THE latest Raymond of the Lost Archive column, by Wiped News’ resident episode hunter Ray Langstone, is now available.
You can read it here. The column also includes a link to the finds of 2011 made by Ray and other missing episode enthusiasts.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE FIND OF 2011?
LOOKING back on 2011, it’s unquestionably been a great year for missing episodes enthusiasts.
From the finds that made headline news, such as the discovery of David Bowie’s legendary performance of The Jean Genie on Top of the Pops and the return of not one but two long-absent episodes of Doctor Who, to the relatively unsung yet nevertheless important recoveries that helped fill gaps in the archives, we’ve been spoilt with the wealth of recovered TV and radio shows, not to mention lost films, uncovered in the last 12 months.
But what has been the find of 2011 that has got you most excited? With that question in mind, Wiped News has put together a little poll to find out which recovery made you, the readers, happiest.
Filed under Discoveries, Missing Episodes Hunting, Opinion
WHAT TO BUY THE MUSIC LOVER WHO HAS EVERYTHING: A COMPILATION OF PREVIOUSLY MISSING RECORDINGS
CHRISTMAS is just around the corner, and if you are stuck for a gift to buy – and the intended recipient enjoys rare pop gems from the golden era of British music – then the latest release from Top Sounds is highly recommended.
Following on from three previous “excavations” of 1960s and early ’70s BBC radio session performances with the Shapes And Sounds anthologies, specialist label Top Sounds has released its most ambitious collection of previously lost or hard-to-find tracks yet with Radio Tymes.
Nigel Lees has once again searched high and low to source missing gems from private collections and BBC transcription discs, delivering a treasure trove of very rare and desirable recordings from the likes of Deep Purple, The Move, The Yardbirds and none other than The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The compilation gets off to an impressive start with a highly charged rendition of “The Painter” by Deep Purple, taped for Chris Grant’s Tasty Pop Sundae in July 1969 and then lost in the ether for more than 40 years. It is notable for a great performance by lead singer Rod Evans and is well worth a listen. The other Purple track on the album, first single “Hush”, is even more impressive, and historic, coming from the only known recording of the rock band’s very first British radio appearance – aired on John Peel’s Top Gear on June 30, 1968.
While Radio Tymes captures Deep Purple right at the beginning of their career, it presents pioneering guitar band The Yardbirds at the close of theirs with three shining recordings from the legendary group’s final BBC session (on Top Gear) in 1968, including arguably the best take of stable cover “Dazed and Confused”. Though an off-air recording of the wiped Top Gear session was previously known to exist, it was lo-fi to say the least. Thankfully, Top Sounds has now managed to uncover a second recording of much better quality.
Other big names to enjoy on the release are The Move – with two tracks featuring Birmingham’s finest, “Cherry Blossom Clinic” and “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, from the very first Top Gear, in October 1967 – and, in what could possibly be Top Sounds’ biggest scoop to date, The Jimi Hendrix Experience on Dee Time, performing “Burning of the Midnight Lamp”.
Unheard anywhere since its broadcast in 1967, the live version of Experience’s fourth single Midnight Lamp marked the band’s second and final appearance on Dee Time. As Nigel writes in the comprehensive accompanying booklet to Radio Tymes, hardly any material from the popular sixties BBC chat show – presented by DJ Simon Dee – remains, so this recently unearthed recording is of double importance.
Rounding out the compilation are Top Gear session tracks from important psychedelic band Tomorrow with Keith West, playing their underground anthem “My White Bicycle”, Welsh blues-rock band Love Sculpture with a live version of “Sabre Dance” and two colourful covers, and Barclay James Harvest belting out upbeat rocker “Night”.
As with previous Top Sounds releases, all the music has been professionally restored and the album is accompanied by an attractive booklet packed with photos, illustrations and detailed information.
Radio Tymes is a legitimate collection licensed from the BBC and the relevant record companies, and has been a costly labour of love for Nigel. The only way Top Sounds is going to be able to continue delivering such treats is if music lovers show their support through their wallets so I highly recommend the album, available both on CD (£12.99) and vinyl (£14.99), to you all.
- To buy a copy or for more information visit the Top Sounds website.
Filed under Finds, Music, Releases, Sixties' Music
COLLECTOR TAKES THE MISSING MICKEY: WEEKLY ROUND-UP
PRESENTING some stories of interest from the past week . . .
- Herefordshire firm’s lost Mickey Mouse prototype film auctioned: A lost Disney cartoon featuring what is thought to be the prototype Mickey Mouse character has been sold in the US for $25,000 (£16,000).
- Missing Doctor Who episodes discovered: Doctor Who fans are getting a fresh opportunity to travel back in time with the discovery of two missing episodes from the long-running BBC series. Also check out this piece about the recoveries over at the Radio Times.
- Alexander Graham Bell recordings played from 1880s: Alexander Graham Bell foresaw many things, including that people could someday talk over a telephone. Yet the inventor certainly never could have anticipated that his audio-recording experiments in a Washington, D.C., lab could be recovered 130 years later and played for a gathering of scientists, curators and journalists. You can hear some of the revived recordings here.
- Vinyl treasure found on Wake Island: In a tale straight from an adventure book, contractors here recently stumbled upon a vinyl record collection with an estimated value between $90,000 and $250,000.
- BFI to present restored rare Hitchcock films with new scores: As part of London 2012 festival, composers including Nitin Sawhney will work on new scores for early Hitchcock films.
Filed under Doctor Who, Restoration, Weekly Round-Up, Early Audio Recordings, Animation
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHIVE 2011 & LOST SHOWS APPEAL FINDS
CLASSIC TV organisation Kaleidoscope has unveiled its latest list of finds made as part of its annual Raiders of the Lost Archives campaign, detailing all the missing British TV and radio material located in the last 12 months by the group along with the BBC, ITV, BFI and determined enthusiasts.
In addition, there are the fruits of the “Lost Shows Appeal” to reveal. Launched by missing episode hunter Charles Norton back in June of this year to tie in Kaleidoscope’s www.lostshows.com website, the appeal has proved a big success in tracking down recordings of otherwise lost TV and radio shows that until recently only resided in the lofts, sheds and cupboards of the general public.
Thanks to the two initiatives a wealth of long-lost shows, interviews and excerpts have been located both as audio and visual recordings.
Highlights of the Kaleidoscope Raiders’ list (spanning October 2010 to November 2011) include the Frankie Howerd Audio Archive, finds held by the Tim Disney Archive (including Sir Ian McKellen’s first TV appearance in BBC series Kipling), the latest BSB recoveries made by Ian Greaves, and comedy gems from the Graham Webb Audio Archive including the soundtracks to wiped editions of World of Beachcomber; Peter Cook’s ill-fated chat show, Where Do I Sit?; sitcom No, That’s Me Over Here, starring Ronnie Corbett; Broaden Your Mind; Monty Python precursor At last the 1948 Show; The Frost Report and many, many others.
Mention should also go to Wiped News’s columnist Ray Langstone, who, incredibly, has been responsible for over 100 finds during the last 12 months. Well done, Ray!
Meanwhile, the Lost Shows Appeal has also delivered a bumper crop of archive material to get excited about, including a massive haul of material that has been donated courtesy of the estate of late radio producer John Fawcett Wilson, and a large quantity of unedited
(audio-only) television studio recordings and production tapes including editions of The Old Grey Whistle Test, Lulu, The Rolf Harris Show, International Cabaret, and The Morcambe and Wise Show.
Other finds include rare episodes of Radio Luxembourg’s 1950s’ Dan Dare serial and interviews with figures such as Benny Hill, Peter Sellers, film director Lindsay Anderson and Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee.
Already some more of this year’s rediscovered material is on its way to find new audiences. Episodes from the BBC’s 1967 Sexton Blake radio series are due to be released by BBC Audiobooks early next year.
So without further ado, here are the full lists for the Raiders of the Lost Archives 2010 – 11 and the Lost Shows Appeal 2011.
Filed under Appeals, Finds, Kaleidoscope, Missing Episodes Hunting, Radio, Television
TV TREASURE TROVE COMES TO STOURBRIDGE
TV treasures lost for over 40 years will get a rare showing in Stourbridge this weekend.
Acclaimed 1960s’ crime anthology series 13 Against Fate and star-studded dramas featuring the likes of Derek Jacobi, Leonard Rossiter and Jeremy Brett are among the vintage shows being screened at the Talbot Hotel, High Street, on Friday and Saturday.
They come from an incredible collection of nearly 150 hours’ worth of British TV programmes found in an American archive last year and only recently returned to the UK.
Also on the bill is a 1965 BBC adaptation of George Orwell’s classic sci-fi novel 1984 by celebrated screenwriter Nigel Kneale.
The event is being organised by Midlands-based TV research group Kaleidoscope, which worked alongside the British Film Institute (BFI) in recovering the haul, described as the “most important” find of its kind in over 20 years.
There will also be talks with special guests Colin Edmonds, a comedy writer for the likes of Bob Monkhouse and Paul O’Grady, and 1984 actress Jane Merrow.
Chris Perry of Kaleidoscope said: “It’s a fantastic line-up packed with genuine classics, many of which were only located last year by Kaleidoscope and the BFI in the archives of the Library of Congress in Washington, America.
“It’s wonderful to be able to enjoy again first-rate dramas such as The Typewriter, starring a young Jeremy Brett, farce Dr Knock, with Leonard Rossiter and John le Mesurier, and a lavish 1967 version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing boasting Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon.
“This marks their first showing outside of London and we are grateful to the BFI for their assistance in making this possible.”
The event runs from 9pm to 12.30am on Friday, September 9, and 12 – 7pm on Saturday, September 10. Admission is free and all proceeds will go to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute. For more information visit www.kaleidoscope.org.uk
Filed under Events, Finds, Kaleidoscope, Screenings
Raymond of the Lost Archive new column
WIPED NEWS‘ intrepid episode hunter Raymond of the Lost Archive is back with another column, which you can read here.
Pathfinders in Space finally comes to DVD
INFLUENTIAL early sixties TV sci-fi series Pathfinders is to be released on DVD for the first time after the one missing episode was discovered – in the ITV archives.
Until recently it was long thought that episode 1 of Pathfinders to Venus, “SOS From Venus”, was lost save for the soundtrack.
But earlier this year the entire eight-part 1961 serial was found complete within the archives and will be released this December by Network DVD along with earlier series Pathfinders in Space and Pathfinders to Mars.
One of ITV’s earliest dramas written specifically for children, Sydney Newman’s Pathfinders series has been described as the “missing link” between seminal BBC radio show Journey Into Space and Doctor Who, the latter of which Newman also created.
Over three series broadcast during 1960 and 1961 the Pathfinders journeyed to the moon and other worlds, facing drama at every turn – from space hazards to Venusian dinosaurs.
With intelligent and engaging scripts by Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice, and a strong cast including actors Gerald Flood (Conway Henderson) and George Coulouris (Harcourt Brown), the series proved tremendously successful with the viewing public and even got into the regional top ten – unheard of for a children’s programme.
In addition to all 21 episodes, The Pathfinders in Space Omnibus DVD also features an image gallery and production booklet by noted archive television historian Andrew Pixley. It is released on December 31, 2011.
READ ON: PATHFINDERS ON TELEVISON by Andrew Pixley.
Filed under Finds, ITV, Releases, Science Fiction, Television
Kaleidoscope launch Treasure Hunt appeal to track down domestic recordings of TV and radio shows
TV RESEARCH organisation Kaleidoscope has announced the launch of its appeal to recover long-lost television and radio programmes.
The purpose of the appeal is to get members of the general public searching through their attics, cellars, garages and sheds looking for home-recordings of otherwise lost shows.
Until the early 1980s, broadcasters such as the BBC regularly disposed of archive programmes to re-use expensive tape and free up space. As a result, there are massive and significant holes in Britain’s television and radio archive. Countless hours of comedy shows, dramas, documentaries and other broadcasts have been lost, destroyed, or were never recorded in the first place.
Though there have been campaigns to look for lost material before, such as Kaleidoscope’s The Raiders of the Lost Archives Appeal, these have always been very general searches. This time, the appeal is specifically targeting domestic home-recordings. We are looking for people who may have made domestic recordings of a TV or radio programme in their own home at the time of broadcast.
Up until the 1980s, it was very common for people to make ‘off-air audio recordings’ of their favourite television or radio programmes. More often than not, a microphone would simply be propped up against a television speaker. There are even cases of programmes being taped on home video recorders as early as the 1960s and 1970s. These are the kind of things that we are looking for.
The appeal, which is backed by the BBC and British Library Sound Archive will launch officially at Kaleidoscope’s “DJ Heaven” event in Stourbridge, on Saturday, June 4.
Encouragingly, a number of exciting finds have already been made following a call to former broadcast engineers via BBC in-house magazine Ariel. Discoveries include audio recordings of seminal comedy shows such as Monty Python precursors At Last the 1948 Show and Twice a Fortnight, Broaden Your Mind, The Frost Report, The Ken Dodd Experience, The Morecambe and Wise Show, The Frankie Howerd Show, Not Only… But Also, World of Beachcomber, Till Death Us Do Part and many more.
A specialist group of volunteers has been given the Herculean task of sifting through and preserving in digital format the huge amount of missing material that is expected to be uncovered over the course of the year-long appeal.
Chris Perry of Kaleidoscope said: “We know for a fact that many people recorded their favourite shows off the TV and radio as far back as the early 1950s.
“The purpose of the Treasure Hunt appeal is to uncover those domestic recordings and we ask people to search their homes for old reel-to-reels, cassettes and early video tapes that might just be sitting in the attic or cellar gathering dust.
“You never know, they could represent the only copies of classic shows still in existence.”
Anyone who can offer any recordings should contact Kaleidoscope via www.losthshows.com.
READ ON: Plea put out for ‘lost’ TV shows (BBC News, June 3, 2011)
Filed under Appeals, BBC, Kaleidoscope, Missing Episodes Hunting, Radio, Television
Latest Raymond of the Lost Archive column
WIPED NEWS’S regular columnist has quite a few discoveries to share, as well a few tales to tell of his experiences trawling the archives.
Read Ray’s latest column here.
Filed under Columns, Discoveries, Missing Episodes Hunting
