22nd June 2005

Ventura Distribution and Adness have announced two new releases. Shadow of the Wraith (from Evil Dead Trap director Tohiharu Ikeda) will be released on July the 25th, and gangland thriller Sleepless Town will be released on August the 22nd. Both will be in widescreen format, in Japanese with English subtitles. The Sleepless Town disc will apparently have DTS audio, if the pack shot is to be believed. Other technical spec's were not available. RRP for each title is £15.99.

BBC Audiobooks have formally announced their July titles.

Ross Noble Goes Global - Series 2 presents four episodes of the Radio 4 series of Noble's comedy travelogues. The RRP is £12.99.

Eyewitness: The 1980s continues the BBC's tour through modern history, using material culled from the BBC archives (including some never previously broadcast). The new set, which is presented y Tim Pigott-Smith, will cover events including the Falklands war, Live Aid, the Hungerford massacre, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. RRP is £17.99. The final disc in the series (Eyewitness: The 1990s) will be released in September.

A batch of a dozen Sherlock Holmes disc sets are being released on July the 18th, to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's death (on July the 7th, 1930).

These excellent Radio 4 productions, featuring Clive Merrision as Holmes and Michael Williams as Doctor Watson, have previously been available in a CD box set.

The new titles are:

Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow Volume 1 (Includes stories: Wisteria Lodge, The Cardboard Box, The Red Circle and The Bruce Partington Plans)
Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow Volume 2 (The Dying Detective, The Disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax, The Devil’s Foot, His last Bow)

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 (The Illustrious Client, The Blanched Soldier, The Mazarin Stone, The Three Gables)

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Volume 2 (The Sussex Vampire, The Three Garidebs, The Problem of Thor Bridge, The Creeping Man)

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Volume 3 (The Lion’s Mane, The Veiled Lodger, Shoscombe Old Place, The Retired Colourman)

The Return of Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 (The Empty House, The Norwood Builder, The Dancing Men, The Solitary Cyclist)

The Return of Sherlock Holmes Volume 2 (The Priory School, Black Peter, Charles Augustus Milverton, The Six Napoleons)

The Return of Sherlock Holmes Volume 3 (The Three Students, The Golden Pince-Nez, The Missing Three-Quarter, The Abbey Grange)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Volume 3 (The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb, The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches)

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 (Silver Blaze, The Yellow Face, The Stockbroker’s Clerk, The ‘Gloria Scott’)

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Volume 2 (The Musgrave Ritual, The Reigate Squires, The Crooked Man, The Resident Patient)

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Volume 3 (The Greek Interpreter, The Naval Treaty, The Second Stain*, The Final Problem)

*The Second Stain is actually the thirteenth story in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, but is included in this volume because of CD duration restraints.

These two-disc sets each have an RRP of £17.99. (A much cheaper alternative is to buy the wonderful sixty-four disc box set, which Play,com are selling for £118.99!) Note that Play are still saying that the set comes with a bonus Radio Detectives programme - it doesn't, and never did, but it does still come with a copy of adaptor Bert Coules' excellent book about the series.

Also due on July the 18th is The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of four stories based on passing references in the canonical tales, written by Bert Coules. Inexplicably, the second volume of The Further Adventures.. was released on CD first, last June. The new set includes The Madness of Colonel Warburton, The Star of the Adelphi, The Saviour of Cripplegate Square (which features Tom Baker) and The Singular Inheritance of Miss Gloria Watson. The RRP is £17.99.

The Elvis Costello - The Right Spectacle DVD from DemonVision has been re-scheduled for release on September the 5th. The RRP is £17.99. The confirmed track list is as follows:

(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea (from the 1978 album This Year's Model)
Pump It Up (from the 1978 album This Year's Model)
Radio Radio (from the 1978 album This Year's Model)
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding (from the 1979 album Armed Forces)
Oliver's Army (from the 1979 album Armed Forces)
Accidents Will Happen (from the 1979 album Armed Forces)
I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down (from the 1980 album Get Happy)
High Fidelity (from the 1980 album Get Happy)
Love For Tender (from the 1980 album Get Happy)
Possession (from the 1980 album Get Happy)
New Amsterdam (from the 1980 album Get Happy)
Clubland (from the 1981 album Trust)
New Lace Sleeves (from the 1981 album Trust)
Good Year For The Roses (from the 1981 album Almost Blue)
Sweet Dreams (from the 1981 album Almost Blue)
You Little Fool (from the 1982 album Imperial Bedroom)
Everyday I Write The Book (from the 1983 album Punch The Clock)
Let Them All Talk (from the 1983 album Punch The Clock)
The Only Flame In Town (from the 1984 album Goodbye Cruel World)
I Wanna Be Loved (from the 1984 album Goodbye Cruel World)
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (from the 1986 album King Of America)
Veronica (from the 1989 album Spike)
This Town (from the 1989 album Spike)
The Other Side Of Summer (from the 1991 album Mighty Like A Rose)
So Like Candy (from the 1991 album Mighty Like A Rose)
Sulky Girl (from the 1994 album Brutal Youth)
13 Steps Lead Down (from the 1994 album Brutal Youth)

These will be accompanied by optional commentary from Elvis, who is also writing "comprehensive" production notes. Bonus material includes an Easter Egg and the following rare TV performances:

Granada Reports / So It Goes (UK)
Filmed at Eric's, broadcast October 1977
Alison [Excerpt], Lip Service, No Dancing

Revolver (UK)
Early to mid 78, TV studio
This Year's Girl, Radio Radio

Countdown (Netherlands)
30.5.79, live in a club
Oliver's Army, Accidents Will Happen, Watching The Detectives, You Belong To Me

Pink Pop (Netherlands)
4.6.79, live outdoor festival
Lipstick Vogue, Watching The Detectives

What's In (UK)
16.3.81, TV studio
Shot With His Own Gun

The Tube (UK)
4.11.83, TV studio
Shipbuilding, Everyday I Write The Book, Clowntime is Over, TKO (Boxing Day)

Mandagsboren (Sweden)
21.11.83, TV studio
Big Sister's Clothes, Peace In Our Time

20th June 2005