Six of One selling bootleg DVD for profit.

In early 2004, Six of One announced details of a new DVD, available to current members only, at a price of £12. The DVD is a compilation of footage from the 25th and 30th Anniversary events held by the Society during the 1990s. It is worth remembering that these events received little mention from Roger Langley in his Society history articles as he had very little to do with them. He now seems to have leapt upon a chance to profit from the events' success.

However, it has come to light that Six of One have not asked the permission of the celebrity guests who appeared at the event (and, as such, on the DVD) or permission from the person who filmed the event and owns the footage. Dave Jones (who organised, hosted and filmed the 25th Anniversary event) confirmed this on the alt.tv.prisoner newsgroup:

"I filmed the 25th anniversary event guest panels and one offs like Roy Beck & Graham Nearn, as a record of the event. This footage was never intended to be sold commercially, so no guests were asked to sign any waiver. As I taped the interviews, the footage may be considered to be "my" property, yet Langley has not sought permission from me to release it..........Steve Ricks wanted to tape the 30th anniversary using a crew with professional quality equipment, but Langley vetoed this and instead hired a bloke from Ipswich who set up his domestic video camera half way up the hall! For many years, the resulting quality of the footage was deemed by Langley to be of too poor quality to release (despite several requests from members). It speaks volumes that this sub-standard footage is now being sold, presumably to raise cash for the ailing, disgraced society."

"As to permission, I don't believe that the guests have been approached to authorise the release, and I equally believe that they will receive no royalties. Indeed I have spoken to one of the guests who has confirmed that he has not been contacted."

Dave Jones, alt.tv.prisoner, 03/02/2004

It has also become clear that the quality of the DVD will also be poor (although it must be added that even if it was of good quality, this does not excuse the legal problems of its release).

"Purchasers of this "DVD" will also be buying a product sourced (with respect to the 25th anniversary event) from a tape a few generations down from the masters. I have the masters on Video 8 format. These were copied onto a "master" VHS tape for viewing purposes, and this tape was copied again for use as a "duplication master". Langley's best copy is made from the duplication master and is therefore one generation further down again."

Dave Jones, alt.tv.prisoner 26/1/2004

Indeed, Dave Jones has now seen the DVD and confirms that his suspicions were justified:

"The quality is awful, as evidenced by no less than SEVEN apologies or explanations for the poor transfer contained within
it's sleeve notes!! These are accompanied by a mind-bending list of reasons why it may not play in your machine on the rear sleeve!!"

"The questions are all absent, (apart from Dave Barrie's interview excerpts with Kanner in the Hercules Hall), which leads to a disjointed presentation with lots of information missing. Must have been a hell of a tricky editing job removing me from history on this occasion!........Hilariously, Dave's presence, (and consequently my absence) is attributed to Barrie being in shot for most of the interview, while I was not in the field of view!!"

Dave Jones, alt.tv.prisoner 26/3/2004

Even in their advertising of this bootleg DVD within their magazines and flyers, they choose to even omit Jones from the DVD cover, placing an "exclusive" sticker over the front of his face!

Although in their Society "Mission Statement" Six of One claim to be "non-profit making", it is worth noting that the cost of this DVD is £12. As the costs of producing this bootleg DVD are far below this figure, we wonder where the money is going. As the Society refuse to divulge their finances, no-one can be sure.

What makes this a little more galling is that the following statement can be found on coordinator Larry Hall's website:

"Ebay is also the best place to find other rare PRISONER memorabilia - sooner or later, whatever you're looking for turns up. HOWEVER, BE AWARE THAT NOT ALL ITEMS ARE NECESSARILY LEGAL. It's OK to sell single items from private and paid-for personal collections, quite another to have copyrighted photos reproduced without a licence and offered for sale. Don't line the pockets of the pirates."

Some hypocrisy there, we think!

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This page updated: 5/3/2006