Location recordings by East Midlands tape recording clubs (1959-1978)
(79:00)
Collected together for the first time on this CD are a selection of vintage amateur field recordings from two East Midlands tape clubs: The Derby Tape Recording Club and The Leicester Tape Recording Club. These are not pristine archival recordings, they bear many traces of their age and origin: tape hiss and distortion, harsh pause button edits, wow and flutter. Accepting these extraneous audio artefacts as inherent to the medium of tape, no attempts have been made to clean or restore them.
The little known phenomenon of tape recording clubs reached its peak in the 60s and 70s, as tape recording technology became more attainable to the hobbyist. Many of these recordings were made in the days when recording outdoors entailed lugging a heavy and cumbersome open-reel recorder out and about on location. This could prove impractical for the individual so being part of a club, with the associated benefits of pooled resources and shared knowledge, made things a little easier. The appearance of affordable portable battery recorders in the early 60’s granted tape enthusiasts unprecedented freedom as to what and where they could record, a freedom which most tape club members exploited to the full. Some of these recordings were made on organised outings as part of the tape club’s programme of activities, others were made independently by individual members. The variety and imagination displayed here is a testament to the pioneering spirit of a dedicated group of amateurs, our forebears in the pursuit of recorded sound.
Thanks to all former tape club members, in particular; Bill and Marjory Howard, Ernie Flecknoe, Brian Hayhoe, John & Lorna Buckler, John Moule, Bruce Goodwin, Dennis Blackmore and Patrick Everest.
:::  Edited and compiled by Mark Vernon  :::  www.meagreresource.com  :::
track list:
01) Introduction*
02) Motorcycle scramble,1969 (John Moule / Howard Dutson)*
03) East Midlands Airport (Bill Howard)**
04) Police officer giving live driving commentary, Leicester (John Moule)*
05) Derby Tape Recording Club advert (voice – Marjory Howard)**
06) Paignton Zoo – part 1 (Bill Howard)**
07) Fairground, Leicester* (John Buckler)*
08) Power station – guided tour (presenter – Howard Dutson)*
09) Leicester Market* (John Buckler)*
10) Oddicombe Beach (Bill Howard)**
11) Interview with owner of amphibious car (Bill Howard)**
12) Harold’s land (Bill Howard)**
13) LTRC News tape, Loughborough Carillon, 1963 (John Moule / Howard Dutson)*
14) Girls’ football match (Bill Howard)**
15) ‘The great outdoors’*
16) Trainspotting (John Buckler)*
17) Birdland, Bourton on the Water (Bill Howard)**
18) Musical chairs – DTC Christmas party (Brian Hayhoe)**
19) Fire station – alarm bell and pole slide*
20) Pirelli tyre factory (Bill Howard)**
21) Music box – Newarke House Museum, 1967*
22) Bicycle ride (John Buckler)*
23) Ten-pin bowling tournament – Leicester vs Birmingham Tape Club*
24) Opening waltz – DTC Christmas party (Bill Howard)**
25) ‘This is Derby’ (Brian Hayhoe)**
26) Paignton Zoo – part 2 (Bill & Marjory Howard)**
27) Nottingham Co-operative Tape Recording Club advert
28) Wurlitzer organ concert / Sea / Seagulls (Bill Howard)**
29) Caravan rally, Derbyshire (Bill Howard)**
30) ‘Till there was you’, unknown band, live recording*
31) ‘The six sounds were…’*
32) Cadeby light railway, 1969 (John Buckler)*
33) Derby train station (Bill Howard)**
34) Polyphon – Newarke House Museum, 1967*
35) ‘Zero Hour: Action Stations’ – army demonstration (presenter – John Moule)*
36) Interview with Peter Shepherd / Bell ringing (Bill & Marjory Howard)**
37) Mr. Henry’s Austin 7 (John Buckler)*
38) Music box – Newarke House Museum,1967 *
39) ‘Some of the world around us’ (Bill Howard)**
40) Pre-recorded message, John Amflet of the ‘British Federation of Tape Recording Clubs’ to LTC members on the evening of their inaugural meeting, 1959.*
* Leicester Tape Recording Club
** Derby Tape Recording Club
