They knew how to build a good shockmount in 1935, even though the mics could barely reach 150Hz.

I’m only assuming it’s not mid-side because it’s Decca.

But it’s good stereo, just not mono compatible. There’s a solid centre image. It might even be mid-side with an outrigger on the piano.

There’s no way of correcting for that (unless you involve AI, I suppose) without throwing the piano out of phase.

It should decode to surround nicely, though.

That would make sense. My favourite engineer.

It’s essentially reduced to two mics - the main stage mic, and the piano.

I know about the phase problem because one of the Hattie Jacques tracks is in stereo on a compilation. I’ve added the stereo to my want list, but I’m questioning myself whether I’ll ever listen to it.

Did Eltham work across the different EMI labels at that time?

Late Joys From The Players’ Theatre in mono is a strange experience. It was recorded in stereo. Very nice stereo. The kind of stereo where it seems to expand beyond the speakers.

You guessed it. The side mics are out of phase and cancel each other out on the mono. Lots of distant shouting.

I remember an early stereo Frank Cordell LP where you’d painstakingly scanned the sleeve. It probably drained your red ink tank into the bargain.

I was sad when that one went west. Lovely arrangements, and always a pleasure to hear early Abbey Road stereo. Or was it Lansdowne?

Beautifully recorded, too. 1954, so presumably up on the stage at Capitol’s Melrose studios.

There was something about the sound of that theatre on brass in particular that I don’t think they ever managed to recapture at Capitol. Compare Songs For Swingin’ Lovers with Come Dance Me, for example.

Farson! How could I have forgotten?

I don’t remember ever having a CD, but if such a thing had existed, chances are it’s irretrievable by now. Ah, Princo.

I once got a telling off from HR for putting random numbers in the Ethnic Background box of my time sheets. There was no code for “I don’t want to provide this information.”

Apparently it messed with their statistics. It didn’t mess with my £7.50 an hour.

I thought Grotbags lived in the cellar of the windmill. Has my entire view of Emu’s World been distorted?

Hence my bringing it up here.

Re your latest, I know that energy efficiency is important nowadays, and the originals probably rotted over time, but damn, that was a lovely deco window.

We did. I, personally, was unaware that there were train tracks nearby until a teacher told me.