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Hancock's Half Hour Collectibles: Volume 2
Hancock's Half Hour Collectibles: Volume 2
Oct 5, 2024 1:40 PM

Author:Ray Galton,Alan Simpson,Sid James,Tony Hancock,Full Cast

Hancock's Half Hour Collectibles: Volume 2

A fascinating collection of rare and remastered radio & TV material starring Tony Hancock

This second treasury of rare archive material is spearheaded by four newly-restored radio episodes of Hancock’s Half Hour, all from 1956: ‘The New Secretary’, ‘Anna and the King of Siam’, ‘The Stolen Petrol’ and ‘The Expresso Bar’. Starring alongside Tony Hancock are Sid James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams.

A number of fascinating extracts from the long-running 1950s variety show Calling All Forces feature Hancock performing alongside Charlie Chester and others, whilst the famous Budgerigar Sketch - with Hancock as the eponymous bird - is featured here from 1958’s Christmas Night With the Stars on BBC TV.

In What Happened to Hancock? from 1971, Philip Oakes reflects upon the complex personality of his friend, and elicits personal recollections from those who knew him, including Ralph Reader, Beryl Vertue, Sylvia Sims, Sid James, Duncan Wood, Michael Wale, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Heroes for a Time, from 1978, considers Hancock’s legacy ten years after his death, with contributions from Lyn Took, Barry Took, Arthur Askey and Billy Marsh. Freddie Ross Hancock recollects life as Tony’s second wife in a Woman’s Hour interview from 1979.

Barry Cryer introduces Six Characters in Search of an Answer: Tony Hancock from 2003 and examines the man behind the character, with the help of Galton & Simpson, Dennis Main Wilson and Richard Briers. Finally, in two editions of The Essay from 2015, Simon Heffer examines and compares the careers of both Tony Hancock and his stalwart co-star Sid James.

A bonus PDF booklet looks at each item in the context of Hancock’s broadcasting career, with insights into how many of these lost or rare items were discovered.

Marking the legacy of one of our greatest comedy entertainers, this collection is a must for fans of Tony Hancock and Hancock's Half Hour.

Approx. 5 hours.

Reviews

A beautiful and clever book about being human. All the warmth of his comedy without the inconvenience of his face

—— Russell Brand

Hard to imagine anyone not loving this... go Simon Amstell!

—— Stephen Fry

Disarmingly, almost alarmingly, honest. I laughed out loud 57 times

—— Martin Freeman

No one makes loneliness and anxiety as funny as Simon Amstell. Every sentence in this book is simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious

—— Hadley Freeman

Enrapturing. Touching, funny and sweet

—— Alain de Botton

Puts the fun in 'insanely honest introspection fun'

—— Adam Buxton

A brilliantly funny, sad, clever, silly book. I loved it!

—— Matt Lucas

Amstell is a likable, self-deprecating guide to his own flaws, and has spent enough time in therapy to dissect his own navel-gazing with a nicely dry self-awareness

—— Stephanie Merritt , Observer

Hilarious and heart-breaking… Simon’s unique take on the world is a reminder of the absurdity of life and the humour that can be found even in its darkest moments. Genuinely life-affirming, moving and profoundly funny

—— Attitude

Compulsively, excruciatingly honest… An heroically spiky, self-excavating read about family, fame, sex and self-discovery

—— Alice Jones , i

This book blends some of the best moments from his tours to date with some eye-wateringly honest anecdotes from his life so far

—— Adam Ouxbury , Wing Magazine

It’s inevitable that Simon Amstell’s memoir doesn’t fit the usual mould… In Help..., he cranks up the honesty: alongside excerpts of scripts from his shows, he relates the source material, often in almost painful depth. Depression, an unhappy childhood, family rifts – all feature in what Amstell, typically acerbic, describes as a “heroic act of self-annihiliation”

—— Hannah Shaddock , Radio Times

Amstell is evocative and wittily self-aware about his upbringing as a painfully shy, socially awkward boy in Romford… Amstell’s writing often contains profundity alongside morsels of pithy wit

—— Steve Bennett , Chortle

Stand-up transcripts interspersed with touching personal confessions – love, sexuality, self-discovery – in his trademark sardonic style

—— Sarah Flynn , Irish Times

Amstell is one of the UK’s best stand-ups and this beautifully written memoir… Is a gem. It is brutally, excruciatingly honest about his dysfunctional family, his sexual awakening, his comedy career and his struggles with anxiety. It is also laugh-out-loud-on-public-transport funny.

—— Alice Jones , i

Help provides a fascinating insight into Amstell’s life… a unique discussion on the role and purpose of comedy in our society as a means to protect ourselves and others, but also as means to reveal our most vulnerable states

—— Thomas Bransby , BJGP

Dawn tackles the big ones - love, death, grief, childhood, motherhood, parenthood - head on

—— Guardian

A wonderful writer - witty, wise, poignant

—— Daily Mail

Makes you laugh on every page

—— The Times

This book is inspired!!!

—— Nadiya Hussain

[It's] beautiful, like Dawn, and stuffed full of goodies

—— Jo Brand

The most fun you'll have with a book all year . . . The perfect stocking filler

—— Mayfair & Marylebone Edition

This woman is a warm hug in human form - just thinking about her makes me smile. Dawn spreads joy in abundance. She is dazzling

—— Lorraine Kelly

Top tome for THIS YEAR'S STOCKINGS! Start a journal alongside Dawn's witty outlook on life. This will have you laughing about your year

—— Prima
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