Open Reel Tapes of Soundtracks

[John W King]

I have just posted the following under the Apollo 11 thread but I've copied it here for general readerage (new word!) as I have anumber open reel tape recorings I made from TV and radio from 1968 to around 1980 when I got a video recorder.
So starting with Apollo 11....
I have open reel soundtrack recordings I made of the lift off, landing, the first step and part of the moonwalk made live at the time at 7.5 ips. taken directly from the BBC broadcasts. These were not repeats but recordings I made using a direct connection through a phono plug so there is no background noise. A few years ago I transferred these recodings onto CD. I had forgotten how electrifying the landing was. No music. Just the sounds of the astronauts' voices interspersed with those of James Burke and Patrick Moore. The drama of the real event as it happened is amazing. If these recordings are of any use please let me know. I for one will be watching this programme when it is broadcast. I still have copies of this newspapers from the time.
To me this is the single greatest moment in the entire history of human achievement - the moment man actually landed and set foot on another planet (astral body). There will never be an event like this again (which is why I tried to record the key events onto tape). I only wish I'd been able to record the visuals as well.

Note:- I first began recording soundtracks from our TV around 1968. Amongst many recordings I have are:-
1) The Hobbit Radio 4
2) War of the Worlds (1969 Radio4)
3) Death of John Lennon (Radio and TV from the day)
4) Adam Adamant (part of Vintage Year for Scoundrels - my extract was release on the BBC Adamant DVD)
5) Several Dr Who Stories from War Games onwards

I did have Triton (1969) but somewhere along the line it appears to have disappeared.

There is a lot of other stuff but I'm not sure if these are of any import.

If any feels these recordings (soundtracks only) of any import to restoring the archives please let me know. When I moved house in 2001 I nearly junked the lot as I did with all my Video 2000 recordings from 1980. The video 2000 recordings included first time broadcasts of all Dr Who from Peter Davison's Era and the Faces of Doctor Who including coniuity announcements. All went to the local tip.

[Koen Br]

You sound like someone who is quite knowledgeable on this subject, so sorry if I'm going to say some things you already know.

The archives aren't always as willing as we'd like them to be to take back this kind of material, unless they see an opportunity to make a quick profit. You could always try to contact them, though. They just might be sensible.

The BBC should have a domestic Nationwide VT off-air from the day Lennon died (see this thread here: missingepisodes.proboards20.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1719&page=3), I'm unsure what other programmes from that day they have. Perhaps you could give a more detailed description of your recordings on that subject?

I for one will be watching this programme when it is broadcast.

Not sure what you're referring to here. Paul Vanezis' Apollo 11 programme was broadcast a couple of years ago. Sounds great, but it was broadcast very late and, bizarrely for a BBC4 broadcast, it never got a repeat (much to my annoyance, I missed it!).

The Apollo 11 soundtrack you have sounds fascinating. In case you'd ever find the time to upload it somewhere, I'm sure it would be a welcome treat for Apollo enthusiasts like myself.

If you want to know for sure what exists and what doesn't, just ask our member and BBC employee Andrew Martin. He knows everything. Or at least he can look it up.

In case you haven't read the entire Apollo thread, here's Paul Vanezis' rundown of what exists of the Apollo 11 BBC TV coverage from off-air 1/4":
1. Launch Programme (slightly incomplete)
2. Various bulletins including Lunar Orbit programme
3. Lunar Module Highlights programme
3. Moonwalk (First Hour)
4. Lunar Landing
5. Lunar Ascent
6. Splashdown

Your recordings are likely to be better though, I don't think there were many people making direct line recordings from TV broadcasts at the time!

[Greg H]

Well, if the beeb is not interested, I expect Dick Fiddy will be. As stated above, if you are in doubt about the archive status of anything you have, post some lists here and someone will be able to tell you

I havent got a clue about the archive status of the hobbit, do you recall who acted in it out of interest? Anyone good?

[Eric Lawton]

3) Death of John Lennon (Radio and TV from the day)

What an awful day that was, I was working as a Painter / Decorator for the Council. I was working on the house of comedian Bernie Cliftons Dads house at Billinge. Danny Quinn, heck of a nice guy.
I socially aware that morning and turned the radio on, and 4 Beatles songs were played with no DJ Links. I just knew something had happened. Then, the 7.00 news came on and I heard the news. I too recorded some of that days news broadcasts from Radio City, my local station from up the road in Liverpool.
I think its worth enquiring to see if your very interesting audio would be appreciated.
Guys like us appreciate it, surely it would be relished by the powers that be.
As an extra, its always worth buying all the newspapers whenever theres a MAJOR news item. Death of Diana, 911, Moon landings etc. Those copies are real collectors items and much sought after.

[RWels]

The Hobbit was released on 4 audio cassettes. I bought it to go with the LOTR radio drama. Although it says 1988 on the box - there could be more than one radio adaptation? Paul Daneman is Bilbo.

[John W King]

Thanks for the replies.
1) The Hobbit - is the commercially available radio 4 adaptation from 1968 with Paul Daneman 2) The War of the Worlds - was made commercially available last year on CD and was again a Radio 4 adaptation from the late 1960s
3) John Lennon - I don't think I have ever listened to this tape since I recorded it. As a Beatle fan I found that time very traumatic. I remember first thing in the morning (before 07.00?) my father coming up with a cup of tea and saying John Lennon was dead. I immediately turned on my radio and set my open reel going and captured the news headlines. I then recorded several events through out the day from TV and Radio. Nationwide was infact cut to a very short programme and Help! was rescreened. 4) Thanks for the Apollo 11 listings. It looks as though the Beeb have most of my stuff.

[Stuart Monk]

Hi, John,
Just as a matter of interest, I read on somewhere like Wikipedia that the BBC Radio Collection release of The Hobbit from 1968 came from slightly incomplete home recordings returned the the Archive - if your copies have continuity and credits, you might have something of interest to the Beeb.
Even if the sound quality's not good enough to re-edit the commercial release, there's quite a few collectors who'd like to be able to have a go at restoring the shows anyway
!
You can contact me off-group, if you want.
Again, AFAIK, the commercial release of War of the Worlds is from edited Transcription Service discs, so you may have more complete recordings than are generally in circulation.
I'd be really keen to hear original recordings of both serials.
Thanks for a very interesting thread!
Stuart

[cperry]

The Hobbit survives, but only 1 episode of War of the Worlds is held by the BBC. Hope that helps.

c

[Peter Elliott]

It's interesting to read about the Lennon material. I think quite a few people probably switched on their tape recorders that awful day. A pal of mine who lives in New York heard the news shortly after the shooting and taped a few hours worth of radio bulletins, flicking through the stations, capturing many different stations and how they broadcast the news. It was his way of trying to understand and comprehend what on Earth had just happened. I also seem to recall WFMU featured a similar type of tape on their website some time ago. Either way, a tape of the British reactions is a priceless document of social history so I am pleased to read of this here.

I was only 8 that day and it's a day that remains with me forever. It was the first time I felt Grief and seeing my Mum in shock and crying over it... I couldn't believe it until that evening when I got home from school and there were the papers and it featuring on the TV news. That was when it finally hit me. Hard.

[Colin Anderton]

I believe I have the full recording of "World at One" the day John Lennon died. The newsreader was Robin Day. Even Harold Wilson was on there paying tribute.

Surely this isn't a rare recording, is it?

Colin.

[Colin Anderton]

johnwking - I have two very good quality reel-to-reel decks, if these tapes ever need transferring to digital.

Colin.