Here’s an interesting tape. I usually do a very quick scrub through a tape to make sure it really is the one I think it is, and in this case, it was, but it’s slightly mislabelled, and meant there was a nice surprise towards the end. More of that later.
The first thing here is Kate Bush Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, a recording of her first and (until a couple of years ago) her only live tour.
It’s hard to overstate how much innovation there was in this show. Fully choreographed, Kate and her team had to fashion a handmade headset microphone because such a thing simply did not exist. I believe it was made with a wire coathanger. There’s also multiple costume changes, and sexy (male) backing dancers. She basically invented Madonna’s whole stage act years beforehand.
Plus the songs are great, even if it’s only the songs from her first two albums.
After this, recording switches to LWT and The Mystery of Morse, a documentary looking at the popularity of the show, as they prepare to show what they were billing as the last episode – seen on a recent tape. Of course, they made several more, but that’s no surprise.
Creator Colin Dexter tells of how autobiographical Morse was, something I had discerned long ago.
Former Chief Constable John Stalker likes his car. It’s always the bloody cars, isn’t it? An alternative for a personality.
Former hard-man John McVIcar probably knows a bit about policemen.
Julian Mitchell was the writer of a lot of later Morse.
Kevin Whately as Lewis. According to Mitchell, the book Lewis was about the same age as Morse. Whately’s Lewis was an innovation for the TV show. Smart move.
Composer Barrington Pheloung tells how the Morse theme is based on the actual morse code for MORSE. And he sometimes spells out the killer’s name in the score.
James Grout is Morse’s boss.
After this, recording switches, and here’s where the tape got a bit more interesting.
My database said the next programme is Northern Exposure, a programme that’s perfectly fine, but one that I’ve no real nostalgia for. But no, after a bit of the end of Top Gear and a trailer for The Trouble with Medicine is this:
Horizon, which could be anything. But this is one on Richard Feynman. Hooray, I thought, it’s the missing second part of the Horizon biography of Feynman.
But no, this is another recording of Part One, which I’ve already looked at on a previous tape. Oh no, how annoying. This is a repeat showing of the programme.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 27th January 1993 – 17:10
But following this, Hooray Hooray, here’s part two of the biography, No Ordinary Genius. The reason I could never find it is I’d never properly logged it.
In this programme we meet Feynman’s children, Carl
And Michelle
Former student Danny Hillis talks about how Feynman would help him when he started the Thinking Machine Company, building the Connection Machine.
The best part of the programme is the section that talks about Feynman’s part in the investigation of the Challenger Shuttle disaster. General Donald Kutyna talks about how he was unable to present some of the information that eventually led to the solution, because it came from astronauts, and those astronauts could be punished by Nasa for rocking the boat. So Kutyna would pass information to Feynman, who would take it and run with it. At the time, Feynman had no idea that he was being ‘played’ but he was happy in the end, because it led to the correct answers.
Incidentally, one of the astronauts feeding this information was Sally Ride, also a member of the commission. This was only found out after she died recently.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 1st February 1993 – 20:00
After this, recording continues with an advert for what good value the BBC is, and for The Ark.
Then, a short programme. It’s Sean’s Shorts, in Norwich.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 1st February 1993 – 20:50
After this, there’s a trailer for A Night of Love.
Then, that recording stops, and underneath there’s a bit of an episode of Reportage. The tape ends during this programme.
Adverts:
- Thomas Cook
- Pedigree Chum
- Daily Mirror
- Royal Mail Stamps
- Sensodyne F
- Garuda Indonesia
- Hermesetas
- BMW
- Australia
- Daily Mirror
- Diet Coke
- Fiat – Mark Strong
- Lunn Poly
- Microsoft – Basketball
- Today
- Prudential
- Singapore Airlines