Updates and additions to 'British Bell Records on Shellac & Vinyl'
I built a relational database back during the research period so that the data gathered could be tabulated in various ways. The problem was that the resulting tables, despite including interesting data, were mostly simply too vast to make it into the book. They're here instead. Note that these do not include anything surfaced after the publication of the book.
- Table of all of locations in which tower bell recordings were made (UK)
- Table of all of locations in which tower bell recordings were made (non-UK)
- Table of all methods rung by location (UK)
- Table of ringing type by location (non-UK)
- Table of all handbell ensembles that appear on UK shellac and vinyl records
Other updates and additions
There were fifteen or so records where existence was known but information was not forthcoming in time for publication. Information on most of those is now added below.
Publication was also intended to prompt the surfacing of other (mostly privately made) records that were unknown to myself or to the main archives during the research period. Information added below as and when.
Publication was also intended to prompt the surfacing of other (mostly privately made) records that were unknown to myself or to the main archives during the research period. Information added below as and when.
Addition
On The Air: 60 Years Of BBC Theme Music (BBC, REF 454, 1982, 2-LP)
There is a brief and muffled peal of church bells at the start of track 1, On The Air.
On The Air: 60 Years Of BBC Theme Music (BBC, REF 454, 1982, 2-LP)
There is a brief and muffled peal of church bells at the start of track 1, On The Air.
Addition
Souvenir Of Scotland (Waverley, SZLP 2074, 1966, LP)
You get a brief snatch of the bells of St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral. Though don't rush out to buy this based on that because you can barely hear the bells amongst the traffic sounds and the tail end of March Of The King's Men by the Military Band Of The Gordon Highlanders.
Souvenir Of Scotland (Waverley, SZLP 2074, 1966, LP)
You get a brief snatch of the bells of St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral. Though don't rush out to buy this based on that because you can barely hear the bells amongst the traffic sounds and the tail end of March Of The King's Men by the Military Band Of The Gordon Highlanders.
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Addition
Granada Bells (The Master Sound System, 7073, pre-1953, 10" 78)
This appeared on eBay a year or so after publication. The record comprises bell ringing for about two-thirds of side 1, with the rest of that side and side 2 being the sound recordist (presumably) talking about his time in Granada and Madeira. I'm assuming that he took his Ferrograph (or whatever) reel-to-reel tape recorder on his foreign holiday to Spain and then had a few copies of the record pressed up as a memento for friends/family. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/376457318248.
See p. 19 for information on another private transcription from this company, including what the stamped "7075" means - there can be multiple different records with the same number stamped! If these numbers were given sequentially, which they probably were, this would date the record at some point prior to 1953, which would place it in the very early days of the portable tape recorder. Let's put it this way, the record transcribed onto the disc stamped with 7034 was issued in March 1950 in the US, though it could have taken a while for a copy to make its way to the UK - 1951 or 1952 feels about right for this one. (A curiosity is that the company reset numbering back to 0001 sometime around 1958, presumably when they hit 9999, but the label colour had changed from blue to yellow by then, so this must be one of the first batch!)
Note that the eBay advertisement states this to be a 10" LP, which may be incorrect in that, if this is indeed from 1951 or 1952, LPs were still in their infancy in the UK, the first having been issued by Decca in June 1950 (and EMI didn't issue an LP in the UK until October 1952), and it is unlikely that a small provincial transacription company could afford a microgroove disc cutter until much later in the decade. And if it is a microgroove record, that woud be a lot of talking. Three-and-a-half minutes per side seems a bit more likely.
Granada Bells (The Master Sound System, 7073, pre-1953, 10" 78)
This appeared on eBay a year or so after publication. The record comprises bell ringing for about two-thirds of side 1, with the rest of that side and side 2 being the sound recordist (presumably) talking about his time in Granada and Madeira. I'm assuming that he took his Ferrograph (or whatever) reel-to-reel tape recorder on his foreign holiday to Spain and then had a few copies of the record pressed up as a memento for friends/family. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/376457318248.
See p. 19 for information on another private transcription from this company, including what the stamped "7075" means - there can be multiple different records with the same number stamped! If these numbers were given sequentially, which they probably were, this would date the record at some point prior to 1953, which would place it in the very early days of the portable tape recorder. Let's put it this way, the record transcribed onto the disc stamped with 7034 was issued in March 1950 in the US, though it could have taken a while for a copy to make its way to the UK - 1951 or 1952 feels about right for this one. (A curiosity is that the company reset numbering back to 0001 sometime around 1958, presumably when they hit 9999, but the label colour had changed from blue to yellow by then, so this must be one of the first batch!)
Note that the eBay advertisement states this to be a 10" LP, which may be incorrect in that, if this is indeed from 1951 or 1952, LPs were still in their infancy in the UK, the first having been issued by Decca in June 1950 (and EMI didn't issue an LP in the UK until October 1952), and it is unlikely that a small provincial transacription company could afford a microgroove disc cutter until much later in the decade. And if it is a microgroove record, that woud be a lot of talking. Three-and-a-half minutes per side seems a bit more likely.
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Addition
Bristol At Todmorden Parish Church 1959 / Grandsire At Walsden; Stedman At Todmorden (Cross Stone); and Double Norwich At Todmorden Unitarian (Rendezvous, presumably 1959, 10" LP)
Thanks to Chris Pickford and John Fielden, here is a previously unknown record, this originally from the collection of ringer, Norman Smith. It was also supplied by a transcription company that is completely new to me - Rendezvous, based at 19 Blackfriars Street, M'C 3 (Manchester). There is no stamped matrix on either side, so this looks to be a one-off or very short run record - i.e., less than a dozen, which was the cut-off point in terms of overall cost between cutting records individually on a disc cutter or sending to a commercial pressing company - if the latter, the company doing the pressing would use matrix numbers for internal administrative reasons, i.e., so they knew which record in production was which!
John has identified the handwriting as being that of Norman Smith, who he thinks is probably one of the ringers on the record in at least one of the towers. After "Stedman at Todmorden" Norman started to write "Unitarian", getting as far as the first "a" before realising that was the following track, hence crossing that out. It is likely that it was intended to read simply "Stedman at Cross Stone" but that Norman left the "Todmorden" rather than cross it out. Curiously, the speed typed (?) on the side 2 label looks to say "83". John further says:
Bristol At Todmorden Parish Church 1959 / Grandsire At Walsden; Stedman At Todmorden (Cross Stone); and Double Norwich At Todmorden Unitarian (Rendezvous, presumably 1959, 10" LP)
Thanks to Chris Pickford and John Fielden, here is a previously unknown record, this originally from the collection of ringer, Norman Smith. It was also supplied by a transcription company that is completely new to me - Rendezvous, based at 19 Blackfriars Street, M'C 3 (Manchester). There is no stamped matrix on either side, so this looks to be a one-off or very short run record - i.e., less than a dozen, which was the cut-off point in terms of overall cost between cutting records individually on a disc cutter or sending to a commercial pressing company - if the latter, the company doing the pressing would use matrix numbers for internal administrative reasons, i.e., so they knew which record in production was which!
John has identified the handwriting as being that of Norman Smith, who he thinks is probably one of the ringers on the record in at least one of the towers. After "Stedman at Todmorden" Norman started to write "Unitarian", getting as far as the first "a" before realising that was the following track, hence crossing that out. It is likely that it was intended to read simply "Stedman at Cross Stone" but that Norman left the "Todmorden" rather than cross it out. Curiously, the speed typed (?) on the side 2 label looks to say "83". John further says:
As a further comment on the recording, I have some vague - very vague - memories myself. My home tower in 1959 was Walsden but I rang frequently at all four towers in Todmorden and had been ringing peals for about 18 months by mid 1959. I have a slight recollection of being asked to meet for some ringing at Walsden and one of the more experienced ringers recorded the ringing on a home tape recorder. It was not impressive ringing as Chris will testify if he's listened to the [digitised copy I sent him]. It was organised, I suspect, by Peter Scholfield, a Todmorden ringer and it was the sort of off-beat thing he would do. He worked in Manchester, which may account for the use of Rendezvous in producing the record. One of his work colleagues was Derek Ogden, a ringer of some note at the time (who called my first peal), who may well have been one of ringers in some of the Todmorden recordings. He died aged only 30 in 1963 but I understand his ringing memorabilia is stored at Manchester Cathedral with the Lancashire Association Library material. So there may be another copy of the disk lying there 'undiscovered'! I don't recall being offered a copy myself, though if recipients had to purchase a copy, as a 16 year old schoolboy, I would not have been able to afford it!
The record came in a plain sleeve with a sticker stating:
T. H. Adkins
Rendezvous Records
19 Blackfriars Street
Manchester 3
Phone BLAckfriars 6278
Further research on the transcription company tells me that Rendezvous also had a record shop and jazz record lending library, based at 9 Blackfriars Street, the full name being Barry's Record Rendezvous, named after its owner, Barry Ancill. It was advertised as, "The only specialist Rhythm and Blues Music Shop in the North." Record shops including lending libraries were quite common in the 1950s and even later (one in Bristol owned by Stan Strickland ran well into the 1990s). Records, especially LPs, were expensive and many chose to pay a small subscription and borrow records instead (and then naughtily get them transcribed on disc cutter for a lot less than the cost of a new record).
T. H. Adkins
Rendezvous Records
19 Blackfriars Street
Manchester 3
Phone BLAckfriars 6278
Further research on the transcription company tells me that Rendezvous also had a record shop and jazz record lending library, based at 9 Blackfriars Street, the full name being Barry's Record Rendezvous, named after its owner, Barry Ancill. It was advertised as, "The only specialist Rhythm and Blues Music Shop in the North." Record shops including lending libraries were quite common in the 1950s and even later (one in Bristol owned by Stan Strickland ran well into the 1990s). Records, especially LPs, were expensive and many chose to pay a small subscription and borrow records instead (and then naughtily get them transcribed on disc cutter for a lot less than the cost of a new record).
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Update
Thanks to Chris Pickford and John Fielden, there is some definitive information on the Recorded Sound Ltd. recording from Kingston-on-Thames as documented on p. 19. A third copy of the record exists amongst Norman Smith's memorabilia, and this includes a typewritten label glued over a blank company label (the other side is another blank company label).
What this tells me is that the records were probably supplied with blank labels with a mimeographed sheet with details of ringers, etc. The subsequent owner would have been the one to add the handwritten (or in this case typed) details.
My original guesswork of an early 1952 record is almost vindicated in that this copy states that the Sunday Service ringers rang the course on 14 December 1951 and that it was recorded for a BBC Christmas broadcast to Kingston, New York. This was, in that case, recorded by BBC engineers and these records were probably pressed from a master cut by Recorded Sound Ltd. from tape, or possibly dubbed from a BBC disc. Given timeframes, the disc probably was supplied in early 1952, even if recorded the previous year.
This copy also gives the ringers' first names, bar that for Mr. Morris and Mr. Grimwood: Alison A. Clarke; Barbara M. Harris; Elsie M. Bagworth; George C. Goodman; Frank Blendell; G. William Morris; C. W. R. Grimwood; Maurice Norman; Norman S. Bagworth; and Frank E. Hawthorne (John Fielden adds that Mr. Morris always went by his middle name and that, "C.W.R. Grimwood's first name was Charles, sometimes reduced to Chas, perhaps to save space in peal records").
Thanks to Chris Pickford and John Fielden, there is some definitive information on the Recorded Sound Ltd. recording from Kingston-on-Thames as documented on p. 19. A third copy of the record exists amongst Norman Smith's memorabilia, and this includes a typewritten label glued over a blank company label (the other side is another blank company label).
What this tells me is that the records were probably supplied with blank labels with a mimeographed sheet with details of ringers, etc. The subsequent owner would have been the one to add the handwritten (or in this case typed) details.
My original guesswork of an early 1952 record is almost vindicated in that this copy states that the Sunday Service ringers rang the course on 14 December 1951 and that it was recorded for a BBC Christmas broadcast to Kingston, New York. This was, in that case, recorded by BBC engineers and these records were probably pressed from a master cut by Recorded Sound Ltd. from tape, or possibly dubbed from a BBC disc. Given timeframes, the disc probably was supplied in early 1952, even if recorded the previous year.
This copy also gives the ringers' first names, bar that for Mr. Morris and Mr. Grimwood: Alison A. Clarke; Barbara M. Harris; Elsie M. Bagworth; George C. Goodman; Frank Blendell; G. William Morris; C. W. R. Grimwood; Maurice Norman; Norman S. Bagworth; and Frank E. Hawthorne (John Fielden adds that Mr. Morris always went by his middle name and that, "C.W.R. Grimwood's first name was Charles, sometimes reduced to Chas, perhaps to save space in peal records").
Correction and update
"M. Ray" on p. 18 turns out to be "M. Reay" (the handwriting was not exactly clear).
Also, the inference that "Henry George" written on the label referred to Henry H. Fearn and George E. Fearn is confirmed, especially good, what with Bristol Surprise Major being an eight-bell method and this bringing the complement of ringers up to eight!
Further perusal of The Music Box for 1950 means that I can also add several first names and/or middle initials to the ringers: Frank E. Haynes; Henry H. Fearn; George E. Fearn; John Pinfold; Muriel Reay; Edward T. Lloyd; Albert Walker; and Arthur D. Cook.
Trivia: Muriel Reay can be deduced to have been unmarried. The Music Box's policy was to document married women under their husband's name, preceded by "Mrs." (Deduction confirmed by Brian Harris and John Fielden.)
Brian had the following to say on reading the above: "...a remarkable lady, she merited an extensive obituary in The Ringing World of 10 April 2015 (pp. 345-349, 351)."
"M. Ray" on p. 18 turns out to be "M. Reay" (the handwriting was not exactly clear).
Also, the inference that "Henry George" written on the label referred to Henry H. Fearn and George E. Fearn is confirmed, especially good, what with Bristol Surprise Major being an eight-bell method and this bringing the complement of ringers up to eight!
Further perusal of The Music Box for 1950 means that I can also add several first names and/or middle initials to the ringers: Frank E. Haynes; Henry H. Fearn; George E. Fearn; John Pinfold; Muriel Reay; Edward T. Lloyd; Albert Walker; and Arthur D. Cook.
Trivia: Muriel Reay can be deduced to have been unmarried. The Music Box's policy was to document married women under their husband's name, preceded by "Mrs." (Deduction confirmed by Brian Harris and John Fielden.)
Brian had the following to say on reading the above: "...a remarkable lady, she merited an extensive obituary in The Ringing World of 10 April 2015 (pp. 345-349, 351)."
Correction
"ARSC archive" on p. 41 should be "ASCY archive". This is what happens when you do not spot a silent autocorrect with an unfamiliar acronym being replaced with one (with three of the same letters) that was saved in the software's dictionary.
"ARSC archive" on p. 41 should be "ASCY archive". This is what happens when you do not spot a silent autocorrect with an unfamiliar acronym being replaced with one (with three of the same letters) that was saved in the software's dictionary.
Update
Thanks to Alan Glover, various of the records listed on the well-past-the-eleventh-hour "Stop press" section on p. 83 are now known to be BBC Sound Library 78 rpm records and, hence, not valid for inclusion (if interesting nonetheless). Those that can now be discounted, what with being records intended for internal company use only and, hence, falling outside of the rules for inclusion in the book, are the first five in the list.
Of the other three, no further information has yet come to light, so it is anyone's guess what these may or may not turn out to be. (Though the two other double-sided records also have the 'whiff' about them of being BBC Sound Library records.)
Thanks to Alan Glover, various of the records listed on the well-past-the-eleventh-hour "Stop press" section on p. 83 are now known to be BBC Sound Library 78 rpm records and, hence, not valid for inclusion (if interesting nonetheless). Those that can now be discounted, what with being records intended for internal company use only and, hence, falling outside of the rules for inclusion in the book, are the first five in the list.
Of the other three, no further information has yet come to light, so it is anyone's guess what these may or may not turn out to be. (Though the two other double-sided records also have the 'whiff' about them of being BBC Sound Library records.)
Update
Further information has come in on the HMV Special Recording of the bells of Christ Church, Swindon (p. 10). Brian Harris provided the information that the record was made in 1951 and that it was a 10" disc, plus that the information he had was that the recordings were made by BBC technicians, which is a possibility (see the Lavenham record below and the Kingston-on-Thames record above), in which case they may have been intended for and originally used for broadcast (which, if you follow the link below, the income from the BBC in 1951 would tend to suggest). The disc comprises two recordings, one each of (probably) Grandsire Caters - certainly ten bells - and (probably) Stedman Triples - eight bells, certainly.
Brian has kindly extracted the relevant information about numbers supplied by HMV and income generated by sales between 1951 and (a surprising) 1968 from the Christ Church ringers’ minute books for 1924-1962 and 1963 onward.
Further information has come in on the HMV Special Recording of the bells of Christ Church, Swindon (p. 10). Brian Harris provided the information that the record was made in 1951 and that it was a 10" disc, plus that the information he had was that the recordings were made by BBC technicians, which is a possibility (see the Lavenham record below and the Kingston-on-Thames record above), in which case they may have been intended for and originally used for broadcast (which, if you follow the link below, the income from the BBC in 1951 would tend to suggest). The disc comprises two recordings, one each of (probably) Grandsire Caters - certainly ten bells - and (probably) Stedman Triples - eight bells, certainly.
Brian has kindly extracted the relevant information about numbers supplied by HMV and income generated by sales between 1951 and (a surprising) 1968 from the Christ Church ringers’ minute books for 1924-1962 and 1963 onward.
Update
The two Elsmore’s Radio Recording Studios "Mystery records" on p. 9 have probably been identified (up to a point) in that there are two records where the 'cosmetic' descriptions match in the Sound Recordings in the George Williams Memorial Library listing from the Winchester & Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers' archive, as provided by Bruce Purvis, for which many thanks.
Also, the mystery HMV Special Recording documented on the same page is looking to be, as suspected, another copy of the Christ Church Bells, Swindon record documented on p. 10 with further information now added above.
The two Elsmore’s Radio Recording Studios "Mystery records" on p. 9 have probably been identified (up to a point) in that there are two records where the 'cosmetic' descriptions match in the Sound Recordings in the George Williams Memorial Library listing from the Winchester & Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers' archive, as provided by Bruce Purvis, for which many thanks.
- The 10" disc has Ringing down on side 1 and Plain Bob Minor (course) on side 2. Each side is approximately one-minute long.
- The 12" disc has 120 Grandsire Doubles on side 1 (and the documentation adds that it has a "faulty start") and side 2 has Kent T.B. Minor (course). The sides are between 3.5- and 4-minutes each.
Also, the mystery HMV Special Recording documented on the same page is looking to be, as suspected, another copy of the Christ Church Bells, Swindon record documented on p. 10 with further information now added above.
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Update
This was one of those fifteen or so records where existence was known but specific details were not. Definitive information on this arrived at well past the eleventh hour, but just in the nick of time for bare details to be included before the book went to print. The record is interesting and warrants further discussion to that included on p. 17, where there was limited space to waffle on.
This is, as far as can be told, a very early example of a private recording made using the "His Master's Voice" Special Recording service. The earliest known advertisement for the service is in June 1947’s Gramophone (though the online archive has most of the advertisements missing between May 1947 and June 1946, so the service may have begun earlier).
This transcription was recorded 23 April 1948 from a BBC radio broadcast titled An Englishman’s Music, whilst the original recording date by the BBC was 13 April. This predates personal tape recorders so would have been recorded direct to disc cutter from radio or from a disc containing the broadcast supplied by the BBC, this possibly organized with HMV’s Personal Recording service as a memento of the peal by one of the ringers – transcription companies could only record off-air if the customer had permission from all performers, which any one of the ringers would presumably have had.
The listing in the book mentions that the side 2 label is an Emidisc blank but there was no room to explain further. Emidiscs were EMI's brand of blank lacquer platter for use with disc cutting machines, these being used in-house as here, but also being supplied to the trade. It is likely that many of the privately produced records were cut on Emidisc blanks with the transcription company's own labels glued on top of the Emidisc label - if you look closely at the HMV label above, you can see a small sliver of the black and white rim of the Emidisc label top and left.
As for the second hole visible on the Emidisc label side, blank discs had to be held in place when having the sound transcribed via the disc cutter so the disc cutter included two prongs, one center, one not, to ensure the disc didn't slip during the recording process. The subsequent company labels then covered the hole up.
The label images could not be included in the book even were there room, which there wasn't, because of copyright issues. They are reproduced here based on fair use for educational purposes but can be removed should the copyright holder object to their reproduction (harder to do in a book).
Large and grateful thanks to Victoria Savoulidis, Archivist at the Suffolk Record Office, for the comprehensive set of photographs. And, to point out all the things that go on in the background of research projects, such as for writing a book about bell records, information was first requested on this record in May 2024 after finding bare details in the Suffolk Guild of Ringers library listing. The librarian stated that the records had all been moved to the East Anglian Film Archive possibly via Suffolk Record Office. After some to-ing and fro-ing, it was discovered by the EAFA that, despite the original intention for the audio material to go to there, it was instead still being held by the Suffolk Record Office. And each time the request was passed to someone at a different organisation, it managed to coincide with the person in question being on holiday. And then I went on holiday (well, a research trip, strictly speaking, but I also did a fair bit of relaxing in-between all the writing), which of course helped matters along. The details requested in May arrived 29 July. And this was one of the more pain-free examples of information gathering! Big and grateful thanks also to Abby Antrobus of the Suffolk Guild of Ringers for pointing me in the right direction and to Flo Reynolds and Jane Alvey at EAFA ditto.
This was one of those fifteen or so records where existence was known but specific details were not. Definitive information on this arrived at well past the eleventh hour, but just in the nick of time for bare details to be included before the book went to print. The record is interesting and warrants further discussion to that included on p. 17, where there was limited space to waffle on.
This is, as far as can be told, a very early example of a private recording made using the "His Master's Voice" Special Recording service. The earliest known advertisement for the service is in June 1947’s Gramophone (though the online archive has most of the advertisements missing between May 1947 and June 1946, so the service may have begun earlier).
This transcription was recorded 23 April 1948 from a BBC radio broadcast titled An Englishman’s Music, whilst the original recording date by the BBC was 13 April. This predates personal tape recorders so would have been recorded direct to disc cutter from radio or from a disc containing the broadcast supplied by the BBC, this possibly organized with HMV’s Personal Recording service as a memento of the peal by one of the ringers – transcription companies could only record off-air if the customer had permission from all performers, which any one of the ringers would presumably have had.
The listing in the book mentions that the side 2 label is an Emidisc blank but there was no room to explain further. Emidiscs were EMI's brand of blank lacquer platter for use with disc cutting machines, these being used in-house as here, but also being supplied to the trade. It is likely that many of the privately produced records were cut on Emidisc blanks with the transcription company's own labels glued on top of the Emidisc label - if you look closely at the HMV label above, you can see a small sliver of the black and white rim of the Emidisc label top and left.
As for the second hole visible on the Emidisc label side, blank discs had to be held in place when having the sound transcribed via the disc cutter so the disc cutter included two prongs, one center, one not, to ensure the disc didn't slip during the recording process. The subsequent company labels then covered the hole up.
The label images could not be included in the book even were there room, which there wasn't, because of copyright issues. They are reproduced here based on fair use for educational purposes but can be removed should the copyright holder object to their reproduction (harder to do in a book).
Large and grateful thanks to Victoria Savoulidis, Archivist at the Suffolk Record Office, for the comprehensive set of photographs. And, to point out all the things that go on in the background of research projects, such as for writing a book about bell records, information was first requested on this record in May 2024 after finding bare details in the Suffolk Guild of Ringers library listing. The librarian stated that the records had all been moved to the East Anglian Film Archive possibly via Suffolk Record Office. After some to-ing and fro-ing, it was discovered by the EAFA that, despite the original intention for the audio material to go to there, it was instead still being held by the Suffolk Record Office. And each time the request was passed to someone at a different organisation, it managed to coincide with the person in question being on holiday. And then I went on holiday (well, a research trip, strictly speaking, but I also did a fair bit of relaxing in-between all the writing), which of course helped matters along. The details requested in May arrived 29 July. And this was one of the more pain-free examples of information gathering! Big and grateful thanks also to Abby Antrobus of the Suffolk Guild of Ringers for pointing me in the right direction and to Flo Reynolds and Jane Alvey at EAFA ditto.
Update
Post-publication communication with George Lee and yet more delving on his part into The Ringing World was extremely useful in surfacing a lot more information on the record of the Holy Trinity bells, Barrow on Humber (p. 20). George identified the methods rung from digitised versions of the two tracks. Side 1 is of Double Norwich Court Bob Major and side 2 is of Grandsire Triples. He also hunted out likely recording dates, what with now knowing the methods and guessing that there must be specific reasons for presenting these particular recordings (especially with the recording on side 1 being of exceptionally good ringing, whilst that on side 2 not being quite so good as it might have been - the weight of the tenor bell clearly causing problems for the ringer). If these dates are correct (which they probably are), this provides the names of the ringers and surfaces the two reasons for the record being made. The following, based on this additional information, is from a subsequently published journal article (Making Molten Metal into Liquid Sound, ARSC Journal LV / ii 2024, pp. 216-239):
Post-publication communication with George Lee and yet more delving on his part into The Ringing World was extremely useful in surfacing a lot more information on the record of the Holy Trinity bells, Barrow on Humber (p. 20). George identified the methods rung from digitised versions of the two tracks. Side 1 is of Double Norwich Court Bob Major and side 2 is of Grandsire Triples. He also hunted out likely recording dates, what with now knowing the methods and guessing that there must be specific reasons for presenting these particular recordings (especially with the recording on side 1 being of exceptionally good ringing, whilst that on side 2 not being quite so good as it might have been - the weight of the tenor bell clearly causing problems for the ringer). If these dates are correct (which they probably are), this provides the names of the ringers and surfaces the two reasons for the record being made. The following, based on this additional information, is from a subsequently published journal article (Making Molten Metal into Liquid Sound, ARSC Journal LV / ii 2024, pp. 216-239):
A spoken introduction on side 1...states that the record was recorded as a memento of the restoration of the bells and addition of two new bells, which took place in 1953 – the dedication by the Bishop of Lincoln was on 24 October that year – so why a memento of the event took around four years to be made is a mystery.
It is likely that the recording dates can be identified because full peals of these methods were rung once only during 1957. Side 1 was likely recorded 16 February when a peal was rung in memory of a recently deceased member of the team. If so, the ringers, in order of bell, are Frank G. Bloomfield, John R. Ketteringham, Louis Willders, Michael W. Crowder, W. Arthur. Crowder, Gwen I. Rusby, Giles C. Galley, Jack L. Millhouse (conductor). The peal was composed by George H. Cross. Side 2 was likely recorded 16 March to commemorate two members of the team ringing the only bells they had not previously rung during a full peal. Again, if this is indeed the recording date, the ringers are Frank G. Bloomfield, Arthur H. Hoodless, Stephen Bromfield, W. Arthur Crowder, Michael W. Crowder, Septimus Neave, Jack L. Millhouse (conductor), Gwen I. Rusby. This was the conductor’s 600th peal. This is not categoric proof of recording dates but is a reasonable assumption.
Addition
The SW Recordings record from St Mary's, Taunton, was a well-past-the-eleventh-hour addition, brought to my attention by fellow local CAMRA member, Robin Wild. Whilst I managed to add information about the record on p. 53 (thanks to some fairly radical editing of other listings on that and the following page), I was unable to add related information in time for publication deadline to the Credits and copyright section on p. vi. It was a case of still awaiting potential information, which ultimately was not forthcoming (and then clean forgetting to make the update on submission day).
Therefore, the SW Recordings label is an addition to the list where copyright holders, if any remain, could not be ascertained. Not even the original owner of the company has been identified. In fact, the company has drawn a complete blank. The search continues.
The SW Recordings record from St Mary's, Taunton, was a well-past-the-eleventh-hour addition, brought to my attention by fellow local CAMRA member, Robin Wild. Whilst I managed to add information about the record on p. 53 (thanks to some fairly radical editing of other listings on that and the following page), I was unable to add related information in time for publication deadline to the Credits and copyright section on p. vi. It was a case of still awaiting potential information, which ultimately was not forthcoming (and then clean forgetting to make the update on submission day).
Therefore, the SW Recordings label is an addition to the list where copyright holders, if any remain, could not be ascertained. Not even the original owner of the company has been identified. In fact, the company has drawn a complete blank. The search continues.
Addition
Ian Brighton: Marsh Gas (Bead, BEAD 3, 1977, LP)
This one came out of nowhere. Whilst searching eBay for avant-garde jazz/improvised guitar music, this appeared in the listings. It looked intriguing, so I had a closer look, and then I spotted that it includes Sound In Brass Handbells, led by Andrew Hudson (moonlighting from Saydisc), on three tracks. I have no idea in what capacity that emsemble plays, but if I win the auction [which I didn't], then I will tell all. Handbells in a free-improv. setting - I already like the sound of that!
Ah, it was recorded with financial assistance from the Arts Council of Great Britain and includes a four-page 'story'. It sells for a silly amount of money so my pathetic 99p bid will probably not be enough [it wasn't]. Ian Brighton, meanwhile, had been in the wonderful Spontaneous Musical Ensemble prior to recording this.
Ian Brighton: Marsh Gas (Bead, BEAD 3, 1977, LP)
This one came out of nowhere. Whilst searching eBay for avant-garde jazz/improvised guitar music, this appeared in the listings. It looked intriguing, so I had a closer look, and then I spotted that it includes Sound In Brass Handbells, led by Andrew Hudson (moonlighting from Saydisc), on three tracks. I have no idea in what capacity that emsemble plays, but if I win the auction [which I didn't], then I will tell all. Handbells in a free-improv. setting - I already like the sound of that!
Ah, it was recorded with financial assistance from the Arts Council of Great Britain and includes a four-page 'story'. It sells for a silly amount of money so my pathetic 99p bid will probably not be enough [it wasn't]. Ian Brighton, meanwhile, had been in the wonderful Spontaneous Musical Ensemble prior to recording this.
Addition
The Famous Swiss Band Organ (Joy, JOYS 154, probably late 1969, LP)
Most of the LP is taken up with recordings of an orchestrion - the famous Swiss band organ of the title, though one track per side is by "Swiss Bell Ringers", these being Bells In Clear Voice and Carol Of The Bells. No copy of the LP has yet been heard, and the sleeve notes do not make clear whether the bells in question are church bells or a carillon, though probably the latter. Listen to the two tracks:
The Famous Swiss Band Organ (Joy, JOYS 154, probably late 1969, LP)
Most of the LP is taken up with recordings of an orchestrion - the famous Swiss band organ of the title, though one track per side is by "Swiss Bell Ringers", these being Bells In Clear Voice and Carol Of The Bells. No copy of the LP has yet been heard, and the sleeve notes do not make clear whether the bells in question are church bells or a carillon, though probably the latter. Listen to the two tracks:
- Bells In Clear Voice (YouTube)
- Carol Of The Bells (YouTube)
Addition
Take Holland Home (Columbia, SX 6261 [mono] and SCX 6261 [stereo], around September 1968, LP)
Take Holland Home (Odeon, PSCX 6261 [stereo], export edition, LP)
This is another LP that was discovered whilst researching mechanical music records. Apart from music from two Dutch street organs and a folk group, there are also several tracks of the carillon at Westertoren, played by Hein de Ligt. These are track A1, Wie Gaat Mee Ove De Zee - Variations, track A5, Zeg Kwezelken, Annemareike, Scharesliep, and De Boer Had Maar Ene Schoen, track B1, Three Dutch Folkdances, track B3, Ik Kwam Laatst Over Een Berg Gegaan, and track B7, Merck Toch Hoe Sterck.
The UK-pressed export edition included the normal UK sleeves but with gold Odeon stickers stuck over the Columbia logos on front and rear of sleeve, hence, retaining the original catalogue number on rear sleeve and spine, but with the record being on the Odeon label with updated catalogue number PSCX 6261 - see also the HMV Church Bells LP, CLP 1441 on p. 27, which was similarly also made available as an export edition. Only stereo copies have been spotted as export editions but mono copies may also exist, in which case the catalogue would probably be PSX 626.
Take Holland Home (Columbia, SX 6261 [mono] and SCX 6261 [stereo], around September 1968, LP)
Take Holland Home (Odeon, PSCX 6261 [stereo], export edition, LP)
This is another LP that was discovered whilst researching mechanical music records. Apart from music from two Dutch street organs and a folk group, there are also several tracks of the carillon at Westertoren, played by Hein de Ligt. These are track A1, Wie Gaat Mee Ove De Zee - Variations, track A5, Zeg Kwezelken, Annemareike, Scharesliep, and De Boer Had Maar Ene Schoen, track B1, Three Dutch Folkdances, track B3, Ik Kwam Laatst Over Een Berg Gegaan, and track B7, Merck Toch Hoe Sterck.
The UK-pressed export edition included the normal UK sleeves but with gold Odeon stickers stuck over the Columbia logos on front and rear of sleeve, hence, retaining the original catalogue number on rear sleeve and spine, but with the record being on the Odeon label with updated catalogue number PSCX 6261 - see also the HMV Church Bells LP, CLP 1441 on p. 27, which was similarly also made available as an export edition. Only stereo copies have been spotted as export editions but mono copies may also exist, in which case the catalogue would probably be PSX 626.
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Addition
"La Cascade" Gavioli Organ (Andover Audio, AA 951, year unknown, LP)
This was another record that was not even on the radar. I think you can probably guess what my current research and writing project is from this. Yes, shellac and vinyl records that include recordings of mechanical music. Apart from the first track, which is a recording of the bells of St Mary's at the aptly named St Mary Bourne, this is a series of recordings of a fair organ.
There is no information on the record to date it, other than the Mecolico stamp that shows that royalties have been paid on copyright material including the sum of 9d. This indicates that the record pre-dated decimalisation (February 1971). Overall, the LP has the look and feel of mid- to late-1960s. I have not been able to discover anything about the recording and transcription company, Andover Audio. The last known copy of this record sold for £62. My guess is that Brian Oram was the owner of the Gavioli when this was recorded (though that is probably of little interest to those interested in the bell element).
"La Cascade" Gavioli Organ (Andover Audio, AA 951, year unknown, LP)
This was another record that was not even on the radar. I think you can probably guess what my current research and writing project is from this. Yes, shellac and vinyl records that include recordings of mechanical music. Apart from the first track, which is a recording of the bells of St Mary's at the aptly named St Mary Bourne, this is a series of recordings of a fair organ.
There is no information on the record to date it, other than the Mecolico stamp that shows that royalties have been paid on copyright material including the sum of 9d. This indicates that the record pre-dated decimalisation (February 1971). Overall, the LP has the look and feel of mid- to late-1960s. I have not been able to discover anything about the recording and transcription company, Andover Audio. The last known copy of this record sold for £62. My guess is that Brian Oram was the owner of the Gavioli when this was recorded (though that is probably of little interest to those interested in the bell element).
Addition
Mossley Parish Church (Eroica, ERO L 328, possibly around 1958, 10" 78)
This is a previously unknown record, discovered hidden away in the LACR archive. Thanks are due to George Lee for unearthing this (after he'd already unearthed lots of other records that *did* appear in the book).
Eroica was a recording and transcription service based in Eccles, near Manchester. The recording is of the bells of Mossley Parish Church. The fact that there is a stamped matrix (ERO L 328) means that this was commercially pressed, though the fact that the credits are handwritten suggests that not many copies were pressed.
Very few Eroica records have come to light but it looks as though it was normal practice to handwrite the title on each label rather than have them printed (during the 1950s, at least). All seem to have been assigned matrix numbers, even one-offs that were cut on disc cutter rather than commercially pressed, these also having the number handwritten.
It may be possible to date the record. In the book (p. 6), I mention that this was the first company to specifically advertise the possibility of recording and transcribing the sound of church bells, this in the October 1958 edition of the Gramophone magazine. Perhaps, this record was produced as a result of that advertisement, or perhaps the recording and pressing of this record prompted the advertisement. All guesswork.
Mossley Parish Church (Eroica, ERO L 328, possibly around 1958, 10" 78)
This is a previously unknown record, discovered hidden away in the LACR archive. Thanks are due to George Lee for unearthing this (after he'd already unearthed lots of other records that *did* appear in the book).
Eroica was a recording and transcription service based in Eccles, near Manchester. The recording is of the bells of Mossley Parish Church. The fact that there is a stamped matrix (ERO L 328) means that this was commercially pressed, though the fact that the credits are handwritten suggests that not many copies were pressed.
Very few Eroica records have come to light but it looks as though it was normal practice to handwrite the title on each label rather than have them printed (during the 1950s, at least). All seem to have been assigned matrix numbers, even one-offs that were cut on disc cutter rather than commercially pressed, these also having the number handwritten.
It may be possible to date the record. In the book (p. 6), I mention that this was the first company to specifically advertise the possibility of recording and transcribing the sound of church bells, this in the October 1958 edition of the Gramophone magazine. Perhaps, this record was produced as a result of that advertisement, or perhaps the recording and pressing of this record prompted the advertisement. All guesswork.
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Addition
The Yetties: The Village Band (Decca, SKL 5253, 1976, LP)
This is embarrassing. I drink in the pub shown on the sleeve, the White Hart at Yestminster, and have had the LP for much of my life, so why had I forgotten that the first track is Introduction: Yetminster Church Bells?
The pub used to have the gold disc of this record, as awarded to Mac McCulloch for a silly number of sales, hanging on its wall for years, loaned by Mac, whose local this still was. The pub also had a Yetties museum in the old barn out the back. In early December 2021, the disc was returned to Mac because the landlord was leaving the pub. Mac, the last remaining Yettie, died less than a week later on 15 December. By coincidence, I was there on Saturday 11 December 2021 and asked the landlord where the disc had got to (the museum had shut, too). Above from a previous visit - a gold disc behind glass opposite a large window and next to a bright and roaring fire is not the easiest thing to photograph and the above is the best of a poor bunch.
The Yetties: The Village Band (Decca, SKL 5253, 1976, LP)
This is embarrassing. I drink in the pub shown on the sleeve, the White Hart at Yestminster, and have had the LP for much of my life, so why had I forgotten that the first track is Introduction: Yetminster Church Bells?
The pub used to have the gold disc of this record, as awarded to Mac McCulloch for a silly number of sales, hanging on its wall for years, loaned by Mac, whose local this still was. The pub also had a Yetties museum in the old barn out the back. In early December 2021, the disc was returned to Mac because the landlord was leaving the pub. Mac, the last remaining Yettie, died less than a week later on 15 December. By coincidence, I was there on Saturday 11 December 2021 and asked the landlord where the disc had got to (the museum had shut, too). Above from a previous visit - a gold disc behind glass opposite a large window and next to a bright and roaring fire is not the easiest thing to photograph and the above is the best of a poor bunch.
Web link to source documented in book
BBC 1922-1962 (Private release, PD1, 1962, 7” LP)
The above record is documented on p. 61, where mention is made of a 1962 BBC promotional pamphlet with which this record may have been supplied. A copy of the pamphlet is available online.
BBC 1922-1962 (Private release, PD1, 1962, 7” LP)
The above record is documented on p. 61, where mention is made of a 1962 BBC promotional pamphlet with which this record may have been supplied. A copy of the pamphlet is available online.
