Similar to the model followed in the 400 Box project, this page has been created for an overview of the 98 tapes in the Tom Roche BBC World Service collection.
Tapes[]
A few notes from Tom on the tapes in his collection:
The BBC World Service shows come in 3 flavors - wooshy over the air shortwave (generally 1980's) more crisp but flat satellite feed of BBC World Service (90's-00's) and then a dozen or so shows from WRAS-Atlanta FM college radio station that briefly had an agreement with BBC World Service. The latter shows sound best, but the college DJs nearly always clipped the start of the show. Tapes labelled WRAS are from this last batch, often 3 shows stacked on a 90 minute cassette.
All shows are in mono.
The 80s shows were recorded in Atlanta via a $900 professional communications receiver like this via BBCs Caribbean Relay on the island of Antigua that a friend (and Peel fan) owned. Even at that price, some shows are markedly low-fi, but I think it is important to save that snapshot to honor the behind-the-iron-curtain listeners who listened this way for years. My friend probably recorded every show over 10 years, but we only saved the best ones and rolled over the rest, alas. So the surviving shows are good ones.
In the 90s BBC World Service was placed on a satellite channel audio subcarrier accessible to people in North America with the old big backyard dishes. There is a bit of analog hiss to these shows, and the EQ is flat as this feed was for stations to rebroadcast and apply their own EQ. (RF Note: Will try and fix this in the rip)
Generally my friend with the dish would record Peel on one side of the cassette and the BBCWS Top 20 Countdown show (sometimes called "Multitrack" by the BBC.) It is your call if you want to digitize these shows also. To cover 20 songs in 30 minutes makes it a tight tidy show, and some songs are edgy outliers... but mostly it is pop "product." Still an interesting time capsules for sure.
Below are all 98 tapes as listed below. This section is intended to give at an overview of tape status, plus links for information on the tapes themselves and the shows broadcast on the dates they cover. Further information will be added when known. Not all tapes are dated accurately and the show was usually repeated 3 times in a week so some dates will be rough guesses to the nearest week. Where a show already has a Wikia page I will use the same page, even though the exact broadcast date of the Tom Roche tape may have been one of the other repeats in the same week.
TR001-TR098[]
TR001: December 1984 (BBC World Service) / 08 April 1985 (BBC World Service) / 04 January 1985 (BBC World Service) / 14 January 1985 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR002: 26 August 1985 (BBC World Service) / BBC World Service Top 20 (Paul Burnett) 27 August 1985 SHARED
TR003: 05 December 1984 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR004: No Peel content (Tom's Answer Phone Tape!)
TR005: 03 December 1985 (BBC World Service) / 23 March 1987 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR006: 02 January 1986 (BBC World Service) / BBC World Service "Two Cheers For 1985" Review SHARED
TR007: 07 October 1985 (BBC World Service) / 28 February 1987 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR008: 05 November 1987 (BBC World Service) / 13 November 1987 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR009: 26 July 1993 (BBC World Service) / 23 February 1993 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR010: 10 March 1997 (BBC World Service) / 17 March 1997 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR011: 14 March 1988 BBC World Service (actually Part 2 of John Peel In Russia) / 21 March 1988 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR012: 28 May 1994 (BBC World Service) / 05 October 1992 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR013: 27 June 1988 (BBC World Service) / No Peel Content SHARED
TR014: 27 September 1988 (BBC World Service) / BBC World Service Top 20 (Paul Burnett) 27 September 1988 SHARED
TR015: 17 October 1988 (BBC World Service) / BBC World Service Top 20 (Paul Burnett) 18 October 1988 SHARED
TR016: 05 December 1988 (BBC World Service) / No Peel Content SHARED
TR017: No Peel Content
TR018: 25 September 1989 (BBC World Service) / BBC World Service Top 20 (Paul Burnett) 30 September 1989 SHARED
TR019: 12 June 1989 (BBC World Service) / 19 June 1989 (BBC World Service) / 26 June 1989 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR020: 29 May 1989 (BBC World Service) / 07 August 1989 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR021: 05 November 1990 (BBC World Service) / 29 June 1992 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR022: 25 May 1991 (BBC World Service) / BBC World Service Top 20 (Paul Burnett) 04 June 1991 SHARED
TR023: 03 June 1991 (BBC World Service) / 10 June 1991 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR024: 24 June 1991 (BBC World Service) / 01 July 1991 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR025: 29 August 1991 Andy Kershaw (BBC World Service) / 20 January 1992 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR026: 09 October 1989 (BBC World Service) / 09 October 1989 BBC World Service Multitrack II (Graham Bannerman) SHARED
TR027: 12 August 1991 (BBC World Service) / 19 August 1991 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR028: 13 May 1991 (BBC World Service) / 20 May 1991 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR029: 14 June 1993 (BBC World Service) / August 1994 BBC World Service Multitrack II (Graham Bannerman) SHARED
TR030: 10 August 1993 (BBC World Service) / 11 August 1993 Andy Kershaw (BBC World Service) / 11 August 1993 Essential Guide To Music (Mark Goodier interviews Andy Kershaw) SHARED
TR031: No Peel Content
TR032: 07 June 1993 (BBC World Service) / 07 June 1993 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR033: 10 August 1993 BBC World Service Multitrack III (Sarah Ward) / Duplicate of 10 August 1993 (BBC World Service) but much worse reception
TR034: 05 March 1994 (BBC World Service) / 12 September 1994 (BBC World Service) / 10 October 1994 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR035: 15 October 1994 (BBC World Service) / 19 November 1994 (BBC World Service) / 17 December 1994 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR036: 01 July 1994 (BBC World Service) / blank SHARED
TR037: 24 April 1995 (BBC World Service) / 24 April 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR038: 17 May 1993 (BBC World Service) / 22 August 1994 (BBC World Service) / 28 August 1995 (BBC World Service) / 28 August 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR039: September 1994 (BBC World Service) / 25 March 1995 (BBC World Service) / 01 April 1995 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR040: 07 August 1995 (BBC World Service) / 07 August 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR041: 03 December 1995 (BBC World Service) / 03 December 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR042: 18 September 1995 (BBC World Service) / 18 September 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR043: 14 May 1995 (BBC World Service) / 19 June 1995 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR044: 25 February 1995 (BBC World Service) / 20 February 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR045: 25 March 1995 (BBC World Service) (duplicate of TR039) / 03 July 1995 (BBC World Service) / 04 February 1997 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR046: 24 April 1995 (BBC World Service) (duplicate of TR037) / 29 October 1994 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR047: 20 August 1995 (BBC World Service) / 20 August 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR048: 14 August 1995 (BBC World Service) / 20 January 1996 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR049: 22 July 1996 (BBC World Service) / 29 July 1996 (BBC World Service) / 25 August 1996 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR050: 18 December 1995 (BBC World Service) / 18 December 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR051: 19 December 1996 (BBC World Service) / No Peel Content SHARED
TR052: February 1996 (BBC World Service) / March 1996 (BBC World Service) / May 1996 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR053: 10 July 1995 (BBC World Service) / No Peel Content SHARED
TR054: 28 January 1995 (BBC World Service) / 29 April 1997 Andy Kershaw (BBC World Service) / 28 April 1997 BBC World Service Multitrack Alternative (Claire Sturgess) SHARED
TR055: 23 July 1995 (BBC World Service) / 16 July 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR056: 08 May 1995 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR057: 30 December 1996 (BBC World Service) / 29 December 1996 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR058: 08 January 1996 (BBC World Service) / 07 January 1996 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR059: 20 April 1996 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR060: 05 August 1996 (BBC World Service) / 12 August 1996 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR061: 27 October 1996 (BBC World Service) / 10 November 1996 (BBC World Service) incomplete WRAS cuts off broadcast half way SHARED
TR062: 19 December 1996 (BBC World Service) (Alternate complete recording of the incomplete show from TR051) / 22 December 1996 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR063: 29 April 1996 (BBC World Service) / 28 April 1996 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR064: 10 November 1996 (BBC World Service) (complete show but worse reception from TR061) / 09 November 1996 BBC World Service Multitrack Alternative (Claire Sturgess) SHARED
TR065: 03 July 1995 (BBC World Service) (duplicate of TR045) / 02 July 1995 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR066: 20 February 1998 (BBC World Service) / Early July 1998 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR067: 19 February 1996 (BBC World Service) / 19 February 1996 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR068: 17 November 1996 (BBC World Service) / Peel Out In The States Program 13 / 01 December 1996 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR069: 17 October 1997 (BBC World Service) / 31 October 1997 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR070: November 1997 (BBC World Service) / No Peel Content SHARED
TR071: 10 July 1997 (BBC World Service) / 17 July 1997 (BBC World Service) / 24 July 1997 (BBC World Service) / 15 August 1997 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR072: 08 December 1996 (BBC World Service) / 11 January 1997 (BBC World Service) / 18 January 1997 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR073: 10 March 1997 (BBC World Service) (worse reception duplicate of the show on TR010 but includes the intro that was previously missing) / 08 December 1996 (BBC World Service) (alternate broadcast of the show from TR072- last track goes on 30 seconds longer before fade) / 04 September 1997 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR074: 11 September 1997 (BBC World Service) / 08 January 1998 (BBC World Service) / 15 January 1998 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR075: No Peel Content (Two Part "Music Time In Africa" Voice Of America documentary - Rita Rochelle)
TR076: 02 March 1998 (BBC World Service) / 15 April 1998 (BBC World Service) / May 1998 (BBC World Service) SHARED
TR077: 11 December 1998 (BBC World Service) / 02 December 1998 BBC World Service Multitrack Express (Kevin Greening) SHARED
TR078: 23 October 2000 (BBC World Service) / 22 October 2000 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR079: 20 August 1999 (BBC World Service) / 15 August 1999 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR080: 13 December 1999 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) / 20 December 1999 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith)
TR081: 19 October 1999 (BBC World Service) / 17 October 1999 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR082: 28 June 1999 (BBC World Service) / January 1999 BBC World Service Multitrack Alternative (Claire Sturgess) SHARED
TR083: 26 March 1994 (BBC World Service) / 28 March 1994 BBC World Service Multitrack III (Sarah Ward) SHARED
TR084: 13 March 2002 (BBC World Service) / 11 March 2002 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith) SHARED
TR085: 09 April 1999 (BBC World Service) / 09 April 1999 (BBC World Service) (alternate broadcast of the same show from the same week) SHARED
TR086: 04 June 1999 (BBC World Service) / 28 May 1999 BBC World Service World Of Music Presents Ibrahim Ferrer & Ruben Gonzalez Live In Glasgow (Andy Kershaw) SHARED
TR087: 20 February 2002 (BBC World Service) / 17 February 2002 BBC World Service Top 20 (Tim Smith)
TR088: 28 June 2002 (BBC World Service) / 25 June 2002 BBC World Service Top 20 (Emma B)
TR089: 06 May 2002 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue / 2002 BBC World Service Rolling News Documentary Pt 1
TR090: 13 December 2002 (BBC World Service) / 10 December 2002 BBC World Service Top 20 (Emma B)
TR091: 09 May 2002 (BBC World Service) / 07 May 2002 BBC World Service Top 20 (Emma B)
TR092: 2002 BBC World Service Rolling News Documentary Pt 2 / 21 July 2002 BBC World Service Top 20 (Emma B)
TR093: 06 July 2002 (BBC World Service) / 08 July 2002 BBC World Service Top 20 (Emma B)
TR094: 17 August 2002 (BBC World Service) / 11 August 2002 BBC World Service Top 20 (Emma B)
TR095: 05 November 2004 (BBC World Service) / 30 October 2004 Home Truths Tribute (Roger McGough)
TR096: 10 June 2004 Radio 1 Show
TR097: No Peel Content
TR098: Unknown Frank Zappa bootleg audience recording (No Peel Content)