STORY BEHIND THE SONG

Can you tell me much about Telstar by The Tornados? – L.

The Beatles swept all before them in the early ’60s but, contrary to popular belief, they weren’t the first UK group to top the US charts.

That honour went to The Tornados, who rocketed to No 1 in 1962 with a futuristic instrumental named after the telecommunications satellite. Unlike the Fab Four, they couldn’t count on lavish studios and instead recorded in pioneering writer-producer Joe Meek’s north London flat.

Meek was fascinated by outer space and used a clavioline keyboard, a forerunner of the analog synthesizer, to create sci-fi-inspired sound effects.