Johnny Byrne

Apr 16 2008 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post

HE WAS one of 13 children raised in a tenement in north Dublin, so it was not surprising that he began dreaming of space – outer space, that is – and the stars beyond our world remained a great interest as the days unfolded and he saw his name rolling down the credits of films and TV shows.

But, before fame came his way, Johnny Byrne followed the notion of so many writers, by viewing life from many angles – as a Christmas tree-feller, an electrician’s mate, a dunnage-sorter on Liverpool docks, an English teacher, a tour manager with rock bands and one half of the surreal act, the Poisoned Bellows.

After leaving school, Byrne sailed to Liverpool, where he worked on the docks sorting dunnage, the loose wood used in a ship’s hold to keep the cargo away from bilge water.

The influence of America’s Beat writers could be felt among the port’s Bohemian community, which, importantly, included working-class artists, and would later embrace the poets Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri.

Byrne began hosting jazz and poetry sessions, meeting Spike Hawkins, a major figure on the scene. Having much in common, the duo formed the Poisoned Bellows, gaining bookings at clubs and the Edinburgh Festival.

As the sixties began swinging, Byrne, who looked a bit like Brendan Behan on a sober day, began having poetry and his sci-fi/ fantasy stories published, but hit the big-time with the novel Groupie (1969), which he co-wrote with Jenny Fabian.

His Season of the Witch, a play for BBC TV, was another success, and then he did the screen adaptation of Spike Milligan’s Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall (1972).

From then on, he was one of our most successful screenwriters, perhaps best known for writing some 30 episodes of All Creatures Great and Small, a charming TV adaptation of James Herriot’s vet stories.

But he also wrote for Dr Who (The Keeper of Traken, Arc of Infinity and Warriors of the Deep), Heartbeat, Love Hurts and Tales of the Unexpected.

A delightful companion, married with three sons, Byrne settled in Norfolk, continuing to write, significantly for Space: 1999 (1975-8), for which he was also story consultant.

Following the success of All Creatures Great and Small, Byrne created the series Noah’s Ark (1997-98), writing nine episodes himself.

Johnny Byrne, writer; born 1935, died April 2, 2008.