Hi Everybody !

[tonyc1971]

Greetings to everyone in the forum.  I can't believe I've only just 'stumbled' across this place.  Here is some background about me...

I've been collecting library music since the early 80's.  By that I mean tape recording straight from the BBC test card, Ceefax, Channel 4 test card, and S4C test card and interval music.  Since the majority of my cassettes died many years ago, I've been re-creating the complete tapes from years gone by with the help of others across many forums.  Some may remember me from Soulseek and Vinyl Vulture / VG+ as 'Banbury Oddball' and even after a couple of days here, I've started to recognise some of the great guys I've helped and vice versa.

I was lucky around 12 years ago to score a large quantity of library music vinyl that the BBC were chucking out.  Someone on Fleabay was selling them as a job lot as he initially was going to log and listen to them all but circumstances changed.  That someone saved them from being chucked in a skip.
 Thankfully at the time I could just about to afford the haul and then started copying over to my hard drive which was nowhere need the 6TB beast I use today, so many were recorded in just 320kbps which is a crying shame.  Some were copied straight to minidisc so may be of better quality.  When the missus fell pregnant with our second child (the pleasure was all mine - apparently  ) I had to quickly copy all I could but ran out of time and had to sell the collection on.  Gutted I didn't get the time to listen to them all. 

So, in my time, I've acquired lots of instantly recognisable tunes from yesteryear and have recreated C4's tapes along with S4C and some BBC.  It's also good to discover to gems that belonged to tv programmes either as their themes, or incidental music like those used in Prisoner. 

Thanks to all for letting me join and hope to help out those looking for some albums and likewise hopefully find some albums to help plug the gaps.

[Retronic]

Tony! Where you been. I saw you over on FB recently and you were of course a part of my library journey with your Brutons. I remember you had one of those Bruton folder catalogues too- still haven’t gotten one.  Let one go on eBay years back - may have been yours. I think it went fir about £40 which was too much at the time.  Happily pay that now :-)

I have never lost interest in library music and continued to but records. Welcome.

[John_Fred]

Welcome Tony.  You sound an awful lot like myself and countless others who have had more than a passing interest in all things, 'incidental', is regards to music.  BBC as well as Channel 4 test card music being the mainstay of the beginnings into a larger world of library music.  Not only the tunes they used but the albums which the tunes they used came from. 

[stackjackson]

I remember this fella    long, long ago when I was lurking around some forum searching info on the Bruton label... and now here you are! Welcome, Tony!
I'm surprised you didn't find us earlier!

[tonyc1971]

Thanks everyone !

@Retronic - Worst decision I ever made getting rid of the Bruton catalogues.  I had the first and second edition.  Still kick myself now regards that, and had the Parry Music catalogue too.  Like you, I've never lost the interest for library music, but family gets in the way.  I've been buying bits and bats here and there and helping out others when I can.  Small world.

@Stackjackson - Ha, Comic Book Guy.  Thankfully I don't look anything like him or I'd still be single.  That Avatar was from the old Vinyl Vulture and VG+ forum.  I still visit on the odd occasion and see what's going on.

@John_Fred - We have been in touch before as we discussed and helped you compile the S4C tapes used and you uploaded to YT.  I think I may have to re-up those at some point.  Good to see you here.  Quite rightly with your comment, you start searching for the tracks and albums we know and love, but so often others post links on blogs etc with some real gems from some cracking libraries that are less known to us in the UK.  Mainly the Italian stuff.  Great to listen too.

So frustrating that all but one of my tapes have died so the re-construction of the S4C ones are mainly from memory and since my old Vulture days I've acquired loads more.  I managed to get a mint (but slightly warped) MES105 Mozart Library album thanks to a top guy that works there who kindly helped me in my quest for that album and as it was warped, he couldn't sell it.  I managed to get a decent rip out of it too, but there is hum and noise on it as expected.

I'm sure I'll be pestering someone on here to help me fill my JW and Programme Music gaps in the coming days, so apologies in advance.

[Retronic]

You’ve come at a good time.  There’s an active JW thread in the Request section and I’ve ripped quite a few lately and sorted my Programme out.  I think I have full set ripped. Will be sorting again over weekend.

[tonyc1971]

Thanks mate, sounds great.

I was in good shape up until about 2yrs ago and had a HDD failure.  I managed to get most restored and recovered but lost loads when the drive finally died on me.  So, had to beg, steal and borrow to get back to where I am.  Thankfully, I found an old HDD that I had my library music on but hadn’t used it for a few years so had loads missing. So, I’m getting there and I’ll pop a post on over the weekend and list the programme music albums I’m missing. I think for memory it’s the first four, but I had them.  Never had PM005, but having downloading it last night, I hadn’t missed much  . So annoying as I’d got most PM’s and had a few JW’s missing from about 460-490 and had the others.  Soul destroying !

[Greta]

Welcome Tony!