CHAN 2000 FRONT COVER.Qxd 28/1/08 1:09 Pm Page 1
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CHAN 2000 FRONT COVER.qxd 28/1/08 1:09 pm Page 1 FBCD 2000 F L Y B A C Kf T E S T C A R D C L A S S I C S 1•5 2•5 3•5 4•0 4•5 5•25 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ORIGINAL RECORDINGS BBC TEST CARD BOOK.qxd 28/1/08 1:10 pm Page 2 1 Introduction* 0:07 14 Hebridean Hoedown (Gordon Langford) 2:54 BBC1/2, 1969–74 Stuttgart Studio Orchestra 2 Royal Daffodil (Gordon Langford) 2:17 BBC1/2, 1969–84 Stuttgart Studio Orchestra 15 High Life (Otto Sieben) 2:29 BBC2/1, 1968–84 The Gerhard Narholz Orchestra 3 Riga Road (Reinhard Egin/Mike Run) 2:10 BBC2, 1967–74 The Westway Novelty Ensemble 16 Samba Fiesta (Heinz Kiessling)* 1:48 BBC1, 1969–71 Orchestra Heinz Kiessling 4 Angry (Dudley Mecum/Joles Cassard/Henry Brunies) 3:16 BBC2, 1968–72 The Oscar Brandenburg Orchestra 17 Stately Occasion (Ernest Tomlinson) 3:02 BBC1/2, 1968–75 Stuttgart Studio Orchestra 5 Capability Brown (Ernest Tomlinson) 3:33 BBC1, 1968–84 Stuttgart Studio Orchestra 18 Chelsea Chick (Johnny Scott) 2:46 6 Waltz in Jazztime (Syd Dale) 2:44 BBC2, 1967–74 Mr Popcorn’s Band BBC1, 1968–71 The Cavendish Ten 19 Greenland Sleigh Dogs (aka Alaska) (Roger Roger)* 3:07 7 Bella Samba (John Finten/Robert von Kessler) 2:14 BBC1, 1966–72 Roger Roger and His Orchestra BBC2, 1972–75 The Benito Gonzales Latin Sound 20 These Foolish Things (Jack Strachey) 2:12 8 Holiday Highway (Brian Couzens) 2:40 BBC1, 1968–71 The Cavendish Ten BBC2/1, 1967–84 Stuttgart Studio Orchestra 21 March from ‘The Colour Suite’ (Gordon Langford) 3:12 9 Cordoba (Werner Tautz)* 2:56 BBC 1, 1968–70 Stuttgart Studio Orchestra BBC1/2, 1968–71 Orchestra Heinz Kiessling 22 Long Hot Summer (Roger Roger) 2:11 10 My Guy’s Come Back (Mel Powell/Ray McKinley/ BBC2, 1967–74 Ensemble Roger Roger Benny Goodman) 2:40 23 Going Places (David Gold/Ernest Ponticelli/Gordon Rees) 2:52 BBC2, 1968–72 The Oscar Brandenburg Orchestra BBC2, 1968–72 The Oscar Brandenburg Orchestra 11 The Lark in the Clear Air (trad arr. Gordon Langford) 2:25 24 440Hz Tone* 0:20 BBC1, 1971–72 The Langford Orchestra TT 60:43 *mono recordings 12 Pandora (Ray Davies)* 2:43 BBC1, 1968–71 New Dance Orchestra Dates given show first and last years of transmission – tracks may not have been used continuously. 13 Firecracker (Frank Chacksfield) 2:42 BBC2, 1967–74 Fernand Terby Orchestra Compiled by Tony Currie and Lucy Reeve 2 3 BBC TEST CARD BOOK.qxd 28/1/08 1:10 pm Page 4 The Girl, the Doll, the Music from the BBC test card transmissions of the (remember Limelight?), renowned Frenchman writer/arranger/pianist for Sounds Orchestral. A wet Thursday afternoon in 1968. Flu. Off mid-sixties to mid-eighties – digitally remastered Roger Roger and many other household And he wrote the theme for News at Ten…). school for the week. Nothing to do. Television and mostly in stereo. (Digitally remastered names contributed to these musical riches. The remarkable thing about this music was doesn’t begin until around half past four in the means we’ve filtered out the slush and wiped Elevator music? Pardon me? You either don’t not only its quality, its production values and afternoon. Switch it on anyway. My generation the oxide dust off the tapes, by the way…) remember the music or you haven’t played the its instant appeal (you’ll see – tomorrow you’ll takes TV for granted and the room seems Back at the dawn of (television) time, the CD yet. Listen to March from ‘The Colour Suite’ find youself whistling Firecracker and doing the unfurnished without it. BBC were faced with a problem. Various by Gordon Langford. It won a prestigious cracky bits with your tongue…) but the fact On comes a familiar picture. A little girl – restrictions imposed by the Musicians’ Union Novello Award in 1970–71. The arrangement of that no matter how hard I and many around eight years old. She is wearing a red and the copyright people meant that it was These Foolish Things is a magnificent example thousands of others of my generation tried, dress, and apparently playing an eternal game impossible to use commercially available of small group playing. Roger Roger’s stunning we couldn’t go into the shops and buy the of noughts and crosses with a witless-looking gramophone records (remember those?) Alaska (later renamed Greenland Sleigh Dogs kind of music we wanted. The Who, Herman’s green doll. Immobile, the pair are frozen in during test transmissions. But it was essential for no apparent reason) with its impressions of Hermits, The Small Faces, Gerry and the time, surrounded as they are by a bizarre to transmit a test card during the day in order snow, huskies and mountains. Royal Daffodil is Pacemakers, no problem. Sure, Herb Alpert, pattern of lines and shapes. But there’s music. to demonstrate to viewers how wonderfully surely one of the finest (and catchiest) pieces of Mantovani and Percy Faith, all of whom could Wonderful music. Grand orchestras, jazz realistic this new colour television thingy was. British light music to be written in the last forty be heard on ‘the other channel’ during ITV’s combos, big brassy bands, impeccable So little Carol Hersee (now grown up and years? Doesn’t Cordoba make you want to test card transmissions. But not this music. soloists playing tunes I never hear anywhere probably hating the sight of herself on the grab your castanets and do a paso doble on Over 3,500 tracks were played between else. Who are they? Where does this music sleeve – sorry, Carol, but blame your Dad the kitchen table? 1947 and 1996 (surely that qualifies for come from? And where can I buy it? since he was the guy who designed test And what about the stunning arrangements inclusion in the next sixties version of Trivial card ‘F’) sat motionless whilst assorted and production behind the Oscar Brandenburg Pursuit?) and included not only popular music Dear BBC Television, aggregations of musicians recorded in Orchestra? Elevator music? Do me a favour! but classical, brass bands, world music and Where do you get your wonderful afternoon Germany (mostly) and thus got around the But hang on, who was this Brandenburg jazz as well. music from? restrictions. Oddly, in several cases the guy? Truth is, he never really existed! The This disc represents some of the best of the Yours hopefully, musicians and producers were British, nipped musicians would nip on the first plane to music used during the mid- to late-sixties Teenage fan. over to Germany for the session and then flew Germany and such jaunts were officially although quite a few of the tracks continued to straight back again, but nobody ever said the regarded by the bigwigs as ‘outside be played up to twelve years after their debut Dear little boy, music business was sane, did they? broadcasts’ – or O.Bs. Hence O.B. – Oscar (Royal Daffodil and High Life for example.) It’s ours. You can’t have it. It will never be in Many of the finest light-music composers Brandenburg. He was really an amalgamation Both the BBC1 and the BBC2 cards are the shops. Sorry. churned out some of their most inspired work of three of Britain’s finest composer/arrangers: represented, and some of the pieces most Yours sincerely, for the test card. People like Syd Dale (the Neil Richardson (who wrote the Mastermind frequently enquired about are here. There’s a Viewer Correspondence (Miss). uncrowned King of TV and film background theme), Alan Moorhouse and Johnny Pearson fair amount from the Chandos archives – music), Gordon Langford, Ernest Tomlinson, (for eighteen years Musical Director of Top of although best known as a classical label, Thirty years later. Now you can. You are Johnny Scott (one of the great session the Pops and a hitmaker in his own right with Chandos also produced some TV music in the holding in your hand some of the best music flautists), Ray Davies, Frank Chacksfield Sleepy Shores as well as twenty-one albums as late-sixties with compositions or arrangements 4 5 BBC TEST CARD BOOK.qxd 28/1/08 1:10 pm Page 6 by Gordon Langford, Ernest Tomlinson and Barnard, who gained the rare distinction of later Brian Couzens who is, perhaps, better known becoming one of only two men at the BBC Stay tuned… as Britain’s leading classical record producer. whose job was to actually choose the music If you would like to receive advance information on future releases in this Much of the Chandos music was recorded by that was played behind the test card. John’s series, simply send us your name and address. a session orchestra in Stuttgart. reign lasted through the seventies, but the bulk Please write to: Flyback, Chandos Records Ltd, Chandos House, Indeed the bulk of the disc is devoted to the of the music on this disc was the choice of his Commerce Way, Colchester, Essex CO2 8HQ. enforced combination of British composer/ predecessor David Allan (also the man who arrangers and German sessions. But some decided on the identifying signal of the notes notable German music men are also B–B–C at regular intervals), who will doubtless represented. Gerhard Narholz – better known be tickled to death when he hears this CD! Executive producer Ralph Couzens to the record-buying public as Norman Candler Thank you gentlemen for introducing so many Compilation producer Lucy Reeve – is the man behind both High Life (which is of us to these memorable performances.