0:00:00 > 0:00:02Now on BBC News, the week's strongest stories from
0:00:02 > 0:00:05the BBC's Inside Out teams.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Welcome to a very cold Inside Out West Midlands.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Tonight, the conman peddling dreams of breaking
0:00:12 > 0:00:15into the entertainment business.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16I am not a potential customer.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18I'm a BBC journalist and I have been investigating your
0:00:18 > 0:00:26business and you're conning people, aren't you?
0:00:26 > 0:00:29You're conning people out of thousands of pounds at a time.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31And the hunt for an historic shipwreck, lost
0:00:31 > 0:00:34for almost a century.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38It was just the most exciting moment in life, to have found it.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42We were hugging each other, dancing around the prop.
0:00:42 > 0:00:50And above a very ordinary shopping parade in Birmingham,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54an almost mythical music venue, The Who played here,
0:00:54 > 0:00:55Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull,
0:00:55 > 0:01:04Elton John played here the night before it closed.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08I am Ayo Akinwolere and this is Inside Out.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Tonight, we are in Birmingham, and later on, we will be finding out
0:01:15 > 0:01:16about a festival celebrating some of the extraordinary
0:01:16 > 0:01:19things that happened in the city 50 years ago,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23in 1968, but first, being a voice artist and doing things
0:01:23 > 0:01:29like computer games, adverts and audio books can be
0:01:29 > 0:01:32lucrative, but one serial conman has been cashing in on the dreams
0:01:32 > 0:01:35of those trying to break into the business.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Simon Hare has been finding out more.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38Hi, nice to meet you.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Come and have a sit down and we'll go through everything with you.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Ed Harwell says he's a voice actor who can get you into the business.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49You are just where I was, sort of ten years ago.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53But ten years ago, Inside Out was exposing his Nottingham
0:01:53 > 0:01:57company Broadcast Support.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Back then, he was using his real name, Carl Mould, and claiming
0:02:01 > 0:02:08he could help people become TV presenters but all he did was charge
0:02:08 > 0:02:10thousands for poor quality showreels and websites.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Five years ago he was jailed for conning pensioners out
0:02:12 > 0:02:16of thousands for mobility aids.
0:02:16 > 0:02:22Carl Mould likes telling stories and creating characters.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27Even one for himself, Edward C Harwell, filmed
0:02:27 > 0:02:30here at the Custard Factory in Birmingham, a hub
0:02:30 > 0:02:32of creative businesses, including his own firm,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Sun King Media.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36You are following me, aren't you?
0:02:36 > 0:02:39If I give you a story, will you go away?
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Mould is full of tall stories.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46This is a promotional video on his website.
0:02:46 > 0:02:5310,000-20,000 a month is achievable.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56My advice, get up early, work hard, and join Sun King Studios.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Now it is my full-time profession, I have absolutely no hesitation
0:02:59 > 0:03:03in recommending Sun King Media.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Glowing testimonials, but who are they and how
0:03:05 > 0:03:11accurate are those figures?
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Similar tales of high earnings have enticed dozens of victims,
0:03:13 > 0:03:18many of them pensioners.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20David Taylor is a former president of his local
0:03:20 > 0:03:25rugby club in Manchester.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28In his retirement, he has taken up acting and he gave Ed Harwell
0:03:28 > 0:03:38or Carl Mould £1,500 to help him become an audio book narrator.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42For 35 years I was in the prison service, and the last 20
0:03:42 > 0:03:44of which I was a prison governor.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46You're probably going to say I should have known better,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48but we are all human, after all.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50The secret is, you play on people's desires,
0:03:50 > 0:03:51and that is the bit that
0:03:51 > 0:03:54I am really ashamed of, that I should have seen
0:03:54 > 0:03:55through it, really.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00I just feel a fool.
0:04:00 > 0:04:06All David got for his money was of foam-lined box described
0:04:06 > 0:04:08as a "home recording studio", a cheap microphone, and one
0:04:08 > 0:04:14audio recording uploaded to two free websites.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19I have come to see two voice-over industry experts.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Hugh Edwards is a casting director, and Peter Dixon one of the UK's
0:04:22 > 0:04:24best-known performers.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27I work in all the genres of voice-overs from commercials
0:04:27 > 0:04:29to big entertainment shows like X Factor and Britain's
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Got Talent, of course.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36It's time to face the music.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41It is a skill that you need to learn, and it takes
0:04:41 > 0:04:43time and practice.
0:04:43 > 0:04:50So what is their verdict on what David got for his money?
0:04:50 > 0:04:52That did not sound particularly professionally well done,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54the levels were too low, I was straining to hear it.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57You can do that yourself by recording yourself or paying
0:04:57 > 0:05:00maybe £100 to go into a studio and have some and press record,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02put it on YouTube yourself for free.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05You can put it on Amazon for free, you do not need to pay
0:05:05 > 0:05:06anyone to do this for you.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10That is appalling value for money that he's got there,
0:05:10 > 0:05:11it is saddening and sickening.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16I was always told...
0:05:16 > 0:05:19And what about those claims of big money in return?
0:05:19 > 0:05:2210,000-20,000 a month is achievable.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26There are voices artists in the world who do earn that,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29but you're talking about the top two or three percent.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31We all know in the industry that the audio book sector
0:05:31 > 0:05:35of the industry is low-paid.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37The sooner that this man who's running this company can
0:05:37 > 0:05:40be stopped the better.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45People need to be protected from him, soon.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49I want to see the sales pitch for myself.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Hello, I have got an appointment with Sun King.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56I have come to meet Ed Harwell for what is billed
0:05:56 > 0:05:58as a free assessment of my voice-over potential.
0:05:58 > 0:05:59Hi, nice to meet you.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Nice to meet you.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Sit down and we will go through everything with you.
0:06:03 > 0:06:13Right.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16What the Amazon group require from us is an audio book or a showreel
0:06:16 > 0:06:17that someone has worked on before.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Right.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Our work area within the Amazon group looks like this.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24But it is just Sun King Media's YouTube channel, and talk of links
0:06:24 > 0:06:25to Amazon keep coming.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28We are affiliated with the Amazon group.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32We are approved content providers and work in conjunction with them.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38It is not long before there are claims of how much I could earn.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40I have people doing pretty well out of it.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44I will show you.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45That is you, Edward C Harwell?
0:06:45 > 0:06:46That is you?
0:06:46 > 0:06:47Yeah.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49And you got £11,000?
0:06:49 > 0:06:50Dollars.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51That is for one month?
0:06:51 > 0:06:57Blimey.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59It's not too shabby.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02After a bit of prompting, Harwell or Mould finally records my voice
0:07:02 > 0:07:04for his professional assessment.
0:07:04 > 0:07:12I am a broadcaster, but no actor.
0:07:12 > 0:07:13Daughters of a deeply royalistic man convinced
0:07:13 > 0:07:15he was doing the King's work.
0:07:15 > 0:07:16Brilliant.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17Nothing wrong with that at all.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18Oh, right.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22Absolutely bang on.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24You are just where I was ten years ago.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27I like to think I am leaving some kind of legacy.
0:07:28 > 0:07:29I wouldn't know what else to do now.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31I have found my niche.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36It has been a lucrative niche.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Inside Out estimates he has taken more than £100,000
0:07:38 > 0:07:43over the last 18 months.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45The Custard Factory says it was completely unaware
0:07:45 > 0:07:47of what Mould was doing.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50It is grateful to Inside Out for bringing the matter
0:07:50 > 0:07:55to its attention, and it has terminated his lease.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00And the people in the video, we tracked them down
0:08:00 > 0:08:01to the website fivesquid.com, offering video testimonials
0:08:01 > 0:08:07for just £10 or £20.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09They and the website expressed concern but said such testimonials
0:08:09 > 0:08:16are provided on condition they are clearly labelled
0:08:16 > 0:08:21as a paid-for promotion, something which Mould did not do.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23The audio book company within the Amazon group,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Audible, says narrators are at the heart of its work.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28It takes this misrepresentation very seriously and its lawyers
0:08:28 > 0:08:30are contacting Sun King Media.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33It is time to confront Mould.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38I have arranged to meet him outside a bank in Birmingham.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44I am not a potential customer.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I am a BBC journalist and I have been investigating your
0:08:47 > 0:08:48business and you're conning people, aren't you?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51You're conning people out of thousands of pounds a time?
0:08:51 > 0:08:52Really?
0:08:52 > 0:08:53Yeah, you are.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56You're uploading poor quality audio to free to use websites,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59you're making false claims about how much money people can earn.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01You're making false claims about your relationship with Amazon.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04You're not Ed Harwell, are you?
0:09:04 > 0:09:05You are Carl Mould, serial conman.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06Do you want to say sorry?
0:09:06 > 0:09:07Sorry for what?
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Sorry for what?
0:09:09 > 0:09:10For conning people?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12It is just rubbish.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Did you write all these stories in prison?
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Because you were on a creative writing course in prison last time.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Is that the end of this interview?
0:09:21 > 0:09:23How long is it going to go on for?
0:09:23 > 0:09:24As long as you stand there.
0:09:24 > 0:09:25Are you sorry?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Are you sorry for what you've done?
0:09:27 > 0:09:30I am not sorry for anything, I have not done anything wrong.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32So you do not think you've done anything wrong?
0:09:32 > 0:09:33Absolutely not, no.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Inside Out understands he has since left his offices
0:09:36 > 0:09:39at the Custard Factory but in a letter he told us that
0:09:39 > 0:09:42if anyone was not happy with the service he provided,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44they could come back and record it again.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47We recorded a special message for him.
0:09:47 > 0:09:53Carl Mould, it's time to stop conning the public!
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Next tonight, an underwater detective story.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02It all started off with one man's dream to find an historic wreck lost
0:10:02 > 0:10:04for decades in a remote location.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Behind the doors of the National Maritime
0:10:16 > 0:10:17Museum in London lie a
0:10:17 > 0:10:20thousand stories of the sea.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22During the Great War of 1914-1918, Britain lost more than 5,000
0:10:23 > 0:10:24ships across the globe.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27There were tales of glory, there were tales of tragedy.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30There are some incredible naval war stories that are remembered
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and honoured in here today, but there is one tale
0:10:32 > 0:10:36you will not find in here, about the first merchant ship to be
0:10:36 > 0:10:38sunk during World War I.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43The City Of Winchester.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46A 6,000 tonne cargo ship that was sunk by a German cruiser
0:10:46 > 0:10:53in 1914, somewhere in the Arabian Sea.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Its whereabouts remained a mystery for more than 80 years,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00until one man changed all of that and found more than he could ever
0:11:00 > 0:11:06have imagined possible lurking at the bottom of the sea.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Steve Dover from Warwickshire heard whispers of a World War I wreck
0:11:09 > 0:11:12around the coast of Oman in the 1980s.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15It began a 12 year obsession which started with him tracking down
0:11:15 > 0:11:20which ship it could be, buying it from the British
0:11:20 > 0:11:23government for a pound, and ended with him convincing a team
0:11:23 > 0:11:27of divers to follow him to the Hallaniyat Islands.
0:11:32 > 0:11:41They are remote, the seas are dangerous between the mainland
0:11:41 > 0:11:42and the islands.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44We got there, 35 divers, in three boats, on-site,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47and I pretty much knew that I would find that wreck
0:11:47 > 0:11:48on the first dive.
0:11:48 > 0:11:49I was really, really confident.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51But confidence on land can quickly turn to doubt when you're
0:11:51 > 0:11:5330 metres underwater.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57I was so confident.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00I had been organising and raising funds for two and a half years,
0:12:00 > 0:12:0312 years of research, this was the moment.
0:12:03 > 0:12:09Down the anchor line we went, hit the bottom, nothing.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12So we went along for a bit, I got my compass out,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15pretending I knew the way, which I didn't.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19And Pete was right by my side.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22He points down to my buoyancy compensator,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25the jacket that you wear, and underneath the flap
0:12:25 > 0:12:30of the jacket was a tiny little fish that had yellow and silver stripes
0:12:30 > 0:12:34on it, it is called a sergeant major fish.
0:12:34 > 0:12:40What he knew as a marine biologist was that this is a reef fish,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43so he is signalling to me follow this thing, follow this fish,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47and the two of us were following it.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50It was like a scene from Finding Nemo and the fish put
0:12:50 > 0:12:54on a final spurt and disappeared into the blue, and this shadow
0:12:54 > 0:12:57appeared in front of my eyes, and that was the stern
0:12:57 > 0:13:01of the City Of Winchester, the wreck.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06And it was just the most exciting moment in life to have found it
0:13:06 > 0:13:12and we were dancing, we were hugging each other,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14dancing around the prop, the propeller at the bottom
0:13:14 > 0:13:17of the rudder.
0:13:17 > 0:13:24Not only was Steve's discovery important for historians,
0:13:24 > 0:13:25they caused ripples through the scientific
0:13:25 > 0:13:26community as well.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30So what we have is this wreck which over the course of 70 or 80
0:13:30 > 0:13:32years has become a real haven for marine life, and
0:13:32 > 0:13:41because it is a metal hull, and it is a very long metal hull,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44all sorts of marine life is attached to it that would not necessarily
0:13:44 > 0:13:45want to attach to rocks.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48One of the exciting things about having a range of colourful
0:13:48 > 0:13:51fishes is it attracts other life as well, and that is why
0:13:51 > 0:13:53we were recording pods of dolphins every day.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55What had begun with looking for a 100-year-old shipwreck had
0:13:55 > 0:13:59now opened up a whole new world to explore.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03The City Of Winchester was once forgotten, but unlike all these
0:14:03 > 0:14:06relics of sunken warships that now are in a museum, it has
0:14:06 > 0:14:09a new lease of life, not just about the past
0:14:09 > 0:14:16but supporting life for the future.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21With quite literally the biggest finding imaginable.I have film of
0:14:21 > 0:14:26humpback whales on the surface, of one humpback whale actually giving
0:14:26 > 0:14:30birth, and within the same time period, we have got film of them
0:14:30 > 0:14:34feeding. Humpback whales do not feed and breed at the same time in the
0:14:34 > 0:14:41same place.This caused confusion. Why were these humpback whales
0:14:41 > 0:14:46acting so out of character? Could it be that this was an altogether new
0:14:46 > 0:14:49species?Further studies were made by the Ministry of foreign
0:14:49 > 0:14:55environment in the country. It was all followed up and in 2014, they
0:14:55 > 0:14:58declared a brand-new species of humpback whale as a consequence of
0:14:58 > 0:15:03what I found, the Arabian Sea humpback.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05But the ecosystem that's built up around the City
0:15:05 > 0:15:07of Winchester is now in danger.
0:15:07 > 0:15:14When I went back there last year, after 17 years and dived around,
0:15:14 > 0:15:16it was very clear there'd been a great depletion
0:15:16 > 0:15:20of fish life and species.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24When I spoke to the islanders they'd said to me that the fishing
0:15:24 > 0:15:34rights had been sold.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38You can't stop us and it's on the brink I would
0:15:38 > 0:15:40say of breaking down.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43One day there will be no Arabian Sea humpback Whales in that area
0:15:43 > 0:15:46because they don't travel around, they tend to like their home,
0:15:46 > 0:15:52so if there is a threat they're stuck there.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Steve's idea is for a conservation area around the Islands
0:15:54 > 0:16:03and the government of Oman are considering his proposal.
0:16:03 > 0:16:10There's also a strict 25 mile no-take zone around the wreck.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13The no-go zone combined will mean the marine life will bounce back
0:16:13 > 0:16:20to where it was in about 5-10 years.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23This could be the lifeline needed, to protect not just the whales
0:16:23 > 0:16:28but this whole incredible ecosystem.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34There is such a wealth of research to do over the next decade and even
0:16:34 > 0:16:39then we will not have found all of the species and all
0:16:39 > 0:16:42of the many many things that I am certain dwell in and around
0:16:42 > 0:16:47the waters of those islands.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51So, the amazing tale of The City of Winchester now has a new chapter
0:16:51 > 0:16:52at the bottom of the sea.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55And I wonder, how many other stories are out there,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58waiting to be discovered?
0:16:58 > 0:17:01The Birmingham Flatpack Festival will start soon and this year
0:17:01 > 0:17:04it will feature a series of events marking things that happened
0:17:04 > 0:17:07in the city 50 years ago.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10So we sent comedian Tom Price back in time, well,
0:17:10 > 0:17:17sort of, to find out more.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19# If I only had time
0:17:19 > 0:17:23# Only time #.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27It's no secret that we in the media love an anniversary,
0:17:27 > 0:17:32and they don't get much bigger than 50 years.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Well, OK, technically they do, but let's not get bogged down
0:17:35 > 0:17:37in details because 50 years ago, 1968, to be precise,
0:17:37 > 0:17:47was a pretty big year.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50In fact, there was so much going on that Ian Francis, founder
0:17:50 > 0:17:52of the Flatpack Film Festival, held every year in Birmingham,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55is organising a series of events to mark the year.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56A really interesting time in the city.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59All sorts of things going on, new bands, counter culture,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01student protests, so we've got a whole programme of exhibitions,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04screenings and events all over the city as the first weekend
0:18:04 > 0:18:11of the festival.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14One of the events will focus on an almost mythical music venue
0:18:14 > 0:18:16which opened in the north of Birmingham in 1968,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20right here on Erdington High Street.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Yep, I know what you're thinking, it looks like that sort
0:18:23 > 0:18:26of place, doesn't it?
0:18:26 > 0:18:28This is music historian Jez Collins and we're meeting outside
0:18:28 > 0:18:32what was voted the best club in the world two years running,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36known simply as Mothers.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39The club was only open three years but boy did it leave a legacy,
0:18:39 > 0:18:45and I'm not talking about the fact that it's now a supermarket.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47It's absolutely incredible, on Erdington High Street,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51not many people know about it, there's a little sign
0:18:51 > 0:18:54above, but honestly, this was the home of sounds.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56The Who played here, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath,
0:18:56 > 0:18:57Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Elton John played here the night before it closed and moaned about it
0:19:01 > 0:19:03not having a grand piano.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06John Peel was the resident DJ, there's a gate behind us and he used
0:19:06 > 0:19:09to park his Winnebago and sleep there, and he'd DJ.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12So a really important place, not just in Birmingham but in terms
0:19:12 > 0:19:15of rock music history.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20They had a membership that reached 45,0000,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24which is just insane for a club that could hold 300 people.
0:19:24 > 0:19:2745,000 people became members at the time it closed.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Apparently global stars Joan Baez and Bob Dylan were members.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Well, I haven't been able to get them here today, to be honest,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I didn't actually try, but I have arranged to meet two
0:19:36 > 0:19:39other former members, Rob Moore and Syd Wall,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43who are just as A-list but a bit more local.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45I hardly recognised it when I walked in.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48I can still remember where the stage was.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Where was the stage, then?
0:19:51 > 0:19:54The stage was over there.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56It went from that corner right over to here.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I went to most of these.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01There's a couple that I didn't see.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04The one that I wish I had seen which I couldn't get to
0:20:04 > 0:20:06was this Pink Floyd one.
0:20:06 > 0:20:07Whatever happened to them?
0:20:07 > 0:20:08Where did they go?!
0:20:08 > 0:20:11When Zeppelin first played, it was the first gig
0:20:12 > 0:20:15of their first UK tour.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17My brother has got photographs of the gig,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20and they are in the loft, he said he can't find them.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21Got to get in there!
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Try and find them, try and find them.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30Syd's brother's photos aside, regrettably there seems to be very
0:20:30 > 0:20:34little archive of the club, but, although Mothers closed
0:20:34 > 0:20:37in 1971, in 2016 its name cropped up in American courts when Led Zeppelin
0:20:37 > 0:20:40were successfully defending themselves against a charge
0:20:40 > 0:20:43of plagiarism brought about by the band Spirit,
0:20:43 > 0:20:45who alleged their song Taurus was the inspiration
0:20:45 > 0:20:50for Stairway To Heaven.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Well, when Spirit came to play here at Mothers there were rumours
0:20:53 > 0:20:58that Page and Plant were here, and part of that evidence
0:20:58 > 0:21:04was that Plant and Page were here and they would have heard
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Taurus played and that planted that seed in their minds that that music
0:21:08 > 0:21:17hook turned into Stairway To Heaven.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Life in late '60s Birmingham wasn't all glamour and
0:21:20 > 0:21:22rock and roll, though.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24In the south of the city, American photographer
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Janet Mendelsohn spent much of 1968 documenting Balsall Heath,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30a down on its luck suburb.
0:21:30 > 0:21:31Her pictures will form one
0:21:31 > 0:21:36of the exhibitions in the Flatpack Festival.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Why was she drawn to Balsall Heath?
0:21:38 > 0:21:42It was a big subject in the media
0:21:42 > 0:21:46for various reasons, really, to do with housing, immigration.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51There were lots of photographers coming here.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55But on the whole, the media covered it in kind of a sensationalist way
0:21:55 > 0:21:57and Janet's project was much more about, let's show life,
0:21:57 > 0:22:02the everyday fabric of life.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05You've got pictures of this crossroads here, so this
0:22:05 > 0:22:08is a butcher's, grocer's here.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10So that is literally that?
0:22:10 > 0:22:11Yeah.
0:22:11 > 0:22:12That corner there is that?
0:22:12 > 0:22:13That corner there.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14That's incredible.
0:22:14 > 0:22:15A number of cafes.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18It was a very busy spot.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19Yeah.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21And this treasure trove of photographs, we nearly
0:22:21 > 0:22:22lost it, didn't we?
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Yeah, it was hidden away for many years.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29She went back to America, it ended up in her attic in Massachusetts.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31That's amazing to think that great resource was sitting
0:22:31 > 0:22:32in an attic in Massachusetts.
0:22:32 > 0:22:38Yeah, we has no idea about any of this.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41A guy at the university got in touch with her a few years ago
0:22:41 > 0:22:44and she just basically sent two massive boxes full of
0:22:44 > 0:22:45prints and negatives.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49And suddenly we've got this incredible document
0:22:49 > 0:22:51of what Balsall Heath was like in the 1960s.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54It's hardly surprising these photos have generated such
0:22:54 > 0:22:56interest amongst historians, but there's also
0:22:56 > 0:22:58a personal side to them.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Whilst researching the project, Ian found a photo taken
0:23:00 > 0:23:05in 1968 of the shop Uncles.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08The owner, Mr Singh, opened it shortly after arriving
0:23:08 > 0:23:18in the UK from India but didn't have any pictures of it from the time.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Surinder, tell us, how did you and your dad feel when Ian found
0:23:22 > 0:23:23this amazing photograph?
0:23:23 > 0:23:28Taken aback, as you can imagine we've never had a photograph.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Dad was tearsome, it did bring tears to his eyes.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36Just overwhelming, really.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38What makes the photo even more poignant is that the woman
0:23:38 > 0:23:41in the alley is Mr Singh's wife, Surinder's mother.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43She died in 1977.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48Mr Singh, how did it feel to see this?
0:23:48 > 0:23:55I was really glad, I was really glad when I seen this picture.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58I don't know if you know this, but Ian has been looking
0:23:58 > 0:24:00into the archives, there's a new exhibition coming up.
0:24:00 > 0:24:06And whilst researching that new exhibition,
0:24:06 > 0:24:07he's found some other photographs.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13So, Ian, over to you.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17You mentioned that the lady in the alleyway was your wife, your mum.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20I had a dig around and there were actually a couple of closer
0:24:20 > 0:24:22shots from the collection.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24There's your mum.
0:24:24 > 0:24:25Is it?
0:24:25 > 0:24:26Fantastic.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Yeah, that's Mum.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32That is a truly, truly great photo.
0:24:32 > 0:24:33Isn't that gorgeous?
0:24:33 > 0:24:34Look at that.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35I love that.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36And who is the child?
0:24:36 > 0:24:38She's my daughter.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41It's great.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45Very nice.
0:24:45 > 0:24:52We haven't got many pictures of Mum.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56This is really nice.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Now in her 70s and unlikely to return to Birmingham again,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Janet and the Singhs will probably never meet, but we've sent her this
0:25:02 > 0:25:05footage so she can see for herself just what an impact her photos
0:25:05 > 0:25:10are still having on people, half a century after she took them.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15Well, there we are, just a snapshot of the plethora of things
0:25:15 > 0:25:17going on in Birmingham in 1968, 50 years ago.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Hope you enjoyed it.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22I'll be back next year with a special feature looking at 1969.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25That's how this works, right?
0:25:25 > 0:25:31Has anyone got a history book I can borrow?
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Right, that's your lot for tonight.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Don't forget, we are on the iPlayer and also on Twitter at bbciowm.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38We'll see you next week, have a good one.
0:25:38 > 0:25:43Bye-bye.