1960ies' British soundengineer, record producer and label boss Robert George Meek still has an enthusiastic following, and rightly so.

From today's perspective, Newent (Gloucestershire)-born Robert George (Joe) Meek can be seen as one of the creative spirits behind the "independent" concept. Always eager to explore the limits of his personal and musical surroundings, Meek defied the rigid ways of the 1960ies and set new standards for generations of musicians to come.

His DIY-attitude earned him quite some disregard by fellow sound engineers of his time - a fact Meek didn't much care about: "If it sounds right, it is right" is one of his well remembered statements. A lot of Meek's contemporaries found him at least a bit strange, his uncommon manners and eccentric lifestyle making him an object of desire and disregard alike.

However, until his tragic death in 1967, Meek had had quite some success, with the hitsingle "Telstar" he did with the then famous band "Tornados" going number one in the UK- and US-charts. Yet another smash-hit, the Honeycombs' "Have I the right", was produced by Meek and left the established record industry wondering just how he could have achieved this on his own.

Meek has written a couple of songs that should have a strong influence on British music history. Many experimental musicians from decades to come should be inspired by Meek's peculiar approach towards music production.
 
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