BY DIGITAL DOWNLOAD!
THE WHOLE CATALOGUE WILL ALSO BE
RELEASED ON CD IN JANUARY 2012
Private Eye was launched as a satirical magazine in 1961. Within a year the creators decided to also channel their creativity into making occasional comedy recordings.
With proprietor Peter Cook and his comedic partner Dudley Moore at the helm - joined by Eye staff and pals including Barry Humphries, Willie Rushton, John Wells, Eleanor Bron, John Bird, Barry Fantoni, Richard Ingrams and Spike Milligan - the results were hysterically funny.
Over the next twenty years a variety of satirical recordings were written, improvised, recorded and released featuring various members of this ad hoc troupe.
The most famous were the 7-inch flexi-discs attached to the cover of special issues of the magazine at Christmas, General Elections and whenever the muse struck.
Less well-known - but equally funny - were various singles, EPs and albums that the crew recorded over the years. Including one album that was shelved after being deemed too controversial to be released!
The immediacy of the medium at a time when the Beatles had made 7-inch single records such a vital contemporary form of communication and the absence of the rules of censorship from broadcasters and corporate record companies allowed the Eye team unparalleled freedom to improvise and experiment.
The comedy that emerged became a crucial link between the anarchic Goon Show radio programmes and recordings of the 1950s and the absurdist comedy of Monty Python in the 1970s. Members of Monty Python cite the recordings as having been a major influence and inspiration.
Against all the odds, and bucking the downward trend of most print media in recent years, Private Eye has continued to flourish as a magazine. Half a century later it is an integral part of British life, with a substantial readership and influence on popular culture.
| Many of the characters and catchphrases that originated in Private Eye have entered the vernacular. Another interesting measure of its impact is the loyalty of its readers and the way admirers pay tribute the The Eye in other forums including the social media and YouTube. |  |
The comedy recordings that created such an impact four and five decades ago are now part of Britain's rich cultural heritage.
Long unavailable, and never before on CD or available digitally - the entire archive has now been digitally re-mastered from the original master tapes and is reissued to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Private Eye.
All of the new releases are 100% unexpurgated, uncensored, unedited, and raw as the day they were recorded! They do contain some naughty words - unfortunately not that many - but probably should not be listened to by adults unless accompanied by a young child.
The archive is available right now by digital download.
And the entire archive will be available on CD from January 2012.
On this website you will find details of the entire original catalogue - and also two brand-new compilations of highlights for those new to the Private Eye comedy canon.