SATURDAY CLUB FIFTH BIRTHDAY

[ianbuckers]

The slates are genuine to this reel? There isn't another slate on Part 2 so is it all from one reel?

Clearly it's not all session recordings on this special programme. Do we know what's off of a record and what's session recorded for Saturday Club? And are any of the session tracks re-used from previous Saturday Clubs?

And lastly the news reader on Part 2, Track 15 seems to come in a split second late. No "it's". Have you mis-edited or is it actually like that on the recorded from the reel?

I can help you out, there.

1. Yes, there's another slate before reel 2.
2. The Beatles were recorded on September 7th, Clinton Ford and Kenny Ball's Jazzmen on the 9th, Joe Brown, Frank Ifield, Kathy Kirby, Tommy Roe, Arthur Greenslade on the 30th. The Everly Brothers were taped on October 2nd. The rest of the music is from records.
3. There's no "it's" on the source tape, either.

Superb Doug. Thank you.

Supplementary questions/responses not necessarily for you (Doug) to answer...

1. Why LR did you not include the 2nd reel slate(s)?
2. No further questions...a fuller response could not have been hoped for...thanks again Doug.
3. How weird. Wonder what the explanation is there? Guessing we will probably never know.

[Lord Reith]

I'm glad you all enjoyed that. It is certainly a trip back to a far simpler time. More than that, when we listen to The Beatles' radio appearances we can sometimes forget that they were just part of the regular daily diet of prerecorded music. When you hear them in the midst of all this stuff, it's easier to understand why so many industry people didn't "get it' in 1962. They stick out like a sore thumb.

The slates are genuine to this reel? There isn't another slate on Part 2 so is it all from one reel?

There's two reels but the original Bernie recording is a single 7&1/2 ips tape. The BBC must have copied this reel to two professional quality reels (probably at 15ips if they needed two) and added the slate at the start of each reel. "ST" stands for stereo which replaced the old "TLO" "TMA" etc prefixes which stood for "tape" and "LOndon", "MAnchester" etc. So I must correct myself and say that this is a third generation copy (I'm discounting the transfer to digital which is lossless). However there would be little if any quality loss going from 7&1/2 to 15ips. And even though the original session tape would have been 15ips, 7&1/2ips reproduces very high quality. I believe that if they still existed, the original session reels for all the BBC appearances would be even better quality than the EMI sessions, by virtue of the fact that the BBC recording setup was so simple. Basically just straight from the microphones through a simple fader mixer without even tone controls, a little feedback from the physical echo chamber and then straight to 15ips tape. If you were trying to make audiophile live recordings in 2021, that's exactly how you'd do it. Such a tradgedy they are all lost.

Clearly it's not all session recordings on this special programme. Do we know what's off of a record and what's session recorded for Saturday Club? And are any of the session tracks re-used from previous Saturday Clubs?

They didn't re-use any no. Records are marked with an asterisk:

Code: Select all

(Titles marked with an asterisk are from records. Tommy Roe, Kathy Kirby and Frank Ifield are backed by 
Arthur Greenslade And The Gee Men).

1 Engineer's slate
2 Saturday Jump (Ted Osborne And His Jazz Group) *
3 C'mon Everybody (Eddie Cochran) *
4 That's A Plenty (Kenny Ball's Jazzmen)
5 South (Kenny Ball's Jazzmen)
6 That's Rock And Roll (Joe Brown)
7 Spanish Gypsy Dance (Joe Brown)
8 Do You Love Me (Brian Poole) *
9 There's A Great Day A-Coming (Tommy Roe)
10 Big Man (Kathy Kirby)
11 Stay Right Here (Kathy Kirby)
12 Wake Up Little Susie (The Everly Brothers)
13 You Got Me Runnin' (The Everly Brothers)
14 Roy Orbison interview
15 Only The Lonely (Roy Orbison) *
16 News at 10.30
17 Can't Get Enough of Your Kisses (Frank Ifield)
18 Frank Ifield interview
19 Funny How Time Slips Away (Frank Ifield)
20 Del Shannon interview
21 Runaway (Del Shannon) *
22 I Saw Her Standing There (The Beatles)
23 Memphis Tennessee (The Beatles)
24 Happy Birthday (The Beatles)
25 Telegram
26 The Girl Sang The Blues *
27 Hey Little Girl (Ray Sharp) *
28 Ricky Nelson message
29 Fools Rush In (Ricky Nelson) *
30 Medley (Kenny Ball's Jazzmen)
	Calling All Workers
	Stranger On The Shore
	Barwick Green
	So Do I
	You're Dancing On My Heart
	Suki Yaki
	Easy Beat
	Listen With Mother
	Somebody Stole My Gal
31 Acker Bilk Interview
32 Fanlight Fanny (Clinton Ford)


1 Sally Ann (Joe Brown)
2 Autumn Leaves (Joe Brown)
3 Take Good Care Of My Baby (Bobby Vee) *
4 Dance On (Kathy Kirby)
5 I Wish You Love (Kathy Kirby)
6 Everybody (Tommy Roe)
7 Tommy Roe interview
8 The Folk Singer (Tommy Roe)
9 The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Andy Williams) *
10 Everly Brothers interview
11 Walk Right Back (The Everly Brothers)
12 All I Have To Do Is Dream (The Everly Brothers)
13 Wolverton Mountain (Frank Ifield)
14 I'm Confessin' (Frank Ifield)
15 News at 11.30
16 I'll Get You (The Beatles)
17 She Loves You (The Beatles)
18 Welcome GOS listeners
19 Brenda Lee message
20 Dum Dum (Brenda Lee)
21 Send in your requests
22 1919 March (Kenny Ball's Jazzmen)
23 Sheila (Tommy Roe)
24 A Picture of You (Joe Brown)
25 Finnegan's Ball (Clinton Ford)
26 Got A Lot of Living To Do (Kathy Kirby)
27 I Remember You (Frank Ifield)
28 Bye Bye Love (The Everly Brothers)
29 Lucille (The Beatles)
30 Cliff Richard interview
31 Living Doll (Cliff Richard) *
32 See You Next Week

And lastly the news reader on Part 2, Track 15 seems to come in a split second late. No "it's". Have you mis-edited or is it actually like that on the recorded from the reel?

That's just how he says it I guess. Or they faded him up too late.

1. Why LR did you not include the 2nd reel slate(s)?

Because the slate is from the 80s and interrupts the recording. If you have both parts on your phone like I do then the whole show will appear as one album with no interruption between part 1 & 2.

And, OMG!, the news bulletins are toe-curling in their BBC English delivery. Even Brian Matthews takes the piss out of the BBC accent at one point. I don't know what non-UK listeners think - does it sound as bad to your ears as it does to mine? (One of the news readers reports on something being 'demaged', ie damaged because he uses that strangled, BBC/posh a sound.)

All the newreaders used that Standard Received Pronounciation yes, AKA "The Queen's English". It seems that the other announcers were allowed less plummy accents, like Ray Peters who has a very odd accent and Rodney Burke who was Canadian. And let's also not forget Aussie Alan Freeman, who helped pave the way for the looser Radio 1 style that would emerge in a few years.

I imagine the original LR will be tutting mightily at where the BBC has got to now - mind you I don't think they'd employ me as a newsreader as my English is still not standard enough.

Poor John Reith would be spinning in his grave but I prefer a halfway point between "common" dialects and "posh" accent myself. But the trend now seems to be ever towards using people with strong vocal affectations and lisps, and I find that often I have great difficulty in understanding them. But, actually, I find I have even more trouble understanding the actual programmes themselves.

[Egg_Crisis]

Thanks for this!

And track 4 "Jazz Song" is "That's A Plenty". Oddly its title is given in the old version.

[Lord Reith]

Thanks for this!

And track 4 "Jazz Song" is "That's A Plenty". Oddly its title is given in the old version.

Thanks. That's right. Also:

30 Medley (Kenny Ball)

• Calling All Workers
  Stranger On The Shore
  Barwick Green
  So Do I
  You're Dancing On My Heart
  Suki Yaki
  Easy Beat
  Listen With Mother
  Somebody Stole My Gal

[DonHo]

Another Masterpice Lord, great job, keep up the great work!!!

[urasam2]

I love hearing these complete BBC shows, thank you!
Seems to me that the final "s" of "thank you, Beatles!" is cut off from the end of the "Happy Birthday" track. I've checked with the previous version and it was there OK.

[fabwill]

It just keeps getting better...

All the time. Thanks Lord Reith

[ianbuckers]

The slates are genuine to this reel? There isn't another slate on Part 2 so is it all from one reel?

There's two reels but the original Bernie recording is a single 7&1/2 ips tape. The BBC must have copied this reel to two professional quality reels (probably at 15ips if they needed two) and added the slate at the start of each reel. "ST" stands for stereo which replaced the old "TLO" "TMA" etc prefixes which stood for "tape" and "LOndon", "MAnchester" etc. So I must correct myself and say that this is a third generation copy (I'm discounting the transfer to digital which is lossless). However there would be little if any quality loss going from 7&1/2 to 15ips. And even though the original session tape would have been 15ips, 7&1/2ips reproduces very high quality. I believe that if they still existed, the original session reels for all the BBC appearances would be even better quality than the EMI sessions, by virtue of the fact that the BBC recording setup was so simple. Basically just straight from the microphones through a simple fader mixer without even tone controls, a little feedback from the physical echo chamber and then straight to 15ips tape. If you were trying to make audiophile live recordings in 2021, that's exactly how you'd do it. Such a tradgedy they are all lost.

So the slates aren't from the 1st gen reel?

And lastly the news reader on Part 2, Track 15 seems to come in a split second late. No "it's". Have you mis-edited or is it actually like that on the recorded from the reel?

That's just how he says it I guess. Or they faded him up too late.

I'm guessing the latter. It does spoil it a bit. I have tried splicing the "it's" from 10.30 news on disc 1 and can confirm it works seamlessly...if anyone wants to do that.

1. Why LR did you not include the 2nd reel slate(s)?

Because the slate is from the 80s and interrupts the recording. If you have both parts on your phone like I do then the whole show will appear as one album with no interruption between part 1 & 2.

In the absence of the 2nd slate and also as maybe not from original reel I think a few of us might remove the slate...but it is useful to restore the tone edited out of the 'The Beeb's Lost Beatles Tapes'.

I imagine the original LR will be tutting mightily at where the BBC has got to now - mind you I don't think they'd employ me as a newsreader as my English is still not standard enough.

Poor John Reith would be spinning in his grave but I prefer a halfway point between "common" dialects and "posh" accent myself. But the trend now seems to be ever towards using people with strong vocal affectations and lisps, and I find that often I have great difficulty in understanding them. But, actually, I find I have even more trouble understanding the actual programmes themselves.
[/quote]

Don't start me on this. Main newsreaders aren't all 'posh' anymore but they do still pick people who can deliver 'standard' pronunciation. However it's now fair game to have the specialist reporters/presenters with strong regional accents, lisps and other affectations (to use your choice of word). For instance most of the sports reporters are Northern Irish. Weather reporters are Scottish ("the word is SMALL not wee!"*), or speak too fast and then get shouty at the end of sentences ("at the end of the DAY") or have a lisp...I mean a weather girl who says 'deeg-wees'?!! Some fellow Brits will I am sure know the names to go with my examples.

The BBC cries about lack of funding and I kind of think maybe they can't afford the 'better' people that come along...as ITV, Sky etc seem to be more selective. But maybe it's the 'diversity' thing taken too far...?


*this is a quote from the series 'Man Down' btw.

[ianbuckers]

I love hearing these complete BBC shows, thank you!
Seems to me that the final "s" of "thank you, Beatles!" is cut off from the end of the "Happy Birthday" track. I've checked with the previous version and it was there OK.

Seems to be there to my ears. The last split second of it is on the beginning of the next track so if you play the track on it's own it does sound slightly clippped on the 's'. The tracks are easily recombined and re-split at the correct point.

[harrythebannister]

The Beeb continuity announcers, these days, are generally diabolical I heard one just yesterday announcing the next program would be starting at "Free Fir'y"......