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Looking
down the tracklist of this wonderful collection of historical
recordings from the first 50 years of the BBC you may wonder
why on earth this double LP set from 1972 has been included
in a Dad's Army discography.
The
Dad's Army programme is not represented in it (though
Goons, Round the Horne, Alf Garnett and Steptoe do make
the cut representing a Golden era of BBC comedy), nor are
any of the show's actors. However the album is of great
historical interest to Dad's Army fans, especially
if you love the history of the era which influenced many
parts of Jimmy Perry and David Croft's series.
The
album opens with the chimes of Big Ben, the BBC calling
the World from London read by BBC announcer John Snagge,
recorded in 1922.
John
Snagge is represented on several parts of the album including
memorable Wartime news headline announcements and a great
moment when commentating the Oxford V Cambridge boat race
in 1949 in which he can't decide who is winning.
As many
Dad's Army fans know, John Snagge would go on to
appear in all 67 radio adaptations of the Dad's Army
radio series when they were recorded between 1973 and 1975.
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Other
items of interest on this collection of 127 soundbytes are
clips from radio programmes such as ITMA and Happidrome,
programmes that were frequently referred to in Dad's
Army by Lance Corporal Jones and Private Pike.
The
entirety of Side 3 is given over to the War years 1940 -1945
and features many fascinating soundbytes from historical
figures such as Rt. Hon Winston Churchill and General Dwight
D.Eisenhower through to the world of entertainment including
Jack Warner and Vera Lynn. There are even recordings from
actual historical events as broadcast over the BBC Home
Service.
50
Years of Broadcasting was a mammoth series broadcast
by Radio 4 during 1972 to celebrate the first 50 years of
the BBC, this double album represents only a small selection
of recordings featured in the series but serves as nearly
two hours worth of fascinating listening.
The
album sports a beautiful golden sleeve with the BBC's coat
of arms on the cover sporting the slogan NATION SHALL SPEAK
PEACE UNTO NATION.
Andy
Howells
October 2002
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