Matt at the BBC was quite a big project. Firstly there was the problem of where to find the material. Most of Matt’s Radio recordings were not kept and the number of recordings that are in the main BBC library is very small. So what to do? I suggested that we look at the transcription library. We knew that the transcription service still existed – now called BBC Radio International – but how much it held was an unknown quantity. Rumours abounded that the library was missing large amounts of material. I spent a day huddled in the British Library scanning through old catalogues and submitted our request. Delightedly we found the rumours, (as far as Matt was concerned) to be just that and all of Matt’s transcription recordings had survived. There was just one problem!

Back in the 1960’s tape stock was expensive and bulky, so master tapes of the vast majority of these recordings were often re-used and copies kept on vinyl disc only. Whilst the 45 year old discs were in very good condition they were by no means perfect. They were expertly transferred into digital by BBC Radio International and sent to me, who set about getting the recordings back to master quality.

The recordings suffered mainly from surface noise and clicks and pops. There was also a small amount of low level crackle that was more of a challenge.

The 1961 show had a certain amount of groove wear and a few recordings contained minor clicks which could not be removed completely without harming the recording. However that vast majority of the songs should now sound as good as the original master tapes once did with no extra compression or tweaking required – a testament to the brilliance of the original BBC engineers.

The bonus Saturday Club recordings were not as well recorded. They sounding thin and lacking in the warmth of the star show recordings. After a little care and attention these now sound much closer to the other material featured on this set.