Alan Humphreys

Alan is a veteran TV camera operator who has interviewed Liverpool legends and royalty during his illustrious career. Since taking on a role as a senior technician in the Liverpool Screen School, working with those aspiring to carve out a career in journalism, he has inspired countless students along the way.

Alan features in our ‘Humans of LJMU’ series in collaboration with the ‘Humans of Liverpool’ social media account, sharing the stories of the people who make our city, communities and university the vibrant, inclusive place it is in celebration of our bicentenary year.

In his interview he reflects on his early career, working for the local authority in Prescot, to eventually recording interviews with Her Majesty The Queen among other famous faces and covering harrowing news events that remain in the minds of those from Liverpool forever more.

Alan’s ‘Humans of LJMU’ interview

“I started my career at 18 as a community videographer in the council offices in Prescot, making films with local people on unsafe railings on the railway or interviewing someone who had turned 100. One day, I got a call to film a news piece on LFC. It was a new company that had started a week before called Sky TV.

“I didn’t make it home for a week. I was called to report on a murder up in Newcastle the day after and quickly became the first full-time cameraman for Sky in the Northwest - up and down the country non-stop, seven days a week. We covered the riots, Hillsborough, Strangeways, Shipman, Bulger, you name it.

“I then worked as a senior cameraman for over 30 years, working for every major broadcaster all over the world. I’ve interviewed the Queen and Princess Diana, Pavarotti and Sir Alex Ferguson. I’ve been to the Cannes Film Festival with my own documentary on the Beatles that was bought by Warner International and the BBC.

“I interviewed Paul McCartney in Abbey Road. After we finished filming, he showed us around the studio and started playing Beatles tunes. He said, “You’ll remember this one”. I said, “Why?” He said, “Well, you’re older than the others”. I just punched him in the arm and said, “ta la”. I interviewed his brother a week later for the documentary and he said, “our kid likes you because you were normal with him”.

“Now I'm a senior technician on the journalism course at LJMU. We make the course as real as possible. You need to go out and interview strangers. You’ve got to build a rapport and make them relaxed so you can get the best interview possible. Journalism is storytelling. Instead of writing a book, you’ve got a minute and a half to condense that story and grab attention.

“Looking back on my career, it's the simple things that stick with you, like going and filming at an allotment and the fella sends you home with a bag of spuds for your mum. A story that feels mundane at the time might be the best that you'll ever tell.

“One day I was doing a shoot in the South of France. The roads were blocked from Nice down to Monte Carlo, so I had to hire a helicopter to fly me from the airport down to the mariner. I got a taxi down to the main square and all the press were up on a balcony, packed in like sardines. There was a film star doing interviews, Kristin Scott Thomas. I got up there and I was right on the edge. The press had their elbows in the way blocking me.

“Then I heard a voice, ‘Alan, get here now’. I looked up and I didn’t know who it was. He pulled his tripod aside, got me in, gave me an audio feed and a mic and we did the press conference, with no time to chat. When we packed up he said ‘you don’t remember me do you?’ I didn’t. ‘There’s no reason why you should. When I started out as a BBC trainee, you helped me out. I’ve never forgotten how kind you were to me’. That always sticks with me and makes me feel emotional.

“By being kind, you don’t know how much of an impact you can have on someone. When I’m working with the students, it’s great to know that I can pass knowledge on to them and hopefully something I’ve said can inspire them and push them on. Young people need that. Everyone needs that. The right word at the right time, it’s priceless. You never know who you’ve touched until much later, if at all. But it doesn’t hurt to be nice.”