Film Review - Lambert & Stamp (2014)

As the music of one of the greatest British bands, the Who, begins to play, a quote by Hesoid is displayed on the screen – “I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words” – a perfect introduction to Lambert & Stamp, documenting the band famous for smashing their equipment and the unconventional and inexperienced managers behind them.

The audience are introduced to ‘Act 1 Scene 1’ – the meeting of Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, two men of completely different upbringings who bonded over a mutual love of film and expressed an interest to document the rise of an upcoming British band. A long search eventually led them to ‘the High Numbers’, the original name of the Who. There are some wonderful scenes documenting the kind of crowds that would be found at their early gigs – young teenagers dancing in a large crowded hall, while a band of misfits play on stage.

This documentary is dedicated to the early days of the Who with Kit, the incredibly intelligent, bilingual son of composer, Constant Lambert, nurturing a young Pete Townshend, believing he was a genius, and its effect on the rest of the band – there is a lovely clip of Townshend showing his managers and band mates a new song “Glittering Girl’ in 1967, which ended up on their album ‘The Who Sell Out’.

A number of rare clips of Lambert & Stamp in their youth are extremely interesting to watch, as their unlikely partnership becomes a dynamic between the two – Kit, as the posh, composed and thoughtful one, and Chris as the cheeky, larger-than-life charmer. There is an appearance from Jimi Hendrix too, as he meets the pair in a bar which was the origins of ‘Track Records’, the first independent record label, founded by Kit and Chris, as it was the only way they could work with Hendrix (he already had a manager, but no record label).

The editing of the film is quite frenzied, with clips of the band playing, Townshend destructive stage presence, Kit and Chris mingling in fancy London bars, and various establishing shots of London in the 60s which are accompanied by an overpowering sound of the band’s early material, which often crescendos into pure noise – possibly as a way of signifying the electric presence of their gigs, or a foreshadowing of their fast-paced and frantic careers together as band and managers. Christopher Tellefsen’s editing is exceptional, keeping the film watchable and entertaining, as well as beautifully authentic. Most of the archived clips are completed with visual crackles as if it was shot on 35mm, playing into its role as a documentary about a documentary.

There are a number of interviews, obviously with guitarist Pete Townshend and vocalist Roger Daltrey, but also including one with Chris Stamp’s brother, Terence Stamp (known for his roles in Billy Budd, The Phantom Menace, and Superman) who depicts Chris as a ‘rebellious’ youth as they were growing up together. One particularly interesting interview was the one with both Townshend and Daltrey in a studio together, a great documentarian move by director, James D Cooper, as both musicians bounce off each other and a real warmness is shown between the pair as they discuss their early career with their visionary managers. There are a number of entertaining interviews with Chris Stamp, who proves to be a large character as he recounts the many downfalls of his managerial endeavours, as well as other associates of the Who, such as Richard Barnes and Irish Jack – a fan, who reads from his diary he wrote as he followed the Who as a member of their fan club.

Cooper seems to intertwine humour with the seriousness of the late Keith Moon’s and Kit Lambert’s addictions, in a bid to keep the pace of the film – with cuts of Stamp laughing about how no one “knew less about rock” or had “less connections”, to then learning of Kit’s paranoia as his heroin addiction worsened.

It is fascinating to see behind-the-scenes of the Who’s success, especially with Tommy, which marked a turning point for the band’s success but also marked the demise of the closeness between the band and their managers (one of whom was experiencing extreme hardships with addiction and paranoia).

Despite their dysfunctional years as the Who’s managers and eventual falling out, it becomes clear that Lambert & Stamp definitely played a part in the band’s showmanship and presence in film, with the creation of Quadrophenia and Tommy, proving their worth as influences and visionaries.

This film is not necessarily for people hoping to listen to the Who’s Greatest Hits and watch clips of their uprising – it still documents the uprising of the band, but rather with the cameras pointed at Lambert & Stamp, rather than Townshend and Daltrey. It is great to see the industry stripped away of all the bright lights and screaming fans, focusing more on two men who brought us one of the greatest rock bands of my generation – no pun intended – despite Chris Stamp claiming “we never said we knew how to do it!”.