Jump to content

On My Radio


old school

Recommended Posts

Watching as I write Top of the Pops rerun on BBC4 from 15th July 1982. As UK old gits know well bands would fairly quickly record a session version of their current tune then mime over it for the performance. Watching Dexys perform Come On Eileen however it looks like the two violins are just playing over the prerecorded track - as in multi tracking, so there be four of them. The rest, including the deadened drums, looked business as usual. I could be wrong.

Meanwhile it's been a good Halloween weekend evening on BBC radio tonight, with Kim Cattrall reading Rosemary's Baby followed by Peter Strickland's radio version of Nigel Kneale's The Stone Tape from last Halloween. Tomorrow has a repeat of last year's The Ring by Koji Suzuki.

Jez

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I've noticed the mime thing on TOTP episodes. 

My question: Did they actually record a version 'specifically' for that TOTP show? I figured many of the recordings they mimed to were actually perhaps..a John Peel session, their first actual studio recording, or other seminal first recordings. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Rachel Cameron said:

Yes, I've noticed the mime thing on TOTP episodes. 

My question: Did they actually record a version 'specifically' for that TOTP show? I figured many of the recordings they mimed to were actually perhaps..a John Peel session, their first actual studio recording, or other seminal first recordings. 

This answer is from my patchy memory of one of the fairly recent 'story of 1978  or thereabouts' shows so perhaps if we're lucky somebody's patchy memory from reality might yet supersede it ...

I believe they were (legally?) required to record a version specifically for TOTP which would of course be used for subsequent TOTP appearances for the next few weeks if invited back. However it was suggested that very often previously recorded BBC tapes from eg Peel Sessions or alternate recordings from the bands found themselves as the 'new' recording, particularly for the many instances when the very short time available would make a full new tracking and mixing of a tune kind of unlikely. I got the impression that it would be the bands rather than the BBC who would instigate such mixes, using session multi tracks or previous multitrack elements. American tunes turned up far more frequently in their original version with the dance troupes (in place of expensive artist visits) or often primitive pre-MTV videos.

It was an interesting tidbit of 1970s BBC legality when I heard it so if I come back across my source (on a fat-arse exercising increasingly common BBC4 repeats watching night...) I will let you know the title and details.

J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On right now, BBC4 tv, (available probably on the deep dark web to those outside the UK or those without a licence), "Television's Opening Night - How the Box was Born" a documentary on the 80th anniversary of the first broadcast from Alexandra Palace on 2 Nov 1936.

I was expecting a little less from the meagre promos I'd seen beforehand but this is really worth a watch. In fact, something this good would have been promoted through the roof ten or more years ago. It's very 'Horizon' in presentation, but so far packing more content than the average H.

J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...