Flexi Disc

Martyn: Tell us about this flexi disc idea... I mean, how cheap are they?

Philip: No, we wanna get this record out. It's never gonna get out at this rate, what with Bob wanting this on and that on

Bob: Ah, come on, you can't blame me, just for saying that...

Martyn: No, no, listen... you could entirely divorce the music from the explanation...

Bob: I'm quite happy to put it out like it is now

Martyn: ...it'd be like having a booklet inside...

Bob: Yes, I like the idea actually

Philip: If you're quite happy about putting it out like it is now, what are we doing?

Bob: Well, I'm saying that... well, let's not put that... I'm quitе prepared to put it out now, but I'm, er, I'm... thinking about it, you know and I fеlt obliged to, er, say what I thought. I was talking to [?] the other day about flexi discs and he said he reckons they only cost about 2p

Martyn: Mmm

Bob: And I don't see why it should take any longer to get flexis 'cause it doesn't mean any extra sleeves or anything, you just put...

Martyn: Well, exactly

Bob: You don't even have to announce it, you just put the flexi disc... you could put "plus commentary" on the sleeve somewhere, you know, and you could just bung the flexi disc in and have tons of warbling on about it, you know

Martyn: I think... I think it's a reasonable idea

Bob: I really like the idea, actually

Martyn: I mean, people can throw it away if they're not interested

Ian: I mean, but... what time limit have we got for sorting this flexi disc... accompanying flexi disc out?

Bob: Well, what I'm saying is... I think that you should edit together... if you want someone to put this heavy statement on and some of the other stuff on... what-- you put some of the heavier statement and some of the other stuff on, edit it together, you get...

Ian: I think also what might be worthwhile is, er, nipping down to the library and actually getting some facts that you're looking at...

Philip: Yeah, but the whole point about the whole thing is that it's not about facts. It's not about Yuri Gagarin. The trouble is that as soon as you start on a flexi disc, you're gonna have so many minutes and you're gonna feel like filling them up

[All speaking at once]

Martyn: Well, depending on what it sounds like, we could slice...

[Laughter]

Bob: We can't do that, we can't license it. That will take ages to do and that's getting over the top, that's distract... I mean, point is the commentary is... it doesn't have to have...you've only got one side to play with -- there's no reas-- you could have a flexi disc with thirty seconds on it. There's absolutely no reason why you should fill it up

Philip: Yeah, well, people say that, but they always do fill everything up that is available

Bob: Why? You're threatening to now, are you? I think you're being really silly on that, Philip. I mean, you're just trying to find things to make things difficult on that score. You know what you've got here, you know what you need the flexi disc to do... I mean, I can see absolutely no reason why you should say... I mean, you can decide now not to fill it up. There's absolutely no reason why...

Ian: Decide now just to put that comment on, if you wished

Bob: Yeah. That statement you made all about "you're gonna die soon" and whatever... um, if you want that on, then I think you should use this anecdote about Yuri Gagarin having a cup of tea... an edited version of Yuri Gagarin having a cup of tea and that statement...

Martyn: [Laughing] An edited version of Yuri Gagarin having a cup of tea!

Ian: And then we could bring out the tea...

Martyn: And then we could bring out the twelve inch disco version of it later...

Adrian: I think there has to be something about, er, that peasant that greeted Yuri Gagarin when he actually landed

Bob: Is that right?

Adrian: When Gagarin landed, he landed and nobody were there, were they? And he went for a cup of tea with that peasant...

[Laughter]

Adrian: He did! They landed... I mean, Russians never land in the sea -- they always land in Russia or Asia... and they landed in this farm over there and he came up to the rocket and Gagarin got out and he took him for a cup of tea

Philip: I didn't know they drank tea in Russia

Adrian: Yeah... and then about half an hour later, all these Russians appeared and says "Where's Yuri?"

Philip: What we've got in this is not simple, like everything else and it's not even complex; it's multiplex. The picture of Yuri Gagarin isn't just about the Russian space effort and it's not just about Russian society. It is about the individual as opposed to the group and it's about human frailty; no matter how big you are, you're gonna be dead pretty soon

Bob: Cut

[Sound of television in background]

Adrian: The kid's swapping a fishing rod for a Dr. Feelgood album