The B-Side of the single that Ian McCulloch (Greg Preston) recorded in 1964 for the Decca label, during his brief pop career, is currently available on YouTube.
The 7-inch single (Catalogue number F11855) had as its A-Side the track Come On Home, which was backed with the track made available here Down by the River. Released in March 1964, the single was produced by Peter Attwood, with arrangement provided by Charles Blackwell.
The single is a collectible, and only rarely appears for sale on auction sites, or in the listings of record collector magazines.
Denis Lill is appearing is a new touring theatrical production: the comedy scarefest The Mummy.
Also joining the cast of The Mummy are Jason Durr (Heartbeat ) and Susie Amy (Footballers’ Wives ).
Adapted (“very loosely”, say the producers) from Bram Stoker’s Jewel of the Seven Stars by Jack Milner, The Mummy is described as “a cross between The Woman in Black, The 39 Steps and The Morecambe and Wise Show “. The production is directed by Joe Harmston (Associate Creative Director of The Belgrade Theatre, and Agatha Christie Theatre Company regular).
From deepest, darkest, dangerous Egypt, a legendary curse is stirring back into life and we’re all going along for the outrageous and terrifying ride! This titillating tale of terror and intrigue spans thousands of years and will have you laughing, screaming, screaming with laughter and laughing with screaming in equal measure!
A respectable legal practitioner, a beautiful dark-eyed Cornish heiress, a 5,000 year-old man seeking an ancient love and the Tomb of the mystical Queen Tera all clash spectacularly in hilarious circumstances.
Lill plays two separate roles: ‘The Egyptologist’ in search of the key to eternal life, but one half of a horse with fellow actor Andrew Bone. “It’s really stretching my accomplishments,” jokes Lill. “It’s a unique experience.”
The Mummy premiered at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry on Friday 21 March, completing its initial run on Saturday 29 March, ahead of a nationwide tour, which takes in theatres around the country throughout April, May and June.
Denis Lill and the cast of The Mummy, in rehearsal
The Big Finish Day 5 will feature guest appearances from Tom Baker and Philip Hinchcliffe launching the new Big Finish Doctor Who: Philip Hinchcliffe Presents release; a new audio drama in which Carolyn will also feature, lending her vocal talents to the role of Mordrega.
From the team behind the new Big Finish Survivors audio adventures, there will also be appearances from producers Nick Briggs, David Richardson, director Ken Bentley and actor (and Big Finish regular) John Banks.
A ten-minute Tribute to Roger Lloyd-Pack (the television, stage and big-screen actor who died on 15 January 2014, aged 69) broadcast on BBC One (2 February, 23:10) included a short clip from series two Survivors episode Lights of London I, showing Lloyd-Pack’s first appearance in the role of Wally.
The brief sequence showcased Wally’s opening speech: “You won’t get rid of me. I’ll get back. You see. I’ll get back”. The clip was part of a montage of extracts from TV appearances the actor made in the 1970s, before finding popular acclaim in long-running situation-comedies Only Fools and Horses and The Vicar of Dibley. It it the first time since its original broadcast in April 1976 that any footage from Lights of London has been shown on BBC One.
The Tribute to Roger Lloyd-Pack, presented by The Vicar of Dibley‘s Dawn French is available (to UK viewers) on the BBC iPlayer until 23:19 on Sunday 9 February 2014.
BBC. 2014. A Tribute to Roger Lloyd-Pack. BBC One, 2 February.
A Tribute to Roger Lloyd-Pack, BBC One, 2 February 2014A Tribute to Roger Lloyd-Pack – Lights of London, Survivors
Roger Lloyd-Pack (the only actor to appear in both the original Survivors [1975-1977] and the Survivors remake [2008-2010]) has died. The well-respected character and comedy actor passed away from pancreatic cancer on 15 January 2014, at the age of 69.
In the original series, Lloyd-Pack appeared in a memorable guest-starring role in the two-part story Lights of London (series two, 1976), taking on the part of the young rebel Wally, who is exiled from the 500-strong London community for voicing discontent with the authoritarian rule of dictator Manny. He rescues Greg and Charles when they are attacked by rats on arriving in London to search for the abducted Ruth. Wally travels (off-screen) to the Whitecross community to take news of the whereabouts of Greg, Charles and Ruth. When he returns and joins in a recce mission to search for petrol supplies, he is shot by the ruthless Manny and left for dead in wasteland near the Thames. At the end of the story, a wounded Wally returns to rescue Ruth, Charles and Greg, who are trapped in the underground tunnels by gunfire from a murderous Manny when attempting to flee. After he shoots Manny dead, Wally agrees to rejoin the London community in the hope of encouraging the London survivors to adopt a more equitable, tolerant and democratic form of organisation. He also commits himself to finding a volunteer doctor to take the place of abductee Ruth – who is now free to return to Whitecross with Charles and Greg.
Some thirty-four years later, in the second series of remake of Survivors, Lloyd-Pack took on the far less heroic role of truck driver and trader Billy Stringer; who appears in episodes three and four. Initially appearing to be a benign figure, Stringer rescues Greg and the family from a Land Rover breakdown by providing them with a replacement fan belt. But Stringer later reveals to settlement leader Samantha Willis that he know knows the whereabouts of Tom Price (the man at the top of her most-wanted list) and sets in motion the events which culminate in Price’s detention, trial and conviction for murder. Stringer is revealed to be a slave trader, abducting survivors from around the country as forced labour for the brutal coal mining operation being run on Smithson’s estate: a fate which soon befalls Greg and Tom. Later, after Stringer’s truck is stolen by an escaped Tom, he is left tied to a tree in the woods. It is there that he realises that the young captive who helps to free him from his binds is Abby’s missing son Peter. Unseen off-screen, Stringer later hands Peter over to the Whitaker’s group of research scientists; setting the scene for the final showdown of the second series. Stringer’s own fate remains unknown.
Lloyd-Pack was born in 1944 in Islington, London, the son of Hammer horror actor Charles Lloyd-Pack. Early in his acting career her appeared in such shows as The Avengers, Jason King, Crown Court and Softly Softly: Taskforce, whilst enjoying a varied career in the theatre. Lloyd-Pack later found considerable fame and popular acclaim through his recurring roles in sit-coms Only Fools and Horses (as Trigger) and The Vicar of Dibley (as Owen Newitt) – roles so prominent they sometimes overshadowed his other work. More recently he appeared in Doctor Who (in 2006), The Old Guys (2009-10) and Inspector George Gently (2012) and on the big-screen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Made in Dagenham (2010) and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011).
Big Finish have confirmed (6 November 2013) that Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant), Ian McCulloch (Greg Preston) and Lucy Fleming (Jenny Richards) are all joining the cast of the first series of the new Survivors audio adventures, scheduled for release in June 2014.
The Big Finish update also confirms the titles of the four hour-long installments of series one:
Revelation written by Matt Fitton
Exodus written by Jonathan Morris
Judges written by Andrew Smith
Esther written by John Dorney
The full announcement from Big Finish explains:
The lead cast members of Terry Nation’s Survivors are returning to play their roles on audio, for a run of new episodes from Big Finish Productions.
The series originally ran for three seasons on BBC1 between 1975-77 and told the story of a small group of people who survive a plague that wipes out most of the world’s population.
Lucy Fleming plays Jenny Richards, Ian McCulloch is Greg Preston, while Carolyn Seymour is Abby Grant, the leader of a community starting a new life in rural England.
“We’re thrilled to have Lucy, Ian and Carolyn on board,” says producer David Richardson. “Our initial episodes will introduce a new set of characters that will encounter Jenny and Greg as they search for supplies. Abby Grant will make cameo appearances, before taking on a major role in later stories.”
Survivors – Volume 1 will be released in June 2014; the box set will comprise four hour-long full cast audio dramas – Revelation by Matt Fitton, Exodus by Jonathan Morris, Judges by Andrew Smith and Esther by John Dorney.
The all-star cast also includes John Banks, Louise Jameson, Sinead Keenan, Caroline Langrishe, Adrian Lukis, Chase Masterson, Terry Molloy, Phil Mulryne and Camilla Power.
Asked what her uncle, 007 creator Ian Fleming, might have made of the resilient popularity and longevity of his creation, Fleming suggests: “I imagine he would be very amused with the continuing success of the books and the films – and very proud.”
Big Finish has Tweeted confirmation of the Survivors‘ audio adventures first series new cast; and revealed one additional name joining the production: that of Chase Masterston (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).
These cast details have also been added to the series one entry on the Survivorspre-order page of the Big Finish site.
The new #Survivors cast: John Banks, Louise Jameson, Sinead Keenan, Caroline Langrishe, Adrian Lukis, Chase Masterson, Terry Molloy…
