Hancock Singles and EPs

The first EP was released in 1960 and featured extracts from the Pieces of Hancock LP with which it shared its artwork. This first volume, with dark orange writing on the front sleeve, featured The Secret Life of Anthony Hancock on side 1. Running for 7 minutes, this was The Test Pilot sequence from The Diary. Side 2 also ran for 7 minutes and featured an extract from The Threatening Letters. This sequence starts with Hancock visiting the police station with his threatening letters. A nice touch on this release was an edited version of some of the dialogue specially recorded for the Pieces of Hancock LP. This dialogue was at the end of side 1 and at both the beginning and end of side 2. The initial versions of this release featured a plum coloured label as illustrated. Later versions featured a pink/red label which is identical to style to that illustrated under Little Pieces of Hancock Vol 2

Release Date: 1960
Catalog No:   NEP2414

The second EP release from Pieces of Hancock, also released in 1960, featured two 8-minute extracts from The East Cheam Drama Festival. On Side 1 is Jack’s Return Home and on side 2 Look Back In Hunger, both extracts edited further from the versions on the LP. The wording on this cover was in light blue. Early releases featured a plum coloured label with later releases the pink / red label illustrated.

Release Date: 1960 
Catalog No:   NEP24161

The final EP release from Pieces of Hancock was also released in 1960 and featured two excerpts from The Publicity Photograph. Side 1 ran for 5 ¬Ω minutes and Side 2 for nearly 7 minutes. The sequence begins on side 1 with Hancock visiting the photographer. This sequence continues onto side 2 and is followed by the arrival of the photograph at Hancock’s home. This release also features some more of the dialogue specially recorded for the Pieces of Hancock LP and is used to introduce the sequence on side 1 and to round off the extract at the end of side 2.

Release Date: 1960 
Catalog No:   NEP2470

This release from 1961 featured extracts from the Pye LP: ‘Hancock’, with both sides of this EP being extracts from The Blood Donor. The colour front cover featured identical artwork to the LP cover. Side 1 ran for nearly 8 minutes and featured the segment beginnning with Hancock’s arrival at the Blood Donor Clinic. Side 2 ran for 8 ¬Ω minutes and featured Hancock with the Doctor: ‘It’s very nearly an armful!’, followed immediately by the end sequence involving a bread knife and a blood transfusion! Early releases featured a largely white label; subsequent releases featured the traditional pink label.

Release Date: 1961 
Catalog No:   NEP24175

This Australian release is identical to the previous UK version of the release other than the front cover is entirely in black and white!

Release Date:  
Catalog No:   PEP020

This single by Frank Cordell and His Orchestra from 1961 featured the Theme Tune from The Rebel film as its ‘A’ side. Ou La La, also from The Rebel, was the ‘B’ side. The single was released in a wonderfully period sleeve advising that the record ‘must be played at 45’ and ‘The use of ‚ÄúEMITEX” cleaning material (available from Record Dealers) will preserve this record and keep it free from dust

Release Date: 1961
Catalog No:   HMV POP852

Decca 45F 11439

Released in 1962, the single featured the theme tunes from the television shows Face To Face and The Sky At Night.

Release Date: 1962 
Catalog No:   Decca 45F 11439

This 6 track EP from 1963 was given away by Woman’s Own magazine as a taster of the Golden Guinea label Top TV Theme LP. The sleeve note advised that: ‘This record is a personal invitation to you to visit your local record shop where the original L.P. from which these selections were taken, is on sale at only 19/11 each’. This EP features half of the tracks from the album and, although it does not include ‘Hancock’s Theme’, it does include an advert on the reverse for the album which specifically mentions ‘Hancock’s Tune

Release Date: 1963 
Catalog No:   WO3

Released in 1963, this single featured the theme music from the ATV Series Hancock, which included a specially recorded voiceover by Tony. The ‘B’ side was the theme tune from Spying Tonight.

Release Date: 1963 
Catalog No:   Pye 7N15500

Released in 1964 in a blaze of almost no publicity, this rare single was the last to actually feature Tony. Both the A and the B sides feature the same sequences as on Little Pieces Of Hancock Volume 1, but the sequences on this single are significantly shorter, with the A side being just over 3 ¬Ω minutes compared to 7 minutes on the previous release and the B side just over 4 minutes compared to 7 minutes on the Little Pieces of release. It was the edited version of The Test Pilot featured on this single that was regularly heard on ‘Stewpots Choice’, the children’s radio request programme from the early 1970’s. An advance promotion copy is also illustrated.

Release Date: 1964
Catalog No:   Pye 7N15575

Arizona Stateside EMI SS422

Released in 1965, this single featured the theme music from the film ‘Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines’ on the A-side and the love theme from the film called Arizona on the B-side.

Release Date: 1965
Catalog No:   Arizona Stateside EMI SS422

In France singles were always released in an EP format. So, when it came to release the single from Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, the EP format was adopted and features extracts from the film score of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. The release, which featured the same artwork as the LP release, contains the following tracks: 1) Ces Merveilleux Fous Volants Dans Droles De Machines, 2) Ah, So…Mein Herr, 3) La Danse Des Aviateurs Intrepides and 4) Le Pilote Francais.

Release Date: 1965
Catalog No:   No 730 007 (Mono)

The Australian EP featured Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines and The Great Air Race on side 1 and The Flying Frenchman and The Incredible Time of 25 Hours and 11 Minutes on side 2. The only version seen by the author was in a plain white sleeve but I doubt that this was the original. If anyone is able to send an image of the original cover for this release, it will be added to this article.

Release Date: 
Catalog No:    TX -11,416

This USA EP contains Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines and Arizona on side A with unrelated tracks ‘He Shouldn’t A Hadn’t A Oughtn’t A’ and ‘The Sweetheart Tree’ on side B.

Release Date:  
Catalog No:   CEP 6607 B

This is a demo copy of the standard single release and features Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines on the ‘A’ side and Arizona on the ‘B’ side.

Release Date: 28th May 1965
Catalog No:   SS422 TMM

This is a promotional copy of the standard single release and features Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines on the ‘A’ side and Arizona on the ‘B’ side.

Release Date: 1965
Catalog No:   20th Century Fox label 587 ZTSP94770 (USA)

This is the 20^th Century Fox labelled version of the standard single released also under the Stateside label.  This single features Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines on the ‘A’ side and Arizona on the ‘B’ side.

Release Date:  
Catalog No:    Arizona TK-1059

This single released by Harvey Andrews in 1976 featured a song on the B side ‘Mr Homburg Hat’, which is dedicated to ‘The Lad Himself’.

Release Date: 1976
Catalog No:   Transatlantic Records BIG538

Released in 1968, this single featured an alternative version of Those Magnificent men In Their Flying Machines sung by the children’s puppets Pinky and Perky. The ‘B’ side of the single was the puppet’s version of Yellow Submarine.

Release Date: 1968 
Catalog No:   No. 6

Released in 1989, the A side of this single by Richard Digance features a song dedicated to Tony Hancock.

Release Date: 1989
Catalog No:   Bill Riviera Records RIV89003

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.

Release Date:  1990
Catalog No:    7" single AS1251
               12" single VST1251
               Cassette ASC1251 
               CD ASCD1251

Released in 1990 by the group Small Town Parade, an indie pop band from Hackney, this release contains an extract from ‘A Sunday Afternoon At Home’.

Release Date: 1990
Catalog No:   No 730 007 (Mono)

The 12”version of this single by Small Town Parade, an Indie pop band from Hackney, contains the track ‘A Sunday Way Of Life’ on the ‘B’ side. This song features an extra from the radio half hour ‘ A Sunday Afternoon At Home’

Release Date: 1990
Catalog No:

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

Release Date: 1992
Catalog No:   B000092GHI