But there lies Joe's second life - the genius, the innovator, the Godfather of British electronica.
Who needs bass drums when you can stamp on the floor of 304 Holloway Road with a mic swathed in felt in your hand?
The inventiveness in the studio that made The Beatles' psychedelic masterpieces such ear-openers came naturally to the boy who started by taking radios to pieces in his shed, and I have read that when he died he was due a renaissance at the epicenter of the progressive universe that was Abbey Road.
You can make claims for Meek - the first independent record producer? (He allegedly unleashed the famous Meek temper on an inquiring Phil Spector, informing the Wall of Sound man he was a thief). Telstar is still played to this day and remains the world's biggest selling instrumental single and his pioneering Blue Men album - a conceptual fantasy of life on the moon - is certainly ahead of its time.
Add to this his extraordinary life - the spiritualism (the Arena show features tape of Meek 'talking' with a cat in a graveyard, believing it is asking him for help), the rumors of involvement with archetypal East End gangsters the Kray family, the drugs the paranoia and the terrible end to it all make for a compelling story.
There have been rumors of a biopic for years, Stephen Fry's Sprout Productions was involved in one attempt, but the final appearance of the film owes much to the persistence of James Hicks and Nick Moran.
Moran is probably still best known for his role in Brit gangster effort Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels but scored a critical success with Hicks when his take on the last days of Joe Meek, Telstar, hit the stage in 2005.
Their play is the source of the new movie and it's pleasing to note that despite a cast with plenty of eye-catching names they've left Joe in the hands of the play's Con O'Neill - a very well-regarded and versatile British TV and stage actor who may get a much-deserved shot at the real big time with a role which must be an actor's dream. Kevin Spacey, playing financier Major Banks, should guarantee some U.S. publicity and market.
Article comments
1 - JC Mosquito
Meek was an unknown pioneer of r'n'roll - perhaps the movie will change that.
2 - Colin Ricketts
I must apologise. Daily Show satirist Jon Stewart will NOT appear in the Meek movie, it's an actor of the same name and I repeated the error from the IMDB.