We went in search of cobbles, red-bricked houses and drizzle. But found a modern, vibrant city bathed with intermittent sunshine and home to a good line in local beer.
Fortunately, for our filming purposes, little pockets of old Leeds still exist. 'George Best' guitarist Peter Solowka took us on a walking tour of the band's old haunts for our camera and brought the streets of LS6 to life.
It was great to hear him reminisce about some of the buildings and roads that were pivotal in both the writing and recording of this album. A lot of them deserve some sort of musical heritage plaque... The campaign begins here people of Leeds!
Insert plaque(s) here...
The previous day we had filmed various other locations ourselves and even got the rain we wanted at times. Additionally we captured two eloquent and passionate accounts from fans about what the album means to them and the power behind David's lyrics and the band's sound. Thanks, as ever, go to these fans for giving up their time to be involved.
A fan interview in a pub very familiar to the band - The Hyde Park.
Our day with Peter started in a local recording studio where he was spending the week recording with The Ukrainians.
A room was secured for us and we began to set-dress with what we had available ahead of what turned into a fascinating interview of over two hours.
Still going strong.
Peter's memories and insights will be invaluable to the film. It is very pleasing to now have all four original members in the can after filming in Sussex (twice), Leeds and even Sydney to track down Keith Gregory.
It is particularly pleasing that a lot of their thoughts are so aligned with the story I set out to tell a little under a year ago and keeps the process exciting despite the draining workload!
Full House
The original idea began to form in my head 11 years ago, but that story will emerge in the coming weeks: I am off to Yeovil next week to film a crowd-fund video to raise funds for the final phases of production, post-production and securing those all-important music rights that David does not hold unfortunately.
There will be some very enticing rewards on offer for those interested enough and able to help push this film over the line. It will be greatly appreciated as I am desperate to share this film with you all.
The remaining production schedule will see many more interviews, one European gig and three UK live dates. Including band preparations and reactions as they head to Leeds for the final ever 'George Best' full performance that will wrap our filming in December.
The crowdfunding page will carry full details of post-production, release and distribution as well as the rewards on offer, so keep an eye out here for news.
Oh yes, there will also be the very first teaser trailer released at the same time...