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Episode 39 : Full Metal Jacket with Adrian Bush

Ok, so we have a fun show for you with a pretty unique guest and very cool guy. His name is Adrian Bush. In 1985, Ady was a 19 year-old British Army Reservist who learned that a call had been put out for military extras for an upcoming film production. The film turned out to be Kubrick’s inimitable 1987 Vietnam war examination, Full Metal Jacket. 

Ady spent some time to share his stories with us in 2018, and now, for the first time, you’re gonna hear him talk about his experiences on and off the set, including but not limited to: His six weeks preparation with U.S.-style military training, filming the battle sequences at Beckton Gasworks, dodging some scorching-hot shells from blanks that fell all around him during one particular scene, his own time spent photographing the set, working with R. Lee Ermey, the unexpected death of a colleague who was also working on the film, playing several different background parts, and witnessing the police called after reports of the massive amounts of burning black tires used caused a haze of pollution over nearby London.

You’ll also hear Ady talk about encountering strippers with American actor Ed “Touchdown” O’Ross at a local pub, how O’Ross ended up recording a song with Paul Hardcastle during the filming of Full Metal Jacket and how he finally became cool in the eyes of his teenage son.

Production Credits :

Hosted by Jason Furlong / Researched and written by Stephen Rigg and Jason Furlong  / Theme written and performed by Jason Furlong / Produced and edited by Stephen Rigg / Contributions by Mark Lentz & James Marinaccio