Flexi Discs

[bhowells]

Who remembers flexi discs. These discs were given away in magazines, the New Musical Espress had some really good ones in the seventies. Some have turned out to be collectors item.

The Nme give away a Monty Python flexi disc called Monty Python's Tiny Black Round thing. This disc had extracts from the Live At Drury Lane ablum but also had a couple of bits and pieces especially recorded for this flexi disc.

There was another flexi disc from NME by the Rolling Stones with extracts from their Exile on Main Street album and again there was some bonus material.

Playing thesse discs was a bit of a pain, becuase you usually needed to place a 2 pence piece on the disc to weigh it down,

Readers Digest and World Record club used flexi discs to promote their boxed sets and again these were a pain in the bum to play with the records constantly sticking in the groove.

My brother remembers a pop magazine in the fifties called,"Roxy and that publication had a flexi disc with a special message from Frankie Vaughan.

[penfold]

Private Eye were known for theirs, usually with the Xmas issues IIRC... comedy sketches by their writers and friends....so Peter Cook, Willie Rushton, etc.....

[earlb]

bhowells I recorded the flexi disc of Monty Python and also 'Live at Drury Lane'. Some others I did were for Readers Digest and World Record Club.

[bhowells]

That's fantastic Earlb. Did you do any for any other magazines, I recall one that Robert Dougal did for a part magazine regarding the Enlish Language. Whether it was a sort of bi weekly dictionary I am not sure, but I remember the disc.

Thanks for that.

[billy bentley]

If Flexi-discs hadn't existed The Clash might never have written and recorded "Train In Vain". Written and recorded in less than a day for an NME flexi-disc that never happened. Evidently the NME in 1979 decided it was too expensive to do.

[earlb]

I recorded many bhowells, among them being Barclays Bank, The Glen Miller Years presented by Humph Lyttelton, The Swing Era with Alvar Lidell, Jim Reeves and Bert Kaempfert. I also did a lot of Cardboard records (remember those?) for the film 'Never let go' Strand Cigarettes, Harry Edwards for True Magazine, Bulmers with Bob Monkhouse and Linguaphone. A lot of the flimsys were pressed by Lyntone.

[batman]

Cardboard records! I have never heard of those ... I would love to see one if you have a pic.

[earlb]

Especially for you Bats - cardboard records. Most of them were around 7inches square (I don't deal in Mickey Mouse measurements) and some were around 8 inches by 6. Most of the ones I have are from Spain and Germany as 'musical Post cards' and contain either Flamenco or Military Marches and emanate from the 50's.
The one below is as you can see has the jingle 'A Double Diamond works wonders' and goes at 78rpm


The next one I recorded with Evangelist Harry Edwards for 'True Magazine' and plays at
331/3 rpm. These were made by pressing the disc in clear type plastic and sealing it to cardboard. I guess my most satisfying one was for Linguaphone which was advertised on Tele and my name was smack across the middle of the label in full view and the Narrator got no mention at all - His name? David Hamilton.

[batman]

Thanks very much earlb .... fascinating stuff.