heartbreakers Beach Party

Film Review by Diamond Dave

Oh Tom Petty…. how I love thee. I remember the first time I heard him and the band so clearly.  A friend of my sister had given me a couple of quid to stay up and tape some of the US Live Aid concert in the Summer of 1985 on our brand-new video recorder and in particular…Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers. That was it, I was hooked. I was actually recording a show on TotalRock when I heard the news that Petty had died on 2^nd October 2017. To be honest,  it was hard to finish that show as it affected me more than the loss of other heroes and I am so pleased that I had managed to see him in Hyde Park, a matter of weeks before his death.

There has already been a cracking documentary about Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, “Runnin’ Down A Dream” which I enjoyed immensely but it certainly has a different feel to Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party, which in many ways shows more of who Tom Petty actually was. It was filmed in 1982, around the time that the band were putting the finishing touches to their Long After Dark album. The interviews were conducted by a young Cameron Crowe who was later to become a renowned film director is his own right (Almost Famous/Vanilla Sky/Jerry Maguire) and it is wonderful to see just how much he loved Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers and how relaxed Petty seemed in his company. It would also be the first time that I had seen just how funny Petty could be (especially in a series of outtakes that Crowe introduces along with one of Petty’s children.)

Petty never lost his fight, and this was shown in two very clear occasions in the film. Firstly, when the band were at the peak of their success and he entered a court room in a battle with his record company, which had been taken over in a corporate reshuffle in the middle of their contract. This lead to a lengthy court battle, which could have been the end of the band, if it wasn’t for the rebel in Petty. At this point there are also great interviews describing how the band had started to record on the sly, labelling their tapes with completely made up band / song names so the Record company couldn’t get their hands on them. Petty also fought the whole recording industry over proposed LP price increases which were due to go up by a dollar . Yeah, Petty was a rebel and he was never in it just to make a few quid and he had a love and respect for his fans (even after he was pulled in to the crowd by an over zealous fan at the Winterland Gardens in San Francisco and barely escaped without serious injury!!)

The music is sublime, and it isn’t just tracks from the Long After Dark album but tracks like Refugee, American Girl and I Won’t Back Down (almost autobiographical in regard to Petty’s life) are all here and just show what a wonderful songwriter he was. And let’s not forget his fellow Heartbreakers who were pretty special too, in particular quiet guitarist, Mike Cambell who is such a wonderful player and drummer at the time of filming and Stan Lynch who was obviously a practical joker of the highest order. As I write this, it is not clear whether Tom Petty : Heartbreakers Beach Party will get a DVD release (it showed in cinemas across the world on two specific days, 17/20^th October) but it really is a must for all Tom Petty fans and do make sure you stay to see the extra footage that Crowe has included since it’s original broadcast on MTV , it is worth it!