One of our most exciting projects to date had to be kept under wraps for months. We’ve been chomping at the bit to tell the world about it. We’ve been waiting patiently to reveal our part in the release of a fantastic collection of previously unseen media by punk rock and new wave royalty. In August, a huge exhibition of memorabilia from the living legend Paul Weller(!) was unveiled in Brighton, together with all manner of archival treasures from The Jam and The Style Council. “This Is The Modern World” was on show in Brighton throughout August, welcoming thousands of mods and music fans to admire the magnificent collection, enjoy live events and concerts.
We were honoured to play our part in restoring several tapes for the archival collection of The Jam and The Style Council through our bespoke EachMoment Enterprise Service. The recordings were played at the exhibition and included in specially made visual materials. This delicate selection included examples of the only existing recordings of that era of Weller’s career – both our delicacy and reverence rose to the occasion.
We received recordings in a variety of formats and set to work putting each format through its unique process. Every tape that comes into EachMoment HQ is checked by hand, cleaned, digitised and enhanced to provide the best quality possible and the Weller collection was no different. Some of the noteworthy finds included reel-to-reel recordings of early studio sessions, U-matic tapes and Philips N1500 tapes which are thought to be the rarest cassette tapes. The Philips N1500 VCR was the first ever domestic cassette tape recorder, while U-matic, which came out earlier the same year (1971), was preferred by professional broadcasters. The Jam formed officially in 1972, so they were really hot on the heels of the best sound recording technology of the era.
We returned a digitised catalogue of material to the exhibition’s organisers, which included Adrian Gibson of AGMP and Paul Weller’s sister Nicky. Nicky has long presided over the Weller archives and managed The Jam fan club since the age of 14 and the exhibition’s success is largely thanks to her. We are grateful to Adrian Gibson for bringing us in to work on this project and for inviting us to enjoy the exhibition in person.
The EachMoment team had a great time at the exhibition and spotted a few familiar QR codes on some tapes among the collection…
EachMoment has worked on a number of specialist projects through the Enterprise Service to date and we are excited to have our portfolio bolstered by such fabulous clients. Find out about all our past projects and how to get your specialist digitisation project underway.