BBC discovery pages
Below is a discovery of all BBC releases for you to list just the area of interest that you may want. It is divided by catagory and then a link of which format I have at least one item.BBC - Main catalogueBBC Radio Enterprises Ltd and BBC Enterprises Ltd, predecessors of BBC Worldwide / BBC Worldwide Ltd., the BBC's commercial arm. Formed 1968 and 1979 respectively, they were a subsidiary wholly owned by the BBC and merged into BBC Worldwide in 1995. In that time, there were companies set up within or structured brands as part of the company to deal with separate parts of the business, e.g. BBC Records for recorded audio. Sometimes written as BBC Enterprise Ltd.The items shown here are from the "main" BBC Records and Tapes library covering a wide secletion of genres from themes, comedy dramas and others, depending on which format you have selected. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Main catalogue |  Singles | 12 inches | Cassingles | CD singles | |||||||||||||
Albums | Cassettes | CDs | |||||||||||||||
Videos | DVDs | Blu-rays | |||||||||||||||
4k Ultra-HDs | Books | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - BBC Radio Collection and BBC AudioA selection of archive collections from across the BBC. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - BBC Radio Collection and BBC Audio |  Cassettes | CDs | |||||||||||||||
| BBC - BBC Radio Collection-ISBN | CDs | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - BBCBBC Enterprises Ltd, predecessor of BBC Worldwide / BBC Worldwide Ltd., the BBC's commercial arm. Formed 1979 was a subsidiary wholly owned by the BBC and merged into BBC Worldwide in 1995. In that time, there were companies set up within or structured brands as part of the company to deal with separate parts of the business, e.g. BBC Records for recorded audio. Sometimes written as BBC Enterprise Ltd. The items shown here are either boxed sets or imports of items from the main BBC Records and Tapes library covering a wide secletion of genres from themes, comedy dramas and others, depending on which format you have selected. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - BBC |  Singles | Albums | Cassettes | ||||||||||||||
CDs | |||||||||||||||||
BBC - Super BEEBBBC sub label for rock/pop music. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Super BEEB |  Singles | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - Super BEEB-BEDPBBC sub label for rock/pop music.Much of this one relates to Radio 1 related records. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Super BEEB-BEDP | Albums | Cassettes | |||||||||||||||
BBC - Super BEEB-BELPBBC sub label for rock/pop music.Much of the output will have some links to BBC TV Top of the Pops. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Super BEEB-BELP | Albums | Cassettes | |||||||||||||||
BBC - Super BEEB-BEMPBBC sub label for rock/pop music. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Super BEEB-BEMP | Albums | Cassettes | |||||||||||||||
BBC - Language-OPBBC sub label for foreign language records.This was the first BBC label available to the public to purchase starting in the early 1960's. To start with, you could only purchase these direct from the BBC. There were shows aired where listeners could follow the programme on the Radio (usually foreign language training shows) and then purchase the record and separate book to accompany it. These could be kept afterwards to continue their home learning. Later the shows were also recorded for television and the records as well as the books became more widely available in the shops. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Language-OP |  Singles | Albums | Cassettes | ||||||||||||||
Books | |||||||||||||||||
BBC - English Traditional songs - English by RadioAnother foreign territories catalogue to help teach them English. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - English Traditional songs - ETS |  Singles | 10 inches | |||||||||||||||
| BBC - English by radio | Singles | 10 inches | Albums | ||||||||||||||
Books | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Readings from English literature-RFEL | 10 inches | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - Pickwick-PWKSYou will find all the US Pickwick label versions linked at the parent company Pickwick International, Inc. Pickwick Records quickly established itself as the market leader in budget-price LPs thanks to its innovative business practices. It was the first UK company to put in place exclusive licensing deals with the major record companies (for many years it was the official budget reissue outlet for labels such as RCA - since 1973 - and CBS.) | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Pickwick-PWKS |  Cassettes | CDs | |||||||||||||||
BBC - PrestigeThese releases were released at a time when the BBC labels were in decline. They contain releases from many middle of the road artists. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Prestige-PREC |  Albums | Cassettes | CDs | ||||||||||||||
BBC - Prestige-PRIMThese releases were released at a time when the BBC labels were in decline. They contain releases from many middle of the road artists. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Prestige-PRIM | Albums | Cassettes | CDs | ||||||||||||||
BBC - Prestige-PRSTThese releases were released at a time when the BBC labels were in decline. They contain releases from many middle of the road artists. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Prestige-PRST | Albums | Cassettes | CDs | ||||||||||||||
BBC - Roundabout-RBTA series based on BBC radio and TV broadcasts, covering a range of subject matter including children's programmes, comedy, dialogue and incidental music. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Roundabout-RBT |  Albums | Cassettes | |||||||||||||||
BBC - Gold Label-REGLA subset of records released as the "Gold Label". | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Gold Label-REGL |  Albums | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - Study-RESRA series of LP discs based on BBC Schools Radio Series and general service programmes relevant to work in primary or secondary schools and in colleges. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Study-RESR |  Albums | ||||||||||||||||
BBC Betamax videos-BBCBBetamax (also called Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog-recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975. The first Betamax device introduced in the United States was the LV-1901 console, which included a 19-inch (48 cm) color monitor, and appeared in stores in early November 1975. The cassettes contain 0.50-inch-wide (12.7 mm) videotape in a design similar to that of the earlier, professional 0.75-inch-wide (19 mm), U-matic format. Betamax is obsolete, having lost the videotape format war to VHS. Despite this, Betamax recorders would not be discontinued until 2002, while new Betamax cassettes were available until March 2016, when Sony stopped making and selling them. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC Betamax videos-BBCB |  Anything else | ||||||||||||||||
BBC Cartridges-RCTThe 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound-recording technology that was popular in the United States from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the Compact Cassette format took over. The format is regarded as an obsolete technology, and was relatively unknown outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, West Germany and Japan. Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear of Lear Jet Corporation, along with Ampex, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Motorola, and RCA Victor Records (RCA - Radio Corporation of America). It was a further development of the similar Stereo-Pak four-track cartridge introduced by Earl "Madman" Muntz (marketing and television set dealer), which was adapted by Muntz from the Fidelipac cartridge developed by George Eash. A later quadraphonic (four-channel sound as opposed to earlier more widely used stereo/two channel sound) version of the format was announced by RCA in April 1970 and first known as Quad-8, then later changed to just Q8. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC Cartridges-RCT |  Anything else | ||||||||||||||||
LaserDiscsLaserDisc (abbreviated as LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in the United States in 1978. Although the format was capable of offering higher-quality video and audio than its consumer rivals, VHS and Betamax videotape, LaserDisc never managed to gain widespread use in North America, largely due to high costs for the players and video titles themselves and the inability to record TV programs, though it eventually did gain some traction in that region to become somewhat popular in the 1990s. It was not a popular format in Europe and Australasia. By contrast, the format was much more popular in Japan and in the more affluent regions of Southeast Asia, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, and was the prevalent rental video medium in Hong Kong during the 1990s. Its superior video and audio quality made it a popular choice among videophiles and film enthusiasts during its lifespan. The technologies and concepts behind LaserDisc were the foundation for later optical disc formats including Compact Disc (CD), DVD and Blu-ray (BD). | |||||||||||||||||
| LaserDiscs |  Anything else | ||||||||||||||||
BBC Video 2000Video 2000 (also known as V2000, with the tape standard Video Compact Cassette, or VCC) is a consumer videocassette system and analogue recording standard developed by Philips and Grundig to compete with JVC's VHS and Sony's Betamax video technologies. Designed for the PAL colour television standard (some models additionally handled SECAM), distribution of Video 2000 products began in 1979 exclusively in Europe, South Africa and Argentina and ended in 1988. Video 2000 was presented at the International Radio Exhibition in Berlin in 1979 and succeeded Philips's earlier Video Cassette Recording (VCR) format and its derivatives (VCR-LP and Grundig's SVR). Although some early models and advertising featured a mirror-image 'VCR' badge based on the older systems' logo, Video 2000 was an entirely new (and incompatible) format that incorporated many technical innovations. Despite this, the format was not a major success and was eventually discontinued, having lost out to the rival VHS system in the videotape format war. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC Video 2000 |  Anything else | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - Other BBCOccasionally the BBC released material which didn't follow the normal catalogue number sequences. The few of these which exist are normally one off's never to be repeated! The main exception is the FAME records found in the albums section. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Other BBC |  Singles | 12 inches | Cassingles | CD singles | |||||||||||||
Albums | Cassettes | CDs | |||||||||||||||
Postcards | Posters | Magazines | |||||||||||||||
BBC - Regional radio / TVThis contains the regional radio and TV releases which weren't issued on the BBC Records labels. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Regional radio / TV |  Singles | Albums | |||||||||||||||
BBC - Sound effectsNever issued to the public, these records were used by the BBC across the land to add sound effects to their TV and Radio programmes. All EC records were recorded in mono. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Sound effects-EC |  Singles | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - Sound effectsNever issued to the public, these records were used by the BBC across the land to add sound effects to their TV and Radio programmes. All ECS records were recorded in stereo. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Sound effects-ECS |  Singles | 78s | 10 inches | ||||||||||||||
BBC - Sound effects-MPNever issued to the public, these records were used by the BBC across the land to add music and sound effects to their TV and Radio programmes. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Sound effects-MP |  Singles | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - Sound effects-NHNever issued to the public, these records were used by the BBC across the land to add sound effects to their TV and Radio programmes. Some NH records were recorded in mono, while others were recorded in stereo. All the NH records only contained wildlife sound effects. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Sound effects-NH |  Singles | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - Sound effects-SFXThese are a series of BBC CD albums which basically digitised the original BBC sound effects albums found in the main BBC cagalogue. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Sound effects-SFX |  CDs | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - Transcription Service - CNBBC Transcription Services (before BBC Transcription Service (no "s"), later BBC Transcription and today BBC Radio International) discs were only made available to overseas radio stations for broadcast purposes and were not made available for sale to the general public. However, in the early 90s many international BBC libraries sold their stocks to the public. Limitation: "Typically BBC Transcription Services pressed 100 copies of each disc only with instructions to the overseas radio network to destroy the disc at the end of the licence period."Note that the genre of shows available via this label is as wide as the main BBC labels available to view here. Also, records have been issued home and abroad for many years (the oldest I have has a date of 1949 but they have been issued for much longer!) Unlike most catalogues of records, each side of the BBC Transcription disc has it's own catalogue number - side two normally is one number higher than side one! | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Transcription Service - CN |  Singles | Albums | CDs | ||||||||||||||
| BBC - Radioplay Music - SRP / TSRP | Albums | ||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Radioplay Music - TAIR | Albums | CDs | |||||||||||||||
| BBC - Radioplay Music (Best of Radioplay) - RPLA | Albums | ||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Radioplay Music (Sigs and Sessions) - SNS | Albums | ||||||||||||||||
| BBC recorded programs permanent library | 78s | 10 inches | Albums | ||||||||||||||
| BBC - Transcription Service - Others | 10 inches | 16 inches | Albums | ||||||||||||||
CDs | |||||||||||||||||
BBC - Engineering DivisionBBC Engineering records were not released to the public. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Engineering Division |  Singles | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - AustralianBBC records released to the Australian public. The labels and catalogue numbers are mostly different to the UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Australian |  Singles | CD singles | Albums | ||||||||||||||
BBC - CanadianBBC records released to the Canadian public. The labels are the same as the UK releases and catalogue numbers are different to the UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Canadian |  Albums | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - DutchBBC records released to the Dutch public. The labels and catalogue numbers are usually the same as UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Dutch |  Singles | Albums | CDs | ||||||||||||||
BBC - FrenchInternational releases of BBC records. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - French |  Albums | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - GermanBBC records released to the German public. The labels and catalogue numbers are different to the UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - German |  Singles | 12 inches | Albums | ||||||||||||||
CDs | |||||||||||||||||
BBC - IrishBBC records released to the Irish public. The labels are different to the UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Irish |  Singles | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - New ZealandBBC records released to the New Zealand public. The labels and catalogue numbers are usually the same as the UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - New Zealand |  Singles | Albums | |||||||||||||||
BBC - PolishBBC records released to the Polish public. The labels and catalogue numbers are different to the UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Polish |  Singles | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - PortugueseBBC records released to the Portuguese public. The labels and catalogue numbers are different to the UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Portuguese |  Singles | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - South AfricanInternational releases of BBC records. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - South African |  Albums | ||||||||||||||||
BBC - SpanishBBC records released to the Spanish public. The labels and catalogue numbers are different to the UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - Spanish |  Singles | Albums | CDs | ||||||||||||||
BBC - USBBC records released to the US public. The labels are the same as the UK releases and catalogue numbers are different to the UK versions. | |||||||||||||||||
| BBC - US |  Singles | Albums | |||||||||||||||
© 2002-2023 Mike Everitt.
Last modified: 2023-11-30
Last modified: 2023-11-30