Harry Secombe Show (BBC, 1971) ?

[Walkinat9]

Hi all,

Has any of you ever seen any video or even photos of K&R's appearance on The Harry Secombe Show, which aired on the BBC on October 9, 1971?
They did the Bacharach-David medley and I keep wondering if it was like on their BBC special or played/sung live as done that same month for Dutch TV (at 17:29) :




I tried in vain to find a video from a Secombe show in 1971 to see what the set looked like, but the only clear one that showed up on YT was Olivia's appearance on Nov. 25, 1972 ().
So if the set had remained unchanged for (at least) a year, it would have looked like this:




Greg

 

[tomswift2002]

Hi all,

Has any of you ever seen any video or even photos of K&R's appearance on The Harry Secombe Show, which aired on the BBC on October 9, 1971?
They did the Bacharach-David medley and I keep wondering if it was like on their BBC special or played/sung live as done that same month for Dutch TV (at 17:29) :




I tried in vain to find a video from a Secombe show in 1971 to see what the set looked like, but the only clear one that showed up on YT was Olivia's appearance on Nov. 25, 1972 ().
So if the set had remained unchanged for (at least) a year, it would have looked like this:




Greg

Good luck finding any video from those years. From the BBC’s junking policy to it being a few years before Betamax/VHS were out, unless someone did a kinescope recording or had their own Umatic and recorded it on that or just an audio recording.

 

[Nemily]

Thanks for the upload @Walkinat9. This is a first listen for me. This Harry Secombe show from 10/9/1971 is a live performance. I immediately was drawn to the quicker tempo on the Bacharach medley. Karen is roaring on her set in this performance at just about 5 bpm faster than the recorded version/tape that they used on the 1971 BBC Special. The drum fills are also ad lib. WOJB at the end of the show is also quicker tempo than the recorded version. The BBC 9/25/1971 Special seemed to be more of a mixed bag of either live-to-tape and some lip synching and I believe a couple of the songs were done live. Richard used the live And When He Smiles from the BBC Special for As Time Goes By. I seem to recall Richard went on to say something about he wasn’t able to separate the rhythm from the vocal so he had to do some of his magic for the CD.

 

[tomswift2002]

Thanks for the upload @Walkinat9. This is a first listen for me. This Harry Secombe show from 10/9/1971 is a live performance. I immediately was drawn to the quicker tempo on the Bacharach medley. Karen is roaring on her set in this performance at just about 5 bpm faster than the recorded version/tape that they used on the 1971 BBC Special. The drum fills are also ad lib. WOJB at the end of the show is also quicker tempo than the recorded version. The BBC 9/25/1971 Special seemed to be more of a mixed bag of either live-to-tape and some lip synching and I believe a couple of the songs were done live. Richard used the live And When He Smiles from the BBC Special for As Time Goes By. I seem to recall Richard went on to say something about he wasn’t able to separate the rhythm from the vocal so he had to do some of his magic for the CD.

You have to remember that in 1971 ALL TV broadcasts were produced in mono, so any broadcast master would be mono. The vocals were probably on their own separate track from the instruments, in 2-track mono, and then the output mixed to 1 track mono, but they would’ve all been mono. So in 1999, unless Richard wanted to just do a mono release, he needed to add some things to make it stereo, just like he had to add stuff to Nowhere Man.

 

[Nemily]

You have to remember that in 1971 ALL TV broadcasts were produced in mono, so any broadcast master would be mono. The vocals were probably on their own separate track from the instruments, in 2-track mono, and then the output mixed to 1 track mono, but they would’ve all been mono. So in 1999, unless Richard wanted to just do a mono release, he needed to add some things to make it stereo, just like he had to add stuff to Nowhere Man.

Thank you @tomswift2002 !

 

[tomswift2002]

Thank you @tomswift2002 !

The first true TV stereo broadcasts didn’t occur until about 1984-85. From the mid-50’s to the 80’s, stations would occasionally simulcast stereo versions of the channel on a FM radio band (and a number of mid-80’s VHS/Betamax recorders had connections for radio) for special events like concerts.

 

[Harry]

Yes, I remember Simon & Garfunkel's CONCERT IN CENTRAL PARK (1981) running on HBO and being simulcast in stereo on a local FM.

 

[Billy Rees]

I know that this episode of Harry Secombe is missing from the BBC archives, as is their Top of the Pops appearance and Lulu's Party. They were all filmed while they were in the UK and Germany in 1971.

 

[Walkinat9]

I know that this episode of Harry Secombe is missing from the BBC archives, as is their Top of the Pops appearance and Lulu's Party. They were all filmed while they were in the UK and Germany in 1971.

Yes, video would be too much to ask I guess, but I'm still hoping for audio recordings of those shows to emerge. I remember fellow forum member Chris Bruinsma provided us with a nice number of audio recordings. I enjoyed all of them, no matter how low the quality some of them may have been (it's such a pity that the Amsterdam RAI concert from Feb. 16, 1974 is no longer on YT)
A lot of people would have had a reel-to-reel tapedeck in the early '70s, right? Cassettedecks were also becoming more and more popular at that time, I think.

So who knows...