In 1965, the merchandising arm of AP Films entered into a partnership with Pye Records to establish a children's audio label named Century 21 Records. At the time, Pye Records were best known for their pop records by artists such as Petula Clark, Lonnie Donegan, The Searches, The Kinks and Benny Hill, and it was part-owned by ATV. Launching in October 1965, the label was one way fans such as children could continue to enjoy Stingray, Thunderbirds, and Captain Scarlet during that long week between new episodes (or, once the show went off the air, to fill the void left by their cancellation) thanks to the range of thirty-seven 7″ extended play vinyl records they would release over the next two years. Promoted as "the toys you hear" for just eight shillings, you could choose one from an assortment of audio titles, each running to around twenty-one minutes. The bulk of the range's output would be audio versions of the popular SUPERMARIONATION series that were then airing on television, with either narrated soundtracks of television episodes or brand new audio adventures proving equally popular.
These releases would be extremely authentic to the television shows they were based on, incorporating many of the voice artists from their respective series as well as all the familiar sound effects and Barry Gray music viewers were familiar with. In the beginning, the range appeared to be working hard to appeal to the child audience it was no doubt mostly aimed at. Journey to the Moon saw the Fireball XL5 crew appearing in the dream of a small boy named Danny, who is taught about spaceflight and travelling to the moon as was done in the 1960s. Patrick Moore was hired as scientific advisor on the production. The album perhaps isn't the best story of Fireball XL5, because we are once again spoilt by the whole "It was all a dream" scenario, but it's wonderful to experience yet another exciting Fireball XL5 story. The end of the album featured "Fireball". Maxwell and Bluthall all returned alongside Sylvia Anderson and David Graham to record the story, and the back promoted the other TV21 records such as the Stingray ones and Introducing Thunderbirds.
The success of this album, and the following Stingray ones, promoted the spanning of records from Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Topo Gigo, and "The Daleks" from Doctor Who. However, it was the Anderson related stories that were the best sellers. Journey To The Moon was one of the company's first records, and, as already stated, it is an opportunity to experience another adventure from Fireball XL5.
SABOTAGE;
Written by Anthony Marriott
Directed by John Kelly
Original UK Airdate: 20th October 1963 (ATV London and Ulster)
Additional Voice Cast:
Ancon Commander David Graham Ultra Arcon John Bluthal Kelly John Bluthal
Originally shown as the penultimate episode of the series, it is once again funny to see at the start where Matt's revolving desk sends him out of control. We are presented to the jeopardy inside Fireball itself, meaning that nowhere inside the craft is safe from danger. I also greatly admire the creepy atmosphere included in this story, and creepy Ancons. The commercial break ending of seeing our heroes float to a strange light is further unsettling to watch, and also cements into my memory of the series with the accompanied music from Supercar's The Runaway Train.
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Fireball XL5: The Vault
Non-FictionFireball XL5 was the second of legendary Gerry Anderson's to go out under the iconic banner "Filmed In SUPERMARIONATION". Set between the years 2062 and 2063, the series told the heroic adventures of Colonel Steve Zodiac and the crew of Fireball XL5...
