How I Became A TV Star (sort of)

It’s not every day that you get invited to act and sing in a primetime TV drama that will be shown in three different countries. Yet this happened to me last summer as I was out walking the dogs at Port Grat. My brother John, who’s been a TV director in Germany for many years, called my mobile.

(Ring ring)

“Hello. Jim Delbridge.”

“Jim, it’s John. I’m filming in Bavaria at the moment.?The show is called ‘Watzmann Ermittelt’ set in the mountains and it’s a crime drama. We’ve changed the script and at short notice we need someone to play an aged rock star who can sing a bit. They have to be cheap so I thought of you.”

I bent over to put a large piece of canine excrement into a scented purple plastic bag while considering if I felt insulted or flattered.

“We’ll fly you over and you can stay in my apartment. It’ll be fun!”

So, that is how a few days later, flying via Manchester and Munich, I found myself in Berchtesgaden close to the Austrian border.

For those unfamiliar with southern Germany or Berchtesgaden’s war time history it’s about 100 miles south-east of Munich, very close to the Austrian border and is of significant interest.

Adolf Hitler ?bought a home in the?Obersalzberg ?above the town and soon other top Third Reich figures, such as?Hermann G?ring ,?Joseph Goebbels ,?Martin Bormann ,?Heinrich Himmler , and?Albert Speer , began to frequent the area.

?In Britain, we know Hitler’s HQ there as the Eagles Nest and you can see the building quite clearly at the top of the mountain when sitting in the biergarten next door to John’s apartment.

The tension in the show revolves around the ageing, traditional Bavarian policeman getting a new partner - a black, inner-city cop with 'fancy modern ideas'. Of course, eventually they both learn to appreciate what each one has to offer and they make a connection.

My scene was to take place at the beautiful alpine family residence of the senior detective. It was his wife Ellie’s birthday and they bought her concert tickets for her favourite star Jason Gribb ( that’s me folks!).

Unfortunately, my drummer breaks his leg so the show is cancelled. Somehow it is organised that Jason (me) surprises her at her birthday party in her spectacular garden where I serenade her.

The song I sing is “Bring It On” from my CD “The Navigator” which I wrote for my wife Jo. Technically, the filming is quite complicated as they want me to start singing it live in the garden with acoustic guitar, then they slowly fade in the original CD studio recording which then takes over and runs over the closing credits.

That means my live performance has to be exactly ‘in synch’ with the studio recording - perfectly in tune, exactly the same speed. So, to achieve that the sound man rigs up an earpiece which plays the original recording so I can play and sing along. Piece of cake, right?

“Action !!”

I’m hiding in the porch and Ellie’s daughter walks me arm in arm to the top of the steps above the lower garden where the party is. I feel like an octogenarian being guided to the toilet in a care home.

Right. Here we go. I'm on.

“Hallo Ellie, dieses Lied ist für dich. (Hi Ellie, this song is for you)”.

I strum and sing “Storm on the horizon, black clouds up ahead…”

The rest of the cast feign delight and surprise as I begin the song. Ellie cries “Oh my God it’s Jason. Is it really him?”

“CUT!!! ?CUT!!! We can see your earpiece Jim and you’re half a beat behind.

Let’ s go again,” says John.

All the cameras including the large drone flying overhead return to their starting positions and I hide again in the porch. On cue, I’m once again escorted to the steps.

“Hallo Ellie … etc!

“CUT!! CUT!! You sang the wrong words and you are a beat in front!”

Damn! This process goes on about eight or nine times and my composure begins to fray at the edges. The temperature on that day was around 38 degrees celsius and my makeup was melting and streaming down my face. Between takes the cast sheltered under umbrellas. But, having an attractive crew member powdering me, while another tidied my costume was rather nice. After a quick spruce up we went again.

“CUT!!! Your guitar sounds out of tune.”

Damn! Damn! The heat was detuning the strings, my makeup was disappearing, the crew were getting frustrated and I was getting agitated. But on Take 13, we nailed it. Yes!

“Hooray! Thank God!! Phew!”

"Well done everybody," said John. "That's a take. Now let's do it all again from a different camera angle!"

"Doh!!"

?The following day John and I took the coach up the mountain to Hitler’s former HQ, the Kehlsteinhaus. The final part has to be done on foot, walking through a tunnel and then travelling straight up 407 feet through the rock in a lift about the size of a small room made of solid brass with Venetian mirrors and green leather. (Hitler was scared of the lift!)

My head was full of images of who had stood exactly where I was standing 80 years earlier. At the top we got out into the only remaining building. The RAF destroyed most of it just after the war. Today it’s owned by a charitable trust, and serves as a restaurant offering indoor dining and an outdoor beer garden. It was a surreal experience but I recommend it if you are in that area.

The second series of Watzmann Ermittelt featuring you-know-who for about 2 minutes is due to be screened on the German channel Das Erste later this year.