In 1968, Dad’s Army began life as a comedy series on BBC television. The series, set in the early years of the Second World War was based around formation of the Home Guard in the sleepy English town of Walmington On Sea.
Dad’s Army has gone on to become one of the most popular comedy series ever.
In 1970 it was adapted into a full length feature film by Columbia Pictures and later still, in 1974, was remade as a radio series on BBC Radio 4.
Dad's Army Album Is Digitally Remastered
In 1975, the soundtracks of two of the radio episodes, Sergeant Wilson’s Little Secret and Something Nasty in the Vault were released by BBC Enterprises as a full length album.
For many years this album was the only official release of Dad’s Army recording until the BBC Audio range began releasing regular radio episodes in audiobook format in the early 1990s.
Following numerous releases on cassette and compact disc, the new distributors for BBC audio, AudioGo, have reissued this original Dad’s Army album as part of it's Vintage Beeb series. Now digitally remastered, the album is presented on a special vinyl look CD with original album sleeve notes.
Dad's Army Stars Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn
The Dad’s Army episodes featured on this release were written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and adapted for radio by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.
Like the television series, the radio version includes many of the cast members including Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sgt Wilson, Clive Dunn as Lance Corporal Jones, John Laurie as Private Frazer, James Beck as Private Walker, Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey and Ian Lavender as Private Pike.
Guest artistes include Bill Pertwee recreating his television role as ARP Warden Hodges and Pearl Hackney as Mrs Pike. Wartime radio newsreader John Snagge opens each episode with a brief introduction and narrative in the form of a wartime news report.
Two Classic Dad's Army Episodes Featured On Album
The album runs for approximately 50 minutes and consists of two classic episodes:
The first, Sergeant Wilson’s Little Secret sees Mrs Pike expecting a new arrival, however, this results in Sergeant Wilson’s honour apparently been at stake.
Captain Mainwaring insists that the only way the Sergeant can save his reputation is to marry Mrs Pike. As the platoon prepare a guard of honour all is revealed to be not as it may seem.
The second episode, Something Nasty in the Vault finds Mainwaring and Wilson in their natural working habitats of bank manager and clerk at Swallow’s bank.
Their working day is interrupted first by a bank official who is conducting an inspection and secondly by an air raid. Returning from the shelter, both Mainwaring and Wilson fall into a hole in the bank vault and are left holding a German bomb which has landed there.
Mainwaring’s Home Guard platoon congregates in the bank to work out a way to rescue their commanding officers with numerous interruptions.
Enjoy Listening To Dad's Army On Your iPod Nano
Both episodes translate to radio well with subtle rewrites removing some of the visual gags and substituting them for further dialogue. Thus allowing the listener to enjoy these episodes in a different way to their television counterparts while complimenting the originals at the same time.
The album has been digitally remastered for this CD release, allowing a new generation of listeners to enjoy the episodes on their CD players, computers and even iPods. The clarity of the recordings is apparent when listening to them on an iPod Nano, bringing you closer to the action and allowing you to listen to the shows on the go!
Dad's Army Release Presented On A Special Vinyl Look CD
The original album artwork of a bomb in the bank vault along with sleeve notes from Dad’s Army radio producer John Dyas are reproduced on the CD sleeve, while the CD itself replicates the feel and look of the original vinyl album.
This re-release brings the Dad’s Army audio releases full circle. All radio episodes are now available on separate collections, however this release serves as a nice introduction to the radio series for any new fan of the show or alternately a great gift for nostalgia buffs that still revere great comedy and lament the loss of vinyl recordings.
- Dad's Army is Released on AudioGo's Vintage Beeb Series on February 3, 2011. Other titles available in the Vintage Beeb series include Monty Python's Flying Circus and I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again.
