Although perhaps less far-reaching in historical consequences than the burning of the knowledge stored at the Library at Alexandria, when some idiot at the BBC decided in the 1960s that they should wipe and reuse the stock from their video library (“No one is ever going to want to watch those old Doctor Who shows again, right?”) it meant that some popular performers had significant moments from their career zapped into metallic splinters by powerful magnets.

One such performer is Scott Walker. If you’ve seen the documentary about him, 30 Century Man, you’ve seen at least snippets of what did survive from his Walker Brothers and early solo career prime, and it ain’t that much. Furthermore, as a longtime Scott Walker nut, I’ve scoured the globe’s record stores and flea markets longing for decent copies of what I knew was out there (this DVD was the best thing I ever found and it’s mostly not very good quality) and coming up short.

Even YouTube has offered up little, in terms of anything “new” or with decent quality, but recently that’s changed (a little).
 

 
Above, Scott Walker performing “Mathilda” and Tony Bennett’s “When Joanna Loved Me” on Dusty in 1967. Apparently the BBC masters for Dusty Springfield’s series were wiped, too, but copies were eventually located and released on DVD as Dusty Springfield: Live at The BBC in 2008.
 

 
Doing Jacques Brel’s “Jackie” on Frankie Howerd’s show Howerd’s Hour in 1967. Odd that the famously camp comedian didn’t insert himself into this number in some way, the lyrics seem so especially ripe for Howerd’s leering brand of humor.