Over 30 brilliant BBC recordings, including TV shows, radio highlights and a wealth of previously unreleased material
Tony Hancock was one of Britain's best-loved and most influential postwar comedians. Collected here are some of the very best radio and TV episodes from Hancock's Half Hour, plus celebrations, compilations, interviews, original dramas and documentaries - many of which have never before been available on audio.
There's the debut show from the radio series, The First Night Party, introduced by writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson; and the last ever BBC television show, The Succession - Son and Heir. Also included are four new-to-audio TV episodes - The Oak Tree, The Train Journey, The Tycoon and The Lift - as well as many other television favourites: The Flight of the Red Shadow, The Wrong Man, The Economy Drive, Lord Byron Lived Here, The Cold, The Emigrant, The Baby Sitters, The Poison Pen Letters, The Bedsitter, The Bowmans, The Radio Ham and The Blood Donor.
Two programmes introduced by Galton and Simpson, The Best of Hancock's Half Hour (Radio) and The Best of Hancock's Half Hour (TV) showcase the show's finest moments, and more classic clips can be found in Unique Hancock, an extended version of the vintage 1973 vinyl LP complete with commentary and linking narration. And in Steve Punt's Hancock Cuttings, included here for the first time on audio, the comedian and Tony Hancock fan presents a host of oddities and rarities featuring the lad himself.
The life and wonderful work of Hancock, his writers, and fellow radio actor Kenneth Williams are commemorated in three never-before-released documentaries - The New Elizabethans: Tony Hancock, Celebration: Galton & Simpson and Great Lives: Kenneth Williams. Also making their audio debut are two poignant radio dramas, Hancock's Last Half Hour (starring Richard Briers as Hancock) and Hancock's Ashes (starring Ewan Bailey as Willie Rushton).
Finally, we go behind-the scenes with Galton and Simpson in a trio of insightful interviews - a fascinating 30-minute discussion, specially recorded for BBC Audio in 2003, and the radio programmes In Conversation with Galton and Simpson and The Complete and Utter History of Hancock's Half Hour, in which the duo chat to Paul Jackson and Paul Merton respectively.
Please note: due to the age of these recordings, the sound quality may vary.
Production credits
Hancock's Half Hour written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson
Produced by Dennis Main Wilson (radio) and Duncan Wood (TV)
Theme and incidental music composed by, and orchestra conducted by, Wally Stott
Collection compiled by Martin Gibbons
With thanks to the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society
Contents
The First Night Party
The Best of Hancock's Half Hour (Radio)
The Best of Hancock's Half Hour (TV)
The Succession: Son and Heir
The Flight of the Red Shadow
The Wrong Man
The Oak Tree
The Economy Drive
Lord Byron Lived Here
The Train Journey
The Tycoon
The Cold
The Emigrant
The Baby Sitters
The Poison Pen Letters
The Bedsitter
The Bowmans
The Radio Ham
The Lift
The Blood Donor
Celebration: Galton and Simpson
Unique Hancock
Hancock's Last Half Hour
In Conversation with... Galton and Simpson
Interview with Galton and Simpson
The Complete and Utter History of Hancock's Half Hour
The New Elizabethans: Tony Hancock
Steve Punt's Hancock Cuttings
Hancock's Ashes
Great Lives: Kenneth Williams
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
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