'I'll never forget recording with Tony Hancock'

A man says he will never forget being part of a recording session with comedian Tony Hancock in 1961.

Alan Florence from Manea, Cambridgeshire, worked at a sound studio where Hancock re-recorded The Blood Donor and The Radio Ham episodes from his BBC TV and radio series, Hancock's Half Hour, for a vinyl album.

"I knew it was a big deal because the tea trolley man brought out the finest bone China cups and saucers, whereby we'd normally just have dirty chipped mugs for our drinks," he said.

The Tony Hancock Appreciation Society added the vinyl album that was created has played a huge part in bringing the work of Hancock to younger generations adding: "Everybody's dad had a copy!"

Hancock would have turned 102 on 12 May this year, but he died in Australia aged 44 in 1968.

Florence said he was a teenager when he landed his dream job 65 years ago as a trainee sound engineer at Star Sound Studios in London.

"I had been to the place growing up, it was designed as a small theatre and was used to record shows for Radio Luxembourg," he said.

Florence added he "could not believe his luck" when he was told Hancock and cast were due to visit the studio over a weekend to re-record two episodes of Hancock's Half-Hour, which was a BBC radio show before it transferred to television.

Florence, who grew up in Notting Hill, London, said he had a sleepless night before the recording as the rehearsal had not gone smoothly.

"The Blood Donor episode run-through went without a hitch, but the Radio Ham was a bit more problematic, it had so many cues and sound effects which I was in charge of and it was a nightmare," he said.

Florence said his job entailed him running from the recording booth to create sound effects via records and him making physical sounds, such as fastening locks, moving chains and ringing door bells and knockers.

"The recording day went like a dream, although it was scary for me with all the stars there and a live audience," he said.

Tim Elms, the president of the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society, said he was "delighted" to hear how Florence worked on the re-recording and added he must be one of the last people alive involved in the production.

"Comedians such as Diane Morgan, Steve Coogan, Paul Merton and Ade Edmondson all point to Hancock and his writers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, as an inspiration for their work," he added.

Elms added that he has "no doubt that these audio re-recordings of two TV classics have played a part" in Hancock's legacy.

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