h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I came across this yesterday, on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFsIRZLgRbc&list=PLxUVyXJDWJV_yoX71h_pwevYVInAfVfyA It's a recording of a Level 42 show that was on both Radio 1 and BBC 2 at the same time. Remember those far-off days when you could only get television in mono? The BBC had a series called Sight and Sound in Concert; they'd broadcast a gig on both TV and the radio, and you could get it in stereo by turning down the sound on the TV and listening to the radio. This was one of those. Level 42, just at the time The Chinese Way was a hit and they were becoming well known, but were still a very fine jazz funk band and hadn't really crossed over into pop stardom yet.

I taped the radio broadcast. I still have the very cassette. I listened to it often, especially when I was out driving around London in the middle of the night, working. I'm very glad to be able to see the visuals too, now, albeit with a UK Gold logo onscreen, and not in the best quality, and with a serious syncing error between sound and vision (which I can take care of once I've ripped the files to my hard drive ).

But how could that be 32 years ago? It doesn't seem like it. Admittedly, I've spent almost half that time in Texas.

Realising things like that can bring you up sharp sometimes.

Yep. Some friends had a band in Houston. They posted a video retrospective on the band's FB page the other day. This video was shown in public on the night of their last official gig at The Satellite Lounge in Houston. At the end of the video I noticed the ©1994.

There very well could have been a child conceived that night that is now of legal drinking age.

Aye, and there are teenagers now who weren't even born in the 20th century. Tempus fugit.

Wasn't (and still is) Mark King a cracking bass player though If I said I'd give my right arm to be able to do that... I wouldn't be able to do that. Without a right arm, that is.

[Obligatory]

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

Certain things just have to be done, don't they

I remember watching stuff on the TV with the sound turned down and the radio on for stereo effect. It was probably Radio 3 and a Proms concert, but same principle.

Oh, yeah... they had a word for it. Simulcast.

I just watched the video and apparently it was 132 years ago.

Like most cricket fans, I watched the BBC's cricket coverage with the sound turned down and Test Match Special on the wireless. You had to feel for the TV commentators really, knowing it was likely that most of the people watching the TV pictures were listening to the radio commentators instead of them.