Dateline Diamonds

Dateline Diamonds is a 1965 British music-film. The film was shot in black and white. The "pop and cop" genre of film was a popular concept in the UK during the early 1960s to highlight young music talent and was geared to appeal directly to the young teenage market. The film was a low-budget B movie and released to support the main feature film Doctor in Clover starring Leslie Phillips. The plot involves an international criminal gang who use the MV Galaxy (the ship which was the home of 1960s pirate radio station Radio London) to smuggle stolen diamonds from the UK to Amsterdam. (This plot point is based on a number of false assumptions: firstly, that bands would be asked to give interviews on board the ship: any interviews would in fact have been taped on land; secondly, that bands' agents would be allowed to visit the ship in order to promote their clients: they would not; thirdly, that agents for Dutch bands would take boats directly to the ship from The Netherlands; and finally, that people visiting the pirate radio ships would not be searched by Customs). The final sequence, showing Ray Anton and Pro Forma, Mark Richardson and the Small Faces performing on stage, was filmed during a genuine Radio London night at the Rank Ballroom in Watford. Dateline Diamonds features the original lineup of British band Small Faces (Jimmy Winston was replaced in 1966 by Ian McLagan). Band manager Don Arden arranged for Small Faces to appear in the film as a promotional vehicle for "I've Got Mine", the follow-up to their debut single "Whatcha Gonna Do About It". However, the film's release was delayed and the band received no other publicity for their single, which failed to chart. The film also features a young Kiki Dee. Dateline Diamonds was released on VHS and is currently available on DVD format.