The Day the Bushes Screamed: Behind a Cult Classic

The Bushes Scream While My Daddy Prunes wasn’t just a song — it became a bizarre, ambitious short film that has grown into legend. This is the story behind it.

An Album Finds Its Way to The Tube

When The Very Things released The Bushes Scream While My Daddy Prunes single in 1984 (written by Rob Dallaway, with title by The Shend) it seemed destined for a small but appreciative audience. But the single was an indie hit and in 1985, a copy of the critically acclaimed debut album of the same name found its way to Chris Phipps, Commissioning Editor for the biggest music show on 80s UK TV, Channel 4’s The Tube.

Phipps, who lived in Birmingham, happened to be driving north to Newcastle (where Tyne-Tees TV produced The Tube), when he slipped a tape of the album into his car cassette player. As he drove through the dramatic landscapes of the North York Moors or Yorkshire Dales, the track Information came on.

The combination of eerie music and atmospheric scenery clearly struck him. When he contacted the band Phipps said the moment had sparked an idea for a film and an homage to 1950s sci-fi.

“He certainly seemed to ‘get’ us and loved what we were doing. We shared an enthusiasm for 50s sci-fi films and much else.” – Rob

 

An Unlikely Commission

Phipps pitched his concept to The Tube, and against the odds, secured a commission for what would become an unusually ambitious project. The idea was for a short film that looked like a 50s or 60s film or TV programme, shot on film stock rather than video. The storyline would pick up after the song’s events, with the bushes taking revenge — orchestrated by the shadowy group known as The Very Things.

The band were delighted but bemused. How this idea would take shape, or the scale of what was to follow, they couldn’t yet imagine.

To make the soundtrack workable for the prospective film length, the band created a shorter edit of The Bushes Scream..., omitting the second verse, and re-recorded Information with The Shend’s vocals replacing the ‘found sounds’ of the album version. Recording took place their native Redditch, at Workshop Studios.

 

School Exams and the Road North

By June 1985, the band were ready to head north. Seventeen year-old drummer Disney Time — just fifteen when he had joined in 1983 — was still in the middle of school exams. The schedule was tweaked to accommodate him, and on Tuesday 18th June, fresh from his last exam, The Shend and Rob Dallaway collected him.

“We picked up Disney and his kit in Shend’s monstrous Ford Consul and motored up the M1. The Consul was a fabulously comfortable set of wheels, and big enough to get a drum kit, guitar, and our luggage in. Marvellous.” – Rob

“That Consul was a beast of a vehicle. Huge and seemingly built from girders. 75 quid well spent!” – Shend

 

Lights, Camera, Bushes

The next morning, 19th June, filming began in Newcastle. The band arrived to find a suburban road closed off, period vehicles parked in the street, and a full film crew led by director Gavin Taylor (best known for U2’s Live at Red Rocks).

They met actor Billy Benson, cast as the ‘Daddy’ character. Nervous and eccentric, Benson had previously turned up to his audition already in costume and carrying a plastic bag full of jam sandwiches — instantly convincing the team that he was right for the part.

Inside the 1930s semi-detached house chosen as the location, the band was stunned. Much of the original décor remained intact, and the set-dressers had gone to great lengths to enhance its period detail, centring the living room around a vintage bakelite Bush television.

“I was completely overwhelmed by the set, particularly the house interior and the attention to detail. It was wonderful, like wandering into a dream.” – Rob

That morning, scenes of Benson watching television and becoming increasingly agitated were filmed, while the band waited outside.

“For the rest of the morning we hung around in the street watching the filming, chatting and taking photographs. We spent some time admiring the ‘The Very Things van’, an vintage green Ford that had been liveried with a TVT logo and equipped with a suspicious-looking aerial on the roof. It really was fabulous.” – Rob

“Apart from the TVT van with revolving aerial, production had also hired another vintage classic car just to drive through shot once. They really went to town on the budget” – Shend

Later, Rob and The Shend donned their white shirts, black coats, and a menacing air — for outdoor sequences. As the story unfolded, Benson’s ‘Daddy’ character confronted the strange men in the van, appealed to a passer-by (Disney), only to return the house and be overwhelmed by vengeful bushes, manned by the crew.

"In the afternoon we all got changed and went through make-up. We didn't have to do too much in the scene, other than look mysterious and menacing. Shend and I sat in the very small cabin of the wonderful old van. It was such a surprise to see the aerial on the roof of the van rotate. On reflection, the work that went into the whole production was staggering. I think people just really got into the idea and maybe went the extra mile to create such memorable scenarios." – Rob

“Billy made a great job of looking incensed… It was hilarious to watch him turn to return to the house and be overwhelmed by the bushes waiting for him, wailing ‘I’m going to die!’”  – Rob

That night, the cast and crew dined together, buoyed by the day’s surreal but successful shoot.

“Mmm... a lovely Chinese!” – Disney

 

Priory Performance

Thursday 20th June saw filming move to Hulne Priory near Alnwick, some 35 miles north. It was a cooler, mistier day and the band, with Chris Phipps, had made an early start. Chris was in his red Ford Fiesta with Rob, whilst Shend and Disney travelled in the Consul. The plan was for the band to perform the song, again capturing it on 16mm film.

“At the Priory, wardrobe approved my silky shirt and white gloves and then added the voluminous cape which was a stroke of genius. It looked superb and made ‘getting into character’ a doddle” – Shend

Director Gavin Taylor welcomed the band’s input, including Rob’s suggestion of beginning the song by playing guitar from a tree.

"It didn't look very high from the ground, but it was a struggle to get up there. I recall the crew passing my old Pamphonic Orbit 4 guitar up and me wobbling... standing on a single branch with shades on, playing guitar. It was all a bit nerve-racking." – Rob

Other memorable shots included Rob appearing to rise from the bushes as if on a lift, The Shend draped in cape and gloves singing to statues, and Disney dramatically emerging from under the cloak to play organ mid-song.

“Gurning my way through Rob’s fab lyrics seemed strangely effortless and the whole crew were engrossed in making it a joyous experience, chucking in suggestions like the wheelbarrow and generally laughing a lot” – Shend

“Pulling the bell rope just before the clang involved the props chap balanced precariously on an arch clutching a rope out of shot which he had to synchronise as I fell to my knees. He did it in one take!” – Shend

“I remember feeling like the set-up was going to be ‘grand scale’, like I was a member of U2 or something – Gavin having just made ‘at Red Rocks’ – especially when they did the long shot of just the me and the drum kit in the middle of the priory...” – Disney

As filming reached its climax, tension rose. Film stock was running dangerously low, and only just enough remained for The Shend’s final dramatic walk. Mid-take, he stumbled slightly over his cape. There was no chance for a re-shoot;  the camera was out of film. Fortunately, the slip was barely noticeable, and the cameraman was confident that the sequence had been captured and Gavin confirmed that it he had thought it was a good take.

 

Max Headroom and Studio Visits

Back in Newcastle, Chris invited the band for drinks but also offered the band another opportunity; to script an introduction for Max Headroom, who was to present the film on The Tube. Rob wrote it that evening, slipping in jokes and references to their ‘pointy shoes’.

“I really fancied a beer or two, but this was too good an opportunity to miss, so I stayed at the hotel and wrote the intro. I was a big fan of Max Headroom and just felt very lucky to have the opportunity.” — Rob

On Friday 21st June, the band visited Tyne-Tees TV Studios, where editor Andy (who would work on the finished TVT film) was busy editing some Frank Zappa footage. The band found the visit interesting and exciting, with hints of further possible Channel 4 projects to come.

By the weekend, the band were heading home, briefly stopping at Hadrian’s Wall before returning to the Midlands, where they plunged straight back into recording, new releases (Mummy You’re a Wreck) and rehearsals for gigs in Switzerland and Germany.

 

Broadcast and Legacy

The Bushes Scream While My Daddy Prunes was set for broadcast on 15th November 1985, but due to industrial action, it was delayed until 29th.

“I’d put up some TVT posters all around the school corridors shouting out that we were about to be on that there telly... so I had the bodge of taking them all down and then putting up a new set once the rescheduled date was confirmed...” – Disney

The film was introduced by Jools Holland, interacting with Max Headroom, followed by comments from filmmaker Ken Russell.

The film ends with a clip from Quatermass 2, another stroke of genius from Gavin:
"You know what worries me, is how am I going to make a final report about all this?"
"What worries me is how final can it be?"

For The Very Things, it was an extraordinary experience. For some fans, what followed became ‘a little bit of history’. Decades later, the film continues to be remembered as one of the strangest, most ambitious, and most beloved cult artefacts of its era.

Bob Winterman, October 2025