Vivian Stanshall's Radio Flashes

Performances for BBC Radio 1

Contributed by Steve Benson:

Vivian Stanshall Sessions for BBC Radio 1

1. Recorded 16 March 1970, broadcast 21 March 1970 on Top Gear
   including Cyborg Signal, Blind Date, Eleven Moustachioed Daughters, The Strain
   Vivian Stanshall's BiG Grunt, with Roger Ruskin Spear (sax), Denis Cowan (bass), Ian Wallace (drums) and Bubs White (gtr)

2. Recorded 16 October 1975, broadcast 27 October 1975 on John Peel
   including Trail of the Lonesome Pine, The Unbridled Suite / In the Final Analysis, Aunt Florrie Remembers (from Giant Whelks at Rawlinson End)
   Vivian Stanshall (guitar, euphonium, pipes, dum dum, talking drum, percussion), with Pete Moss (bass, piano, accordion, violin, cello), Mox (harmonica) and Bubs White (guitar, banjo, ukelele)
   "The story so far... Sandra still smells, and Hubert has been sick." The episode (part 21?) includes Sir Henry singing the family song and Old Scrotum's Darnin' Socks.

3. Recorded 2 December 1975, broadcast 22, 23, 24, 26 December 1975 on John Peel
   Christmas at Rawlinson End, parts 1-4;
   including Aunt Florrie Recalls, Convivial Vivisectionists, The Party's Over, Uncle Otto, Roar of the End, A Half for Chuck
   Vivian Stanshall, with Julian Smedley (violin, mandolin) and Andy Roberts (dulcimer)
   "..Henry dismissed this as malicious truth and the gathering outside the Fool & Bladder was swelled by elephantiasis and gossip. Splendid in his hunting pink, he straddled the lively strong-made turret of his tank and with a stirring blast from a recent curry, read on ...." The episode ends with the song The Party's Over.

4. Recorded 21 March 1977, broadcast 6 April 1977 on John Peel
   Rawlinson End, part 34 - An Absence of Whelks;
   including Aunt Florrie Recalls, Dan, Nice & Tidy
   "The story so far... Loathsome Gerald has been caught observing the Sun through a telescope and his squint is now permanent."
   (Sir H) "Now you squids, prepare for wax!"

5. Recorded 11 May 1977, broadcast 23 May 1977 on John Peel
   Rawlinson End, part 35 - Spades, Balls and Sausage Trees;
   including Wheelbarrow, Aunt Florrie Recalls
   Vivian Stanshall, with Zoot Money (guitar, piano, vocals) and Barry Dransfield (violin, cello)
   This episode begins with the classic intro from the film/LP version... "English as tuppence, changing yet changeless as canal water, nestling in green nowhere, armoured and effete, etc etc"

6. Recorded 24 August & 14 December 1977, broadcast 19 December 1977 on John Peel
   Rawlinson End, part 37 - The Road to Unreason;
   including Aunt Florrie Recalls, Three Vivisectionists, Mrs Radcliffe (The Beast Inside)
   Vivian Stanshall, with Zoot Money and Mox (harmonica, flute)
   "The story so far... Hubert is growing mustard and cress in his left ear and performs even the most intimate of office with his head inclined to one side. Sir Henry's neck has healed nicely and Mrs Radcliffe has been banished from the house. Now read on..."

7. Recorded 29 March 1978, broadcast 5 April 1978 on John Peel
   Rawlinson End;
   including Florrie's Waltz, Fool & Bladder, Interlewd, Smeeton
   Vivian Stanshall, with Julian Smedley and Jim Cuomo (clarinet, recorder, celeste, leg)
   "The story so far... The hapless and unusual Hubert, having unhappily chanced upon Sir Henry reliving the bombing of Dresden, has received a terrific thrashing and a crippling kick in the fork."

8. Recorded 18 July 1978, broadcast 25 July 1978 on John Peel
   Rawlinson End (Part 37) - Cabbage Looking In Mufti; [NB: Part 37 again!]
   including Ginger Geyser [Geezer?], Socks, Stripe Me a Pinky, Fresh Faced Boys, Aunt Florrie
   Vivian Stanshall, with Julian Smedley and Pete Moss
   "The story so far.... After the worm chewing outrage and Philippa Portley's hysterical nausea, Hubert has been declared definitely off his chump by the Rawlinson family."

9. Recorded 11 December 1979, broadcast 24 December 1979 on John Peel
   Rawlinson End - Gooseflesh Steps part 1;
   including Cracks Are Showing
   Vivian Stanshall, with John Kirkpatrick (accordion, concertina, jews harp, backing vocals) and Pete Moss
   "Dr Headstuffing held the winking scalpel aloft with the delicacy and firmness of a man who knows his job. The shaking had stopped and from the liver bared before the blade pulsed a ligament of concentration."

10. Recorded 23 February 1988, broadcast 18 April 1988 on John Peel
    Rawlinson End - The Crackpot at the End of the Rainbow;
    including Florrie's Waltz, Under the Sea
    Vivian Stanshall, with Pete Moss (piano, drums, accordion), Kenny Baldock (bass) and Dave Swarbrick (violin, mandolin)
    (Mrs E) "But when he woke up in the middle of the night screaming to tell me that David Attenborough was walking through his chest hairs, well that's how he explained the droppings.."
    (Sir H) "Strap me to a tree and call me Brenda!"

11. Recorded 9 August 1988, broadcast 23 November 1988 on John Peel
    The Eating at Rawlinson End
    Vivian Stanshall, with Pete Moss, Dave Swarbrick, Tony Roberts and Danny Thompson
    "In the blue wardrobe of Heaven there are many unused clothes, too tight fitting, yet too beautiful to throw away. And in that wardrobe we hang our likenesses - yellow diaries, yellowed with yesterday, thumb-smeared with tomorrow. But the now - the present, like the hollow screech of flamingoes in search of shrimps, is still vibrantly, shocking pink."

12. Recorded 6 April 1991, 29 May 1991 broadcast on John Peel
    Cackling Gas Capers;
    including Octavio, Tour De Farce, Achmedillo, Peristaltic Waves
    Vivian Stanshall, with Dave Swarbrick, Tony Roberts, Danny Thompson, Rodney Slater, Roger Ruskin Spear, Henry Lowther, John Megginson and Les Cirkel