Author Archives: Nipper

Friday Mystery Object of the week #8 Answer

And the answer is… The Peter Pan Clock Gramophone. Well done to those of you who answered correctly! The Peter Pan Clock Gramophone was a relatively simple ‘talking clock’ from mid-1920’s onwards. By winding both the clock and gramophone motor, setting the desired alarm time and placing the needle on the record, the record would playContinue reading “Friday Mystery Object of the week #8 Answer”

Recording pioneers- Part 8, William Conrad Gaisberg

  “We realised how many different degrees of smells there are in the world” -William Gaisberg’s observation of Hyderabad, India Name:              William Conrad Gaisberg Born:               26th June 1877 Resident:        Born in Washington DC, USA Occupation:   Recording engineer, managing director & head of London Recording Department Loves:            Travelling, opera, pushing the boundaries of music and his brother (Fred) In 1894, Fred GaisbergContinue reading “Recording pioneers- Part 8, William Conrad Gaisberg”

50th Anniversary of the Moog Modular Synthesizer

October 12, 2014 marks the 50 Year anniversary of the unveiling of the Moog modular synthesizer at the Audio Engineering Society’s (AES) New York convention. On that day in 1964, Dr. Robert Moog introduced the world to a completely new type of instrument that would go on to change the course of music history andContinue reading “50th Anniversary of the Moog Modular Synthesizer”

Chinese Rhythm by Alfredo Campoli

Chinese Rhythm, 78rpm Decca shellac disc by Alfredo Campoli and his salon orchestra Thank you to our friends from the EMI Archive Trust for sharing this great piece from their collection.   The EMI Archive Trust holds an extensive collection of 78 rpm shellac discs from accross the Gramophone Company, EMI and other privately donated collections. ThisContinue reading “Chinese Rhythm by Alfredo Campoli”

Documentary – Recording the Kings Speech

Tune in tomorrow early 03:32 GMT or stay up late 23:32 GMT for BBC WORLD SERVICE documentary – Delivering the King’s Speech! This programme explores the fascinating history of royalty releasing records, and incorporates rare material from the EMI Archives and an interview with EMI historian Tony Locantro. Marking the 75th anniversary of King GeorgeContinue reading “Documentary – Recording the Kings Speech”

Entertaining in Antarctica- Captain Scott Style!

Thank you again to our friends from the EMI Archive Trust for sending this great picture of Sir John Mills playing the role of Captain Scott in ‘Scott of the Antarctic’ 1948. When Captain Robert Falcon Scott embarked upon the Terra Nova expedition to Antarctica and the South Pole in 1910 he took with him twoContinue reading “Entertaining in Antarctica- Captain Scott Style!”

On this day: 7th July 1944

Seventy years today,  7th July 1944, a German V1 rocket landed on the EMI factory in Blyth Road, Hayes, as a result a concrete shelter roof collapsed, killing 34 and injuring a further eighteen. Today we honour the men and women based at the EMI Factory and Hayes, whose contribution was essential to the BritishContinue reading “On this day: 7th July 1944”

Special screening of ‘Memories of EMI’ Sunday 22 June

Hayes Past, Present and Future Our friends from the EMI Archive Trust have been invited to screen a selection of material from their ‘Memories of EMI’ project,  Sunday 22 June 2014, as part of this year’s ‘Calling the Tune Film Festival’ at: The Old Vinyl Factory, Blyth Road, Hayes, Middlesex.  After the screening Joanna Hughes, Curator for the EMIContinue reading “Special screening of ‘Memories of EMI’ Sunday 22 June”

Memories of EMI – Brian Kehew at Abbey Road Studios

Thanks again to the lovely folks from the EMI Archive Trust for sharing another great piece. They recently met up with the legend Brian Kehew (Co-Author of the Recording the Beatles book) for their Memories of EMI Campaign. In this short video he shares how they found one of the key pieces of technology used on manyContinue reading “Memories of EMI – Brian Kehew at Abbey Road Studios”