If you have a story to tell send it to my personal messenger, and a photo or two would be nice.
Dave Worrall was Derann’s advertising manager and created artwork for newsletters and film labels.
It was such a long time ago – almost 30 years ago – when I first went to work for Derann Film Services. Having being a movie buff since childhood, and buying Super 8mm package films from Derann when they were based at 171 Stourbridge Road, I actually joined the company (after they moved to their new larger premises at the end of Dudley High Street) by accident.
Around this time, in the early Eighties, I was working for the M&B Brewery at Cape Hill in Birmingham. I would often call into Derann to see what new titles were in stock, and when Derek learned that I was a ‘sales promoter’ he asked if I could come in on a Saturday and draw out the sales cards for the store – and pay me in films – yes please! After doing that for several months, Derek heard me tell Johnny I was leaving M&B and going to live in California, and he asked me if I would reconsider and join Derann as the company’s marketing manager, which I did.
My main responsibility, in conjunction with Ged (who did the printing), was to design the 8mm sales flyers, write in-store cards, dress the windows, and also assist when we had Sunday ‘Open Days’. For a while, I was in my element, especially when Derek would take me out for the day to visit the labs, or have meetings in Soho with various film distributors to acquire new titles – even though it meant getting up at 4:30am! I was most proud of the full colour labels I designed for the Walt Disney features, and other major titles, plus the 1990 catalogue and ‘Film for the Collector’ magazine that Ged did such a fantastic job of printing.
The staff – Mark, Dale, Gary, Johnny, the three Steve’s, Adrian, Darrel, Paul, Michael (our accountant, a lovely man) Barry, Vince, Kevin, Simon and, of course, Ged, Derek and Anne, plus ‘helpers at ‘Open Days’ such as Sue and Marlene and her husband John (and maybe some I’ve forgot) – were all fabulous to work with. We really were one big family, even attending ‘Hollywood-themed’ Christmas parties (see photo of Julia and I as members of Kelly’s Heroes), and also many parties at Derek and Anne’s house.
There were many ‘highlights’ during my time at Derann, including the Blackpool Film Fairs (where one night I ended up sleeping in a bath!), the event we did at Pinewood Studios, visiting National Screen Services and Denham Labs, Derek obtaining the Disney and Fox contracts and, for me, being able to release the James Bond films Goldfinger and Never Say Never Again and design the labels for them.
At the beginning of 1990, I started writing a book about the James Bond Aston Martin ‘The Most Famous Car in the World’, and published it in 1993. I began to get some recognition within the James Bond world and with EON Productions, the company who made the films. It was at this time that I realised I needed to flee the nest and go it alone. If it hadn’t have been for Derek pushing me, I would never have achieved the position I now have within the film and publishing industry.
My wife, son, and I moved to Dorset, and even as I was leaving, Derek arranged for Gary to drive down in the company van with all my James Bond film collectibles in it – a wonderful final gesture from the best ‘Boss’ I’ve ever had, and a big salute to Gary for doing so. For several years I continued designing ‘Film for the Collector’ from my new base in the New Forest until sales of Super 8mm started to diminish and it was no longer viable for Derann to pay me, which I totally understood.
Without wishing to go out on a depressing note, I will always remember, on both occasions, the day I received phone calls telling me that Johnny and Derek had passed away. I not only miss them both, but all of my Derann ‘family’ who I spent the most wonderful ten years of my life with.
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