Tapes of Top Gear from 1969 and 1970

[ken garner]

John, well, nice to see it all the same! Mind you, Peel's fatalism 
was a little misplaced: Alan Harris was back as a Sounds of the 
Seventies presenter only a year later, and Bob Conduct stepped in and 
carried on as Walters' main engineer (aided by Tony Wilson), before 
eventually becoming the head of studio operations group 2, ie. all on-
classical music, non-news sound engineers.

thanks again

ken

--- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "hills1902" <jandchill@...> wrote:
>
> Ken
> 
> I listened again to the fragments of the last Top Gear of Bernie 
> Andrews and unfortunately the bit I remember about JP saying he 
> doesn't understand the reason for the change in producer etc isn't 
on 
> there - I only have 9 tracks from the programme (which had sessions 
> from Led Zeppelin, Taste, Nice and Heir Apparent) with some of JP's 
> chat. He dedicates a record (Flying Burrito Brothers) to "a number 
of 
> people whose association with Top Gear is ending because of the 
> change in producer and because of the change in time - Pam Tarrant, 
> Bernie's and TG's secretary for x number of years, Alan Harris who 
is 
> balance engineer and Bob Cunduck recording engineer". At the end of 
> the programme he says this is the last Sunday afternoon programme, 
> next week will be 7 to 9 on Sunday evenings and plays out with the 
> whole of the Top Gear theme by The Nice saying "this is for Bernie 
> with thanks from several million of us". 
> 
> So, apologies for misleading you - I don't have quite what I 
thought 
> I had!
> 
> John
> 
> --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "ken garner" <ken_garner@> wrote:
> >
> > Dear John
> > 
> > I know a bit about the dates because in order to write my 
previous 
> > book, IN SESSION TONIGHT, I was able, as it was an official BBC 
> > project, to print out every Peel show programme-as-broadcast 
script 
> > (the running orders of the music basically) from the launch of 
> Radio 
> > 1 to June 78, when I ran out of time and money. I still have them 
> all 
> > right here in my office at home in Glasgow.
> > 
> > Yes, Peel was initially sceptical of Walters. I have a long quote 
> > Peel gave Melody Maker in suport of Bernie but I have not heard 
> that 
> > last show link from the week before. If you could transcribe it 
for 
> > me and e-mail it to me, maybe...?
> > 
> > I think I simply noted the Elton John spin because it 
demonstrated 
> > that Peel alone was backing Eltona good year or more before 
anyone 
> > else noticed him. Rememebr, elton;s first album stiffed in the uk 
> on 
> > first release, it was only after his lvie success in America 
> that... 
> > etc
> > 
> > Legality? Well legally, unlike TV with video recorders, it is 
> still, 
> > would you believe, technically illegal to record radio programmes 
> off 
> > air, I think, and this is one of the reasons why the BBC cannot 
do 
> > many podcasts from its website, only 'listen again'. I think it 
> > unlikely at this late date anyone is going to try and nobble any 
of 
> > us for exchanging tapes and MP3s of 40 year old radio shows. On a 
> > personal level, I know the archivists and producers at Radio 1 
are 
> > delighted to get copies of anything they do not have - after all, 
> > this was how Kevin Howlett was able to make The Beatles at The 
Beeb 
> > series, largely thanks to listener contributions, and several of 
> > these ended up on the EMI album.
> > 
> > Regarding BBC recordings of full shows, these were rare and 
> > haphazardly done internally, at the whim of a producer or not, 
from 
> > time to time, until the mid nineties: since then, a CD is 
> > burned of every show as it goes out and this is lodged in the R1 
> > archive, for future storage. Louise Kattenhorn, Peel's last 
> producer, 
> > has CDs of all Peel shows back to 2001, and most of Anita 
Kamath's 
> > (previous show producer) going back to 98, for example. But don't 
> > expect to find any of this on the peel archive site: that was 
> created 
> > independently of R1 staff by the freelance production company 
> > Somethin' Else, and they only used two sources for it: my book (I 
> > know, because they asked me if I minded them rekeying it!) and 
the 
> > Radio 1 aged computer system Romeo, which contains session sheet 
> > files, but which are often incomplete.
> > 
> > However, late last year, BBC INfax, the BBC's archiving 
> > operation, lanched its experimental programme archive catalogue 
> > online. Only the catalogue, mind, not the shows: it's like 
showing 
> > you their card index files online, that's all. Media academics 
like 
> > me were invited to have a look at it and tell them what we think. 
> > It's not bad but the information about the entries is 
inconsistent. 
> > Neverthless, it has already proved useful in reconstructing my 
> grand 
> > narrative of the Peel show from 99 onwards, with the complete 
show 
> > records for 2000 being particularly helpful. If anyone's 
> interested, 
> > it's here:
> > 
> > http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/
> > 
> > cheers
> > 
> > Ken Garner
> > working on book THE PEEL SESSIONS, forthcoming Oct 07, BBC 
> > Books/Random House
> > 
> > --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "hills1902" <jandchill@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Thanks for the information on dates - how do you know all this??
> > > 
> > > In response to your questions:
> > > 
> > > - in the show on 27/4/69, I haven't played it all through 
again, 
> > but 
> > > I think the only reference John Peel makes to the new producer 
is 
> > to 
> > > call him John "Petals" Walters, you get the impression he took 
a 
> > > while to warm to him! One of the tapes has the last bit of the 
> > > previous show (unfortunately I recorded over most of it with a 
> John 
> > > Peel concert programme) in which JP pays tribute to Bernie 
> Andrews 
> > > the outgoing producer and says he can't understand the reason 
for 
> > the 
> > > change - so perhaps he was initially a bit hostile to John 
> Walters.
> > > 
> > > - unfortunately I recorded over the last 10 mins or so of the 
> show 
> > on 
> > > 27/7/69 (also with a JP concert programme) so don't have the 
last 
> > > item (Elton John's Skyline Pigeon)- was it significant?
> > > 
> > > 
> > > The tapes also have some mostly incomplete recordings of the 
John 
> > > Peel concert programme (Van der Graaf Generator, Mungo Jerry, 
> Brett 
> > > Marvin and the Thunderbolts are some I've written down) but I 
> don't 
> > > find these very interesting now, compared to the Top Gear shows 
> > which 
> > > you listen to and think what great music (mostly)!
> > > 
> > > One question from me - does anyone know about the legality of 
> > > distributing these recordings? I imagine the BBC are the only 
> ones 
> > > that might take an interest. I've looked for archive recordings 
> on 
> > > their website and they have the odd disappointingly brief 
snatch 
> of 
> > > Top Gear. Does anyone know if they have preserved the 
recordings 
> of 
> > > the shows, or is it only the sessions that they have kept?
> > > 
> > > John
> > > 
> > > --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "ken garner" <ken_garner@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I too would like to hear them, of course. I think I can be of 
> > some 
> > > > assistance with confirming your dates, here you go:
> > > > 
> > > > Sn 27/4/69 Eclection, new session first broadcast (plus 
> repeated 
> > > > sessions from: Family, Principal Edwards Magic Theatre)
> > > > - yes, defintiely 27th, not 26th, and coincidentally that was 
> the 
> > > > first Peel show Produced by John Walters, I wonder if Peel 
says 
> > > > anything about this in his links?
> > > > 
> > > > Sn 11/5/69 T.Rex, King Crimson (Fleetwood Mac, Bonzos)
> > > > - correct, King Crimson's first, by the way
> > > > 
> > > > Sn 18/5/69 Pentangle, John Dummer's Blues Band (Blodwyn Pigg, 
> > > > Mandrake Paddle Steamer)
> > > > 
> > > > Sn 29/6/69 Idle race, Led Zeppelin (Pentangle, Savoy Brown 
> Blues 
> > > Band)
> > > > 
> > > > Sn 6/7/69 John Hiseman's Coliseum, Imrat Khan (Pretty Things, 
> > John 
> > > > Dummer Blues Band)
> > > > 
> > > > Sn 27/7/69 Third Ear Band (Roy Harper, Ten Years After)
> > > > - my notes also say last record in show was Skyline Pigeon by 
> > Elton 
> > > > John! Got that?
> > > > 
> > > > ...Top Gear moved to Saturday afternoons late Sept 69...
> > > > 
> > > > St 4/7/70 Country Joe McDonald (Fotheringay, Cochise)
> > > > 
> > > > St 11/7/70 Kevin Ayers + the Whole World, Son House (East of 
> Eden)
> > > > 
> > > > Most of the major sessions there survived on tape, but I am 
not 
> > > sure 
> > > > quite all of these are in the Radio 1 Archive, by the way, 
> > > especially 
> > > > the Country Joe one, but I can check that easily enough...
> > > > 
> > > > ken
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "hills1902" <jandchill@> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > I have some old 7 inch reel-to-reel tapes of eight Top Gear 
> > > > > programmes 
> > > > > that I recorded in 1969 and 1970, with sessions from the 
> > > following 
> > > > > bands:
> > > > > 
> > > > > 26 Apr 69 - Principal Edwards Magic Theatre, Eclection, 
Family
> > > > > 11 May 69? - Fleetwood Mac, King Crimson, Tyrannosaurus 
Rex, 
> > > Bonzo 
> > > > > Dog 
> > > > > Band
> > > > > Date unknown - Pentangle, Blodwyn Pig, Mandrake Paddle 
> Steamer, 
> > > > John 
> > > > > Dummer Blues Band
> > > > > Date unknown - Ten Years After, Roy Harper, Third Ear Band
> > > > > 29 Jun 69 - Led Zeppelin, Pentangle, Idle Race, 
> > > > > 6 Jul 69 - John Dummer Blues Band, Colosseum, Pretty 
Things, 
> > > Imrat 
> > > > > Khan
> > > > > 4 Jul 70 - Country Joe Macdonald, Fotheringay, Cochise
> > > > > 11 Jul 70? - Kevin Ayres, East of Eden, Son House
> > > > > 
> > > > > Some of the tapes are recorded at 3 3/4 inches per second 
and 
> > > some 
> > > > at 
> > > > > 1 
> > > > > 7/8 inches per second, and are of complete programmes, 
though 
> > > > > unfortunately I edited out the half-hourly news on most of 
> > them. 
> > > I 
> > > > > seem 
> > > > > to remember Radio 1 was only on medium wave at the time so 
> > > quality 
> > > > is 
> > > > > not brilliant, but they were recorded by connecting to the 
> > > speaker 
> > > > > terminals of a radio (not using a microphone). Also the 
tape 
> > > > recorder 
> > > > > was a bit dodgy and took about 10 mins to warm up to full 
> speed 
> > > so 
> > > > > some 
> > > > > of them now play back too fast for the first 10 mins or so! 
> The 
> > > > tapes 
> > > > > also have various LPs of that era on them. 
> > > > > 
> > > > > Despite all their faults, is anyone interested in them ? 
I'm 
> > > > willing 
> > > > > to 
> > > > > send them by post in return for the postage (plus donation 
to 
> > > > charity 
> > > > > if there's a lot of interest), and would be interested in 
> > > > > copies on CD if that's what someone would like to do with 
> them.
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>