Analogue Kingdom
Director Esther Johnson
Countries United Kingdom
Duration 24 min
Synopsis
Gerald Wells’ stole his first radio, a Belmont, in 1943 at the age of thirteen. He was immediately sent to an ‘approved’ school, whose psychiatrist diagnosed ‘an obsession’ with wireless and electricity – an obsession that continues today. The house Wells was born in and still inhabits is now home to over 1,500 wireless objects and 45,000 valves - the UKs largest such collection. Analogue Kingdom is a poetic portrait of Wells, founder and curator of the British Vintage Wireless and Television Museum. It reveals the charm of Wells’ world, where radio relics and their attendant stories fill every nook and cranny. As the digital switchover fast approaches, Wells analogue collection is a reminder of the magic that may soon be lost.
Gerald Wells’ stole his first radio, a Belmont, in 1943 at the age of thirteen. He was immediately sent to an ‘approved’ school, whose psychiatrist diagnosed ‘an obsession’ with wireless and electricity – an obsession that continues today. The house Wells was born in and still inhabits is now home to over 1,500 wireless objects and 45,000 valves - the UKs largest such collection. Analogue Kingdom is a poetic portrait of Wells, founder and curator of the British Vintage Wireless and Television Museum. It reveals the charm of Wells’ world, where radio relics and their attendant stories fill every nook and cranny. As the digital switchover fast approaches, Wells analogue collection is a reminder of the magic that may soon be lost.