Folk and Acoustic

The BBC is trying to find footage of Bob Dylan's acting debut.

The play, The Madhouse on Castle Street, was broadcast on the BBC in 1963 but no copy exists.

You can find out more about the hunt at the BBC Four website:
www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfou...

In the meantime, does anyone remember watching the programme?

Can't help with that footage but I do have the two BBC2 'In Concert' gigs from '65[?] on 1/4'' audio tape plus 2 Joan Baez and a Tom Paxton 'In Concert[s]' from the same period but I bet the video masters no longer exist knowing the then Beeb policy of recycling tape.

35mm monohrome film, multi camera BBC audience show originating from TVC in the mid '60's? I don't think so!

Film [and 16mm at that] was the territory of Music & Arts, documentaries and inserts for studio drama productions.

Music shows like 'in Concert and 'Jazz 625' were all recorded and tapes still exist, some of the 'Jazz 625' archive was shown 'Jazz Brittannia' recently and the BBC has licensed some of the shows for commercial DVD's and very good they are even they though they're re-mastered from lowly videotape.

625 line TX in monochrome by the Beeb started in '64, hence the 'Jazz 625' title in '65/'66.

I suspect Anthony Wall, who I remember working with on an anniversary edition of Juke Box Jury for Arena in the early '90's [such a nice man, David Jacobs and meeting Dusty Springfield, just a perfect day!] is confusing the 'Don't Look Back' Pennebaker 'Omnibus' from '65 with the 12 song concert recorded at TVC and transmitted as two 'In Concert' progs. the same year

Having said that I know for certain the Pennebaker was shot on 16mm because I've just transcribed my VHS copy to DVD and there are glimpses of the 2nd. hand-held camera [Eclair I think]

At that time the very thought of film cameras operating in the electronic studios would have caused the unions apoplexy!

625 line TX in monochrome by the Beeb started in '64

Quoted from this message

. . . and 'Nightmare On Castle Street' TX date was January 1963 when only 405 line was in use. It was shot using four studio cameras and the resulting mix was filmed direct from the monitor. Tony Wall says he was told this by the original director. No idea what the ACTT made of it . . .

I don't think the Arena editor would be at all confused about 'Don't Look Back'. IIRC, he was executive producer of the Dylan jamboree thang a couple of years ago, I think on BBC4, which included it.

With regards to original 35mm 'confusion' I've just heard from a friend who's partner still works at the beeb. She reckons anybody claiming the ability to raise the details of a 40 year old PBE must be a blood relative of the late Doris Stokes.

O.K. I'll try again without putting my email address!

oldfaithful,

You may have a rarity on your hands with the 1965 tape.
There's no known audio tape of this as a direct line recording circulating amounst Bob Dylan collectors. All collectors have is a version recorded with a microphone pointing to a television. If you have something made by plugging a 'line' into a television or some method like that

Some details about the 1965 BBC tapes are known, and they were written about in a Bob Dylan fanzine in 2002 -

...What's new is evidence that the BBC made audio recordings of the two programmes, seemingly just after the television broadcasts. There are apparently reels in boxes with BBC reference details on them. In addition,
there are details on the tape leaders. The first tape is marked "TLO527/999/A" and the second "TLO527/999/B". They are dated "6 July 1965", marked "Stereo" and one is described as "Programme master".

There's another individual on the 'Have Your Say' BBC page - Ken Starkey - who says he has a 'line' version too.
These are of pretty big importance to us Dylan nuts if so.
I was hoping to contact the member(s) in order to validate the tapes and confirm their existance. Obviously, I now know that I can't post my contact details. Urrggghhh!! so....go somewhere that you 'Go' to 'oogle' things , try typing 'backfrom' and look for the first Bob Dylan reference you find. Is that o.k.? Maybe not...lets find out...

I do indeed have a 'line' version of the '65 concerts. I recorded my copies on a KB domestic 1/4in. recorder with a BSR tape deck [3.75ips] via a line connection to our Rediffusion wired system junction box. The original tapes still play well although there is a slight loss of quality at the beginning of the second concert. I've recently received another 'line' version sent to me by a major Dylan player in the North West who's supplied a lot of of information to Arena [hope he got the fee & credit I told him to ask for!] for the Dylan special. Having compared the two I think my recording runs fast and it would need a musicians ear and some sort of pitch control to sort it. According to this bloke the version he sent me was also a 'Rediffusion' recording but not a copy of mine as it has the presentation announcement, mine doesn't.

The theory that there's a BBC stereo copy somewhere is a bit optimistic I worked at TV Centre from '69 and was involved with quite a few music shows and at that time nothing was miked up for stereo.

Hope this is of some help.

I'm on that site registered as 'backfrom'. If you goto the message board, click on any message by 'backfrom', you get details.