1967-1977

This album from 1967 on the Disney label features the complete story with songs from the original sound track of the Walt Disney Motion Picture. Although this album does not feature Hancock, this is the album of the film that Tony started to make but was subsequently dropped by Disney

Release Date: 1967
Catalog No:   TWO142

Released on the Music For Pleasure label (the discount label from EMI) in 1968, this children’s record features 12 songs sung by the children’s puppets Pinky and Perky including the theme from the film ‘Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines’.

Release Date: 1968
Catalog No:   MFP A 8066

Released in 1968, the first budget release of The Blood Donor / The Radio Ham was effectively untitled with just the artist name and the titleof the episodes on the front slleve. The Marble Arch label was Pye’s first foray inot budget releases and many of Pye’s older LPs resurfaced on the Marble Arch label during this time.  Growing out of the Golden Guinea seriesm its not surprising that the release features the same photograph as on the Golden Guinea release and a very similar label.

Release Date: 1968
Catalog No:   MAL872 (Cassette ZCMA872)

The Canadian version of this release featured an identical front cover to the UK release.  The label stated ‘Licenced by Pye Records Limited. Made in Canada by Phonodisc Limited.  The content of this release is identical to the UK release.

Release Date: 1968
Catalog No:   MAL872

Released in 1968 on the World Record Club label, this release featured excerpts from the previous Pye Releases. Side 1 contained a 15 minute extract from The Blood Donor and a 13 minute extract from the Radio Ham (both extracts from the third Pye album ‘Hancock’). Side 2 contained an 8 minute extract from The East Cheam Drama Festival entitled Jack’s Return Home (from the Pye Album Pieces of Hancock) and an 18 minute extract from The Wild Man of The Woods (from the Pye Album This Is Hancock). This LP was not released on cassette but it was released on a reel-to reel tape.

Release Date: 1968
Catalog No:   ST897 (record) and TT897 (reel-to-reel tape)

Released in 1969, this album was a compilation of Decca comedy recordings and served as an advert for those recordings. Featuring 12 tracks with artists ranging from the great Marty Feldman (The Great Bell) to The Goons (Eeh! Ah! Oh! Ooh!), Frankie Howard (Ten Guinea Cruise) and Kenneth Williams (Hand Up Your Sticks). The Tony Hancock contribution was a 6 ¬Ω minute extract from the Decca recording of The Missing Page featuring the segment where Tony is in bed and decides to work out ‘who dun it’!

Release Date: 1969
Catalog No:   PA39 (Mono) SPA39 (Stereo)

Released in 1972, this album is a compilation of movie themes and includes the theme from You Only Live Twice, Thunderball, Goldfinger, The James Bond Theme as well as The Wrong Box.

Release Date: 1972
Catalog No:   SS63038

This delightful release from 1972 features 18 extracts from the previous 50 years of radio. Including some great early radio names such as Sandy Powell, Claude Dampier & Billie Carlyle and Robb Wilton together with extracts from a wide variety of programmes such as Variety Bandbox, Bandwagon, ITMA, Much Binding In The Marsh, Take It From Here, Round The Horne and The Navy Lark. The Hancock’s Half Hour extract was a 4 minute extract from the beginning of A Sunday Afternoon At Home. This early BBC release was the first BBC release to feature Tony.

Release Date: 1972
Catalog No:   REC138M

This first BBC release of Hancock’s Half Hour features 9 extracts from the radio shows: Almost A Gentleman, Christmas – East Cheam Style, PC Hancock – Have Feet Will Travel, Michael Hancockelo, The Doctor’s Dilemma, Like A Dog’s Dinner, Is That Your Car Outside?, With My Woggle I Thee Worship and The Hospital or Hancock Revisited. The sleeve notes state that all of these recordings were sourced from BBC Transcription Service archive recordings. Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the sleeve notes also include the following extract: ‘The excerpts on this record were selected from various radio versions of Hancock’s Half Hour originally broadcast in the 1950’s and were taken from original sound tracks. They have not before been issued on record and in our view provide a good cross-section of the art of Tony Hancock.

Release Date:
Catalog No:   LP, Cassette and 8-Track (Cassette No. REMC150, 8Track BBC RCT 8002)

Released in October 1973, this LP features an edited recording of the Parkinson interview with Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers (plus Spike Milligan in a recorded link from Australia) broadcast on 28/10/72. This LP is included in this Hancock listing as Harry mentions Tony in passing as an example of a comedian that was not happy in his personal life.

Release Date: 1973
Catalog No:   REB163M

Marble Arch HMA228 (8 Track Y8 MA872

The next busget release of the 1961 album ‘Hancock’ featuring the episodes of The Blood Donor and The Radio Ham recorded by Pye was this budget release on the Hallmark . Marble Arch label in 1973.  It featured completely new artwork and a rather austere label!  Interestingly, the label featured both Hallmark and Marble Arch logos which, by 1973, were UK subsidiary labels of the American Pickwick International Company.

Release Date: 1973
Catalog No:   Marble Arch HMA228 (8 Track Y8 MA872)

The new Pye budget range for the early 1970’s, was marketed as The Golden Hour of. This release from 1974, which featured a delightful pastiche of the 1960’s album cover of Pieces of Hancock, featured an edited version of the specially recorded link segments from the Pieces of Hancock album. Side 1 of the album featured The Wild Man Of The Woods (as appeared on the first Pye album This is Hancock). The second side featured an edited version of A Sunday Afternoon At Home (edited to 25 minutes and slightly shorter than the version that appeared on This Is Hancock) plus The Secret Life of Tony Hancock otherwise known as The Test Pilot sequence from The Diary. This extract had first appeared in the Pye album Pieces of Hancock.

Release Date: 1974
Catalog No:   GH577 (record), cassette and Y864 (8-track)

Described as a ‘a special 4 record set, this 4 LP collection came in a sturdy cardboard box and contained  4 LPs in plain white standard inner LP sleeves in the box.  The albums were all from the Golden Hour series and comprised: ‘The Golden Hour of Tony Hancock’, ’The Golden Hour of Till Death Us Do Part’, ‘The Golden Hour of Steptoe and Son’ and ‘The Golden Hour of Comedy’.  This last LP comprised 2 compilation extracts on each side of the LP from the programmes  ‘It’s Marty’, ‘Round The Horne’, ‘The Frost Report’ and ‘The World of the Beachcomber’ (starring Spike Milligan) The set was badged with a gold label as ‘ A Pye Presentation Pack; 4 records at the special price of £4.70’.

Release Date:
Catalog No:   PYEIIPP201

The Canadian release of the Golden Hour of Tony Hancock was virtually identical to the UK release featuring the same content and artwork.  The label states that the recording is bu courtesy of B.B.C. Records and is ‘Made in Canada by Phonodisc Limited)

Release Date:
Catalog No:   GH577

The first  Pye releases were re-released on their budgte label ‘Golden Guinea.  In the same way Decca released ‘The Missing Page’ and ‘The Reunion Party’ recordings from the ‘Its Hancock’ LP on their budget series in 1975.  The Decca approach to its budget range was to retian the standard Decca label but to release their budget series under the ‘World of’ title.  The World of Tony Hancock is identical to the previous ‘Its Hancock’ release.

Release Date: 1975
Catalog No:   PA417

The Australian release featured identical content to the UK release with the front cover also identical other than the addition of the Drum Records logo and the number DRUM6359.  The label stated that the record was ‘Made in Australia by EMI (Australia) Limited.

Release Date:
Catalog No:   PA417

Issued in 1976, the next BBC release celebrated 40 years of BBC television with 14 comic extracts from the archive. Artists featured included Peter Cook & Dudley Moors, Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques and The Two Ronnies. Featured programmes included Steptoe & Son, That Was The Week That Was and Till Death Us Do Part. The Tony Hancock extract was a 4 ¬Ω minute extract from The Radio Ham starting from the moment Tony returns home with his new valves.

Release Date: 1976
Catalog No:

This album from 1976 by Harvey Andrews includes the single dedicated to Hancock: ‘Mr Homburg Hat’ and ‘Man With A Gun’

Release Date: September 1976
Catalog No:   Transatlantic Records TRA 329

The first release of complete episodes from the BBC interestingly did not feature
radio half hours. Rather it featured 2 complete TV episodes. Released in 1976, the
episodes on this release were Twelve Angry Men and The Lift. Neither episode featured
any incidental music for ‘contractual reasons’; the programmes start with just
audience applause. For The Lift, an additional line of dialogue was recorded by
Hugh Lloyd for the section where Hancock re-enters the lift towards the end of the
episode. The front cover features a great montage of photographs from the archives.

Release Date: 1976
Catalog No:   REB260 (record) RMC4055 (cassette) BBC RCT8018 (8 Track)

The USA release of Hancock had an identical front sleeve to the UK release other than the strapline ‘BBC records and tapes Comedy Series’ in the bottom left hand corner..  The central label stated ‘Distributed by Gillette-Madison Comm’ but otherwise looked very similar to the standard BBC Records label.

Release Date:
Catalog No:   REB260

The Canadian version of the release of Hancock featured an identical front cover to the UK release (including the strapline ‘BBC records and tapes. The Best of BBC TV & Radio’ in the bottom left hand corner).  The reverse side stated ‘Made and Printed in Canada.  Manufactured and dsitrubted by Total Recording Co. Ltd. VANCOUVER B.C.’ The label of the LP is branded ‘Total Records’ and states ‘Manufactured ie Canada by agreement with BBC Records’.

Release Date:
Catalog No:   REB260

Released in 1976 on the EMI Harvest label as an LP and on CD in 1990. 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’.

Release Date: 1976
Catalog No:   SHSP4058

The original theme tune for Hancock’s Half Hour by Wally Stott is included in a medley of comedy show themes on this release from 1976. Arranged by Paul Fenoulhet, the theme tune was played by the London Concert Orchestra. The album also featured other comedy themes, including Meet the Huggetts, Rays A Laugh and Educating Archie and variety themes including Variety Bandbox and Music While You Work.

Release Date: 1976
Catalog No:   UAG29739

Released on the Pageant Records label by Pye in 1977 to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee,
this double LP record effectively provides a history of the Queen’s reign told in music,
news, sports and entertainment of the time and was narrated by Roy Castle. Extracts from
the BBC archives included a number of recordings of Royal occasions whilst comedy extracts
were from previous Pye releases, including Round The Horne and Steptoe and Son.
The Steptoe extract was from the Royal Variety Performance single. For Tony Hancock,
the extract was a nearly 3 minute extract from the Pye recording of The Radio Ham.

Release Date:  1976
Catalog No:    SJM-001/2