They may have established a special connection with radio later in the day, when Dave Cousins temporarily left music to rule the waves in a different way, but STRAWBS spend a lot of time playing for various Beeb programmes back in the late ’60s and throughout the next decade. Some of those recordings would see the light further down the line on two volumes of the “At The BBC” comp in 2010, others, those with visuals, ended up on YouTube, but there’s never been a comprehensive release that included everything – until now… although the five-CD and Blu-ray box set “A Glimpse Of Heaven” coming out on April 24th is not complete.
While it has everything, which was issued previously, in it, and more – featuring rather interesting material from the ’80s on one disc – conspicuously absent are video and audio documenting the veterans’ 1978 performance for “Sight & Sound In Concert” that formed part of the “Deadlines” reissue in 2019, making both of these an essential purchase.
A Glimpse Of Heaven:
Radio & TV Sessions 1966-1984
CD 1
BBC World Service – “Songs from the Folk Cellar” – 1966:
1. The Grey Hawk
2. The Cruel Wars (Higher Germanie)
“Top Gear” – December 1968:
3. The Battle
4. Poor Jimmy Wilson
5. That Which Was Once Mine
“BBC Radio Meet Peter Sarstedt” – August 1969:
6. Another Day
7. We’ll Meet Again Sometime
“Sounds of the 70s” – October 1970:
8. Canon Dale
9. Song Of A Sad Little Girl
“Sounds of the 70s” – June 1970:
10. The Hangman And The Papist
11. Witchwood
“Sounds of the 70s” – November 1971:
12. New World
13. Benedictus
“Sounds of the 70s” – April 1972:
14. Tomorrow
15. Is It Today Lord?
16. Heavy Disguise
17. New World
18. Here It Comes
CD 2 – “In Concert” – August 1971:
1. The Hangman And The Papist
2. Martin Luther King’s Dream
3. A Glimpse Of Heaven
4. Witchwood
5. In Amongst The Roses
6. R.M.W.
7. Flower And The Young Man
8. Fingertips
9. The Shepherd’s Song
10. When You Wore A Tulip
11. Sheep
CD 3
“Sequence” – January 1973:
1. Lady Fuschia
2. Part Of The Union
3. The Winter And The Summer
“In Concert” – March 1973:
4. New World
5. Sheep
6. Tears And Pavan
7. Stormy Down
8. The Hangman And The Papist
9. Benedictus
10. Heavy Disguise
11. Bovver Blues
12. The River / Down By The Sea
13. Winter And The Summer
14. Part Of The Union
15. Lay Down
CD 4
“Top of the Pops” – April 1974:
1. Hero And Heroine
“In Concert” – April 1974:
2. New World
3. Lay Down
4. Autumn
5. Tears And Pavan
6. Just Love
7. Out In The Cold / Round And Round
8. Hero And Heroine
9. The River / Down By The Sea
10. Lay A Little Light On Me
CD 5
19th Cambridge Folk Festival 1983:
1. The Hangman And The Papist
2. Song Of A Sad Little Girl
3. I’ll Carry On Beside You
4. The River / Down By The Sea
5. Oh How She Changed
6. Part Of The Union
“Gastank” – Channel 4 TV, 1983:
7. The Hangman And The Papist
“In Rehearsal” – South West Television, 1984:
8. Heavy Disguise
9. That’s When The Crying Starts
Blu-ray
“Top of the Pops” – July 1st, 1971:
1. The Hangman And The Papist
“Top of the Pops” – November 16th, 1972:
2. Lay Down
“Top of the Pops” – January 25th, 1973:
3. Part Of The Union
“Old Grey Whistle Test” – February 20: 1973:
4. Tears And Pavan
5. Flying
“Top of the Pops” – September 27th, 1973:
6. Shine On Silver Sun
“Old Grey Whistle Test” – April 10th, 1974:
7. Hero And Heroine
8. Round And Round
“Old Grey Whistle Test” – January 31st, 1975:
9. Lemon Pie
10. You And I
“Old Grey Whistle Test” – December 16th, 1975:
11. Promised Land
12. Absent Friend
“Top of the Pops” – June 2nd, 1977:
13. Back In The Old Routine
