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Hancock on

CD

Adventure & Excitement: Ron Goodwin & His Orchestra
1987

Adventure & Excitement: Ron Goodwin & His Orchestra

Thursday, 1 January 1987

Released in 1987, this LP and CD was a compilation of tracks from other Ron Goodwin LPs. Alongside Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines (which comprises a series of extracts from the various themes throughout the film) were 16 other tracks, all film related, and from diverse films such as Adventures of Black Beauty, The Magnificent Seven and Aces High. Harvey Andrews 25 years on the road HYLP 200 105 (LP, Germany, 1989) HYCD 200 105 (CD, Germany, 1989)
Harvey Andrews 25 Years On The Road
1989

Harvey Andrews 25 Years On The Road

Sunday, 1 January 1989

Released on the Hypertension label, this CD from 1989 featured the Hancock homage 'Man With The Homburg Hat'. The LP version contained 14 tracks with the CD version containing 17 tracks.
Be Bop Deluxe: Modern Music
1990

Be Bop Deluxe: Modern Music

Monday, 1 January 1990

Released in 1990 on CD following it's original release as an LP in 1976, Tony Hancock makes an appearance at the beginning of the title track in a segue of extracts from the radio (John Peel / Tony Hancock / Weather forecast) interspersed with the sounds of the radio being tuned. The 2 extracts are from A Sunday Afternoon At Home and feature Tony saying 'Stone Me' and Sid saying: 'There's one every week, there always has been and there's nothing we can do about it'.
The Dogs D'Amour: In The Dynamite Jet Saloon
1990

The Dogs D'Amour: In The Dynamite Jet Saloon

Monday, 1 January 1990

This release on the Polydor Label by The Dogs D'Amour (categorised on Wikipedia as 'Blues Rock') in 1990 on CD (1988 on record) was the band's second album and featured 3 hit singles in the UK. The Tony Hancock connection is with the final track, 'Wait Until I'm Dead', which was not only dedicated to Tony Hancock on the inner sleeve but also featured an edited version of the close out segment from the 'Pieces of Hancock' Pye recording when Tony advises the listener 'thank you for buying the record or if you are listening to it in a record shop, don't mess about, buy it!' Illustrated are a copy of both the album cover and the lyrics of the song dedicated to Tony Hancock.
A Golden Hour of Tony Hancock
1990

A Golden Hour of Tony Hancock

Monday, 1 January 1990

This was the first CD of Tony. It comprises the complete editions of The Blood Donor and the Radio Ham specially recorded for Pye Records in October 1961 Released on the Knight Records Ltd label, the title may be a little misleading as the two episodes don't last for an hour! Also the title is the same as a Pye LP release from 1974, which contained a number of excerpts from radio shows. A nice release which also featured a full cast listing for each episode on the reverse.
Ron Goodwin: Battle Of Britain 1990 Re-Issue
1990

Ron Goodwin: Battle Of Britain 1990 Re-Issue

Monday, 1 January 1990

This rare CD contained the music from the original United Artists motion picture soundtrack and other films. Earlier releases of The Battle of Britain soundtrack on both LP and CD just featured the soundtrack but this release featured 4 additional tracks. These tracks were the themes from Operation Crossbow, The Suite from Monte Carlo Or Bust, The Trap and the montage of themes from Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines
Something Happened On The Way To Heaven / I Wish It Would Rain Down (CD)
1990

Something Happened On The Way To Heaven / I Wish It Would Rain Down (CD)

Monday, 1 January 1990

This release from 1990 by Phil Collins does not feature Tony or a tribute to Tony in the music. Rather, Phil Collins, a self-confessed Hancock fan, chose to use a black and white photo of Tony as the centrepiece of the front cover.
Tony Hancock - The World of Tony Hancock
1990

Tony Hancock - The World of Tony Hancock

Monday, 1 January 1990

The second Hancock release was The World Of Tony Hancock and, like the previous release, was a CD version of a previous vinyl LP. This time the original LP bore the same name! The release contains The Missing Page and The Reunion Party episodes specially re-recorded by Decca Records in 1965 for the vinyl LP It's Hancock, which was later reissued under the title The World Of Tony Hancock.
The A To Z of British TV Themes
1992

The A To Z of British TV Themes

Wednesday, 1 January 1992

This excellent CD release on the 'Play It Again' label featured 30 theme tunes from the sixties and seventies, including Z Cars, Fireball XL5, Doctor In The House, Steptoe & Son and Dad's Army. Also included was Hancock's Tune' from the ITV series including the recorded voice over by Hancock.
Classic Comedy from the BBC
1992

Classic Comedy from the BBC

Wednesday, 1 January 1992

This CD release was given away free with 'The Oldie magazine but, unlike most free releases, this one came in a plastic case similar to those used for 'singles. The release featured a 10 minute introduction from Barry Cryer in which he introduced each of the 13 extracts contained on the CD which ranged from Round The Horne and The Goon Show to more modern comedies such as Alan Partridge and Dead Ringers. The Hancock 's Half Hour extract was from The American's Hit Town. Lasting for three minutes and forty-seven seconds, the extract starts from when Hattie announces that she is to be married - for the first time!
Comedy 2CD
1992

Comedy 2CD

Wednesday, 1 January 1992

Released in Australia, this release also comprises the complete editions of The Blood Donor and the Radio Ham specially recorded for Pye Records in October 1961 for the album simply entitled Hancock. Released on the Castle Communications label, the first disc comprised 6 Victor Borge sketches, including Night and Day and Hungarian Rhapsody and the second disc was the two Hancock episodes. Labelled under the brand 'dynamic duo', the 'booklet was just a single sheet of paper, so clearly a budget release.
George Michael Too Funky
1992

George Michael Too Funky

Wednesday, 1 January 1992

This single from George Michael featured an extract from The Radio Ham.
Trivial Pursuit
1992

Trivial Pursuit

Wednesday, 1 January 1992

The TV version of the board game features 99 TV extracts, including a 30 second extract from The Blood Donor (the very nearly an armful sequence). The questions included 'Name the programme' (the answer given was Hancock's Half Hour instead of Hancock) and 'What was Hancock's address in the series' (which was given as Railway Cuttings instead of Earls Court!). The other questions were 'Which crumple faced comedy actor often appeared on this programme' and 'Name the actor who played the doctor in this episode'.
The Laughing Box Long Play
1993

The Laughing Box Long Play

Friday, 1 January 1993

This CD was released on the Castle Communications PLC label and once again featured The Blood Donor and the Radio Ham The album also featured 5 other songs and comedy sketches including The Egg Marketing Board Tango (Benny Hill), Olympic Team (Spike Milligan) and Up Je T'Aime (Frankie Howard / June Whitfield), which was written by Galton & Simpson. The cassette version of this release was entitled Tony Hancock and Friends and also featured the Marble Arch logo.
TV Classics 4 CD
1993

TV Classics 4 CD

Friday, 1 January 1993

This 4 CD set contains 47 TV Themes from the 1960's and was released on the Castle Communications label. However, each CD only runs to approximately an hour so this set is really the equivalent of a double album. The first album is heavily weighted to the various Gerry Anderson theme tunes including Fireball XL5, Stingray, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90. The second CD contains a more varied mix including the Theme from Doctor Who, Z Cars and The Maigret Theme. The theme from the ITV Hancock series is contained on this disc.
Top TV Themes
1993

Top TV Themes

Friday, 1 January 1993

Castle Communications released this early TV Themes CD in 1993. The CD featured 18 themes from British TV programmes, with a significant number coming from action TV series such as The Fugitive, The Saint and The Avengers or from the many Gerry Anderson puppet series such as Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and Thunderbirds. The only theme from a TV comedy show was the theme from the Tony Hancock ITV series called Hancock's Tune, which was originally released as a single and featured a specially recorded voice over by Hancock.
Box of Laughs
1995

Box of Laughs

Sunday, 1 January 1995

This 3CD set features 3 CD's: a comedy compilation (including Frankie Howard, Dick Emery and Tommy Cooper) a CD of Billy Connolly and a CD of Tony Hancock, featuring the complete Pye recordings of The Blood Donor and The Radio Ham. The set is identical to 'Havin A Laugh' other than 'Havin A Laugh was a 4 CD set, which also included a Benny Hill CD.

Hancock's Half Hour: The Americans Hit Town / The Unexploded Bomb
1995

Hancock's Half Hour: The Americans Hit Town / The Unexploded Bomb

Sunday, 1 January 1995

This release was the first BBC CD of Hancock's Half Hour. The programmes featured were from Volume One of the tape series and were the same versions, with close out music cut at the end of the programmes. The American's Hit Town comprised 13 individual tracks and The Unexploded Bomb 10. The discs were only available in WH Smiths (along with a similar release of The Goon Show) and were released as a marketing experiment to see what interest there would be in a CD version of popular radio programmes. I am not sure how successful it was because it would not be until 2001 that a further BBC CD release of a full half hour would hit the shops. This may have been partly because of the price. As can be seen from the copy sticker above, the price was £7.99 for just 2 episodes!
Hancock's Half Hour: The Poetry Society / Sid's Mystery Tours
1995

Hancock's Half Hour: The Poetry Society / Sid's Mystery Tours

Sunday, 1 January 1995

This CD was released at the same time as the previous CD and was also a WH Smiths exclusive. Also priced at £7.99, the two episodes featured were also the same versions as those included on Volume One of the tape series. The simple two-page booklet in this release contained a number of errors. For example, track 7 of The Poetry Society is described as 'The Ash Tray by Anthony Hancock', whereas the title should have been 'The Ash Tray by Anthony'. It is unfortunate that the first CD releases of Hancock's Half Hour were marred by a lack of care in preparation. The Poetry Society comprised 8 tracks and Sid's Mystery Tour 8.
The Very Best Of Comedy (CD)
1995

The Very Best Of Comedy (CD)

Sunday, 1 January 1995

The CD and cassette release from The Speaking Book Company contains 22 comedy extracts from a wide range of artists and programmes. Including Hugh Laurie, Rowan Atkinson Hugh Laurie and Harry Enfield from recent times and vintage tracks from Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, and Tony Hancock. The Tony Hancock extract was a 2 1/2 minute segment from The Blood Donor starting with the moment he goes in to the Doctor.

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