BBC Radio Performances

The Programs

The numbers in parenthesis indicate which BBC Transcription disc included that performance. Performances listed in blue are circulating. Dates are in American format.

Interviews and concert broadcasts are not listed.

Saturday Club - Rec. 2-1-65, Tr. 2-27-65

01 Who Killed Davey Moore (23)

02 Catch The Wind (23)

03 Working On The Railroad / This Old Hammer (33)

Holiday Pop - Rec. 4-5-65, Tr. 3-19-65

Unavailable

01 Car Car

02 Keep On Truckin'

03 Catch The Wind

04 Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do

05 The Alamo

The Joe Loss Pop Show - Live Broadcast 5-21-65

Unavailable

01 Catch The Wind

02 Josie

03 Colours

Saturday Club - Rec. 6-8-65, Tr. 6-12-65

01 Universal Soldier (unavailable)

02 To Sing For You (33)

03 Candy Man (36)

04 Colours (36 or 33)

05 Josie (unavailable)

Swing Into Summer - Rec. 6-8-65, Tr. 7-5-65

Unavailable

01 Colours

02 Catch The Wind

03 London Town

04 To Sing For You

05 Universal Soldier

Folk Room - Rec. 6-28-65, Tr. 8-7-65

01 Universal Soldier (unavailable)

02 Candy Man (unavailable)

03 Colours (36 or 33)

04 Gypsy (unavailable)

Folk Room - Rec. 8-7-65, Tr. 9-4-65

01 Little Tin Soldier (44)

02 Universal Soldier (44)

03 Running From Home (44)

Swing Into Summer - Tr. 9-6-65

Unavailable

01 Pretty Peggy-O

02 Candy Man

03 Ballad Of A Crystal Man

04 Universal Soldier

Thank you, Ash, for your help with these.

Saturday Club - Rec. 11-15-65, Tr. 11-27-65

01 Daddy You Been On My Mind (57)

02 Bert's Blues (57)

03 Jersey Thursday (unavailable)

04 Turquoise (57)

05 Summer Day Reflection Song (unavailable)

Ivor Novello Awards - Rec. 7-11-66, Tr. 7-12-66

Unavailable

01 Catch The Wind

Guitar Club - Rec. 12-5-66, Tr. 1-6-67

Unavailable

01 The Dialogue Of The Blind Beggar And The Gypsy

02 Mexico Incident (presumably Sand And Foam)

03 Guinevere

A Cellar Full Of Folk - Rec. 1-23-67, Tr. 1-28-67

Unavailable

01 Sand And Foam

02 Isle Of Islay

Saturday Club - Rec. 1-30-67, Tr. 2-4-67

01 Hampstead Incident (119)

02 Mellow Yellow (119)

03 Young Girl Blues (unavailable)

04 The Tinker And The Crab (119)

Top Gear - Rec. 1-16-68, Tr. 1-21-68

01 There Is A Mountain (169)

02 As I Recall It (177)

03 Young Girl Blues (177)

04 Lalena (169)

05 The Tinker And The Crab (169)

Top Gear - Tr. 2-25-68

01 Jennifer Juniper (tentative) (174)

02 Lalena (tentative) (174)

03 As I Recall It (tentative) (174)

Top Gear - Rec. 6-11-68, Tr. 6-16-68

01 Mad John's Escape (190)

02 Hi, It's Been A Long Time (192)

03 The Entertaining Of A Shy Girl (190)

04 Lalena (192)

05 The Unicorn / The Owl And The Pussycat (192)

Top Gear - Tr. 7-21-68

01 Skip Along Sam (192)

02 Lalena (repeat from 6-16, presumably)

03 Entertaining Of A Shy Girl (repeat from 6-16, presumably)

Bound For Glory - Tr. 10-4-68

Unavailable - Performance(s) unknown

Sunday Half Hour - Tr. 11-14-71

Unavailable

01 Universal Soldier

A Story Of Our Time - "Donovan's Travels" - Tr. 2-15-73

Unavailable - Performance(s) unknown

Performances in bold above are included on the "Live 1965-1969" double CD from London Calling (Spain). All of the material on that CD has been taken from BBC Transcription Service discs. All of the songs listed above are circulating.

The acoustic performances heard on the "At Home With Donovan" broadcast from 1973 were obviously recorded in 1969, since one of them was used on one of the transcription discs at that time. I do not know the source of the final broadcast listed above, and have not listed the "Donovan In Concert" broadcast from October, 1981 (#x265). I'll cover the material on that one down the line.

As for the performances themselves, Donovan's covers of the Dylan songs "Who Killed Davy Moore" and "Mama, You Been On My Mind" (here, using Joan Baez's title of "Daddy, You Been On My Mind") are unique, as is his cover of Jesse Fuller's medley of "Working On The Railroad" and "This Old Hammer." Donovan's cover of Bert Jansch's "Running From Home" can be heard on the "A Boy Called Donovan" soundtrack, and the BBC version here is the only other known performance. Also of particular note are the arrangements of "Mad John's Escape" and "Skip Along Sam" with accompaniment from the John Cameron Group - very different from the performances heard on "A Gift From A Flower To A Garden," as is the piano arrangement of "Young Girl Blues" on program #177. The "At Home With Donovan" tape is also very interesting, as he performs several obscure songs and even sings a bit of "Get Back" for the interviewer, David Wigg.

The Reedy River

01 Jennifer Juniper (reportedly from This Is Tom Jones, 4-11-69)

02 Giggle In A Bubbly Bath (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 3-23-69)

03 Angel's Thoughts (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 3-23-69)

04 Little While Flower (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 3-23-69)

05 Lassie Lay Down (with Mary Travers, Jennifer Warnes)

    (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 3-23-69)

06 Jennifer Juniper (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 3-23-69)

07 Sunshine Superman (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 3-23-69)

08 Mellow Yellow (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 3-23-69)

09 There Is A Mountain (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 3-23-69)

10 The Sun Is A Very Magic Fellow (ATV - Goodbye Again, tx 8-18-68)

11 Lord Of The Reedy River (ATV - Goodbye Again, tx 8-18-68)

12 The Ferryman's Daughter (Murray Roman's TV Show, 2-15-70)

13 Anti-Drug Rap (Murray Roman's TV Show, 2-15-70)

14 Atlantis (Murray Roman's TV Show, 2-15-70)

15 Lalena (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 11-17-68)

16 Happiness Runs (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 11-17-68)

17 Two Lovers (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 11-17-68)

18 Can't Buy Me Love (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, 11-17-68)

19 Hey Gyp (Yale University, 11-8-67)

20 To Try For The Sun (Yale University, 11-8-67)

21 Sat Singing (Yale University, 11-8-67)

22 Rules And Regulations (Yale University, 11-8-67)

23 Mellow Yellow (Yale University, 11-8-67)

Originally issued in early 1970 on various colored vinyl, this was an early TMOQ bootleg pressed before they started using that name.

This was also issued under the titles "Live At The Reedy River Junction," "Donovan," "A Gift From The Underground To A Flower - Moonshine Superman" and "Mellow Yellow Live" and even came out in Italy on a cassette. All of these, of course, derive from the TMOQ original.

Discography aside, it's a perfectly acceptable listen, gathering together the soundtracks for some of Donovan's TV appearances in the late 1960's (all of which circulate on video), and five songs from his appearance at Yale University in late 1967. Purchasers at the time would have treasured it for the half dozen songs that had not been released on Donovan's albums. Don't get excited by the listing for "Can't Buy Me Love," though - it's just a few bars of the song that Donovan plays on recorder.

Open Road

01 Changes

02 Song For John

03 Curry Land

04 Joe Bean's Theme

05 People Used To

06 Celtic Rock

07 Riki Tiki Tavi

08 Clara Clairvoyant

09 Roots Of Oak

10 Season Of Farewell

11 Poke At The Pope

12 New Year's Resovolution

13 Roll On (bonus track on 2018 CD)

All songs written by Donovan.

As the 1960's came to an end, so did Donovan's time as an important musical presence. He was only 23 years old. But he hadn't dropped out - at least not yet, and early in 1970 recorded the album "Open Road."

In terms of the consistency of Donovan's songwriting, "Open Road" is probably a better album than "Barabajagal," but it's hampered by sub-standard musicianship. Donovan took up electric guitar for the first time, and promoted his percussionist, "Candy" John Carr, to drums, which he doesn't play as well. Donovan also split with his long-time producer, Mickie Most, and took on that job himself. Once "Open Road" was finished, he spent most of 1970 sailing around the world with his band in a yacht (documented in the film "There Is An Ocean," which I'll examine next), had something of a breakdown and disappeared for a while, taking him out of the public's eye and no-doubt damaging his career.

In spite of the occasionally naive lyrics (which aren't unusual, for the time), most of the songs on "Open Road" are perfectly fine. Regardless, perhaps because of the band, the changing times or simply the lack of any "classic" Donovan numbers, there is something decidedly different about "Open Road" - something disconnected from his earlier work. Like the newly fractured Beatles, there's also something a bit sad about hearing the work of these young musicians, aware of the changes that were happening around them and still looking forward to the future with a sense of excitement and exploration -  because we know now that the future, for all of them, would never approach the quality and magic of the music that they gave us in the 1960's.

As for the various "Open Road" releases - in this case it's absolutely a no-brainer. The 2018 CD issued by Donovan Discs greatly improves the murky sound quality of any previous release, including both the original U.S. and U.K. vinyl. This offers a much better listening experience and even adds a previously unheard bonus track, "Roll On." A mono mix of "Riki Tiki Tavi" was released on a promo 45 in the US (with the commercial stereo mix on the other side). As was usual with these promotional issues, the mono mix is just a fold-down of the stereo. An early rehearsal of the song can be heard on the "Troubadour" compilation from 1992.

No. 3 Abbey Road NW8

01 How Do You Do (McCartney)

02 Blackbird (McCartney)

03 The Unicorn

04 Lalena

05 Heather (McCartney)

06 Mr. Wind

07 The Walrus And The Carpenter

This Beatles bootleg was released in April, 1979. The A side featured rough mixes from The Beatles' "Abbey Road" (not listed above), while the B side had a tape of Paul McCartney and Donovan in the studio trading off performances. This was most likely recorded during the sessions for Mary Hopkins' "Postcard" LP in late 1968, which Paul produced and which he and Donovan performed on. It's perfectly listenable, for what it is, and Donovan previews several songs that wouldn't appear until the "HMS Donovan" album in 1971. The cover lists a final song, "Land Of Gisch," but that's simply part of "The Walrus And The Carpenter."

Alternate cover from 8-track

BBC Radio Performances

The BBC Transcription Discs

BBC Transcription #23 - May, 1965

01 Interview

02 Catch The Wind

03 Who Killed Davey Moore

BBC Transcription #33 - June, 1965

01 To Sing For You

02 Interview

03 Colours

04 Catch The Wind (same performance as #23)

BBC Transcription #36 - July, 1965

01 Candy Man

02 Interview

03 Colours

04 Working On The Railroad / This Old Hammer

BBC Transcription #44 - Sept., 1965

01 Interview

02 Universal Soldier

03 Little Tin Soldier

04 Running From Home

BBC Transcription #57 - Dec., 1965

01 Interview

02 Turquoise

03 Bert's Blues

04 Daddy, You Been On My Mind

BBC Transcription #119 - Feb., 1967

01 Hampstead Incident

02 Interview

03 Mellow Yellow

04 The Tinker And The Crab

BBC Transcription #169 - March, 1968

01 Chat

02 Lalena

03 Chat / Tinker Intro

04 The Tinker And The Crab

05 There Is A Mountain

BBC Transcription #174 - April, 1968

01 Interview

02 Jennifer Juniper

03 Lalena

04 As I Recall It

BBC Transcription #177 - April, 1968

01 As I Recall It

02 Young Girl Blues

03 Jennifer Juniper (repeat from #174)

BBC Transcription #190 - July, 1968

01 The Entertaining Of A Shy Girl

02 Interview

03 Hurdy Gurdy Man (live)

04 Mad John's Escape

BBC Transcription #192 - August, 1968

01 Skip Along Sam

02 The Unicorn / The Owl And The Pussycat

03 Hurdy Gurdy Man (from "Top Of The Pops" TV, 5-30-68)

04 Hi, It's Been A Long Time

05 Lalena

BBC Transcription #241 - June, 1969

01 Barabajagal

BBC Transcription #321 - Jan., 1971

01 Celia Of The Seals (from "Top Of The Pops" TV, 12-11-70)

BBC Transcription #124749 - Magazine Units 210

- At Home With Donovan, October, 1973

01 Moon In Capricorn

02 Interview

03 Go Dancing With The Brown Skin Girl

04 Get Back

05 Interview

06 The Stromberg Twins

07 Interview

08 Barabajagal (repeat from #241)

Unknown Transcription (Dec. 1973 / Jan. 1974)

01 Sailing Homeward

02 Yellow Star

03 Catch The Wind

Demos - ca. 1967-1969

01 Rosie

02 Rules And Regulations

03 Peregrine

04 As I Recall It

05 Get Thy Bearings

06 Faramir (Poor Cow)

07 The Pebble And The Man

08 Happiness Runs

09 Eight Little Fishes

10 Winter Has Gone

11 Crazy Mazey

12 Down Town

13 Gratefully

In addition to the demos released on the two official "Buried Treasures" releases (which I'll discuss later) and the ones I've previously written about in these pages, there are also a significant number of unreleased recordings "out there." The titles listed above are only the ones that I've heard - there are probably many more that I don't have. "Rosie" is a jaunty number that wouldn't have sounded out of place on "Mellow Yellow." A live version of "Rules and Regulations" was released on "Donovan In Concert," but this is a studio recording. There are also a series of demos for songs that would appear on the "Hurdy Gurdy Man" album, as well as an early version of "Poor Cow," which would be re-recorded as the b-side to "Jennifer Juniper" (here introduced as "Faramir," since it was at this time intended for an unrealized film version of "The Lord Of The Rings"). Donovan's early demo of "Peregrine" is particularly interesting, as the lyrics are clearly about George Harrison (Donovan even name-checks Patti Harrison at one point). The demos for "The Pebble And The Man" and "Happiness Runs" are also notable because Donovan has not yet joined the two songs together. It's unfortunate that these weren't included as bonus tracks on the 2005 CD of "Hurdy Gurdy Man."

We also have a series of numbers which, for the most part, have never seen release in any form. Donovan played the chorus of "Eight Little Fishes" on a BBC documentary about Mickie Most which was aired as part of the series "Millionaire" on August 15th, 1968.  The demo, however, is complete. A different, brief version of "Winter Has Gone" can be heard in "The Old Fashioned Picture Book" film. An early issue of "Rolling Stone" mentions that Donovan wrote "Down Town" in the fall of 1967, though the demo is probably from 1968. The trilogy of numbers which Donovan introduces "The Maria Trilogy" starts off with "Hello, Maria" and "Maria, Maria," two numbers which he was performing live at the end of 1968, and wraps up with something I've called "Till I See You Again," since the actual title is unknown. "Lily" is interesting because it's a rare chance to hear Donovan perform an instrumental. Some of the songs, like "Gratefully," "I'm Not Unhappy" (which he'd re-record in 1971), "About The Rich Kid's House" and "The Rose In Me" are little more than unfinished sketches - though still fascinating to hear. This demo for "In An Old-Fashioned Picture" book (which would be re-recorded for 1971's "HMS Donovan") was issued as a promotional flexi (see previous page). This version, however, features a different mix with Donovan singing "come take a look with me..." during the final few bars that was mixed out of the flexidisc release. The final three songs listed above have been previously discussed under the "Barabajagal" demos (see page 5). Those versions have been double-tracked, however, while these are the basic recordings, before overdubs. The demo for "Riki Tiki Tavi" was issued on the "Troubadour" boxed set, where it was dated October 14th, 1969. This would be re-recorded for "Open Road" (see below).

14 Hello, Maria / Maria, Maria / Till I See You Again

15 I'm Not Unhappy

16 It's Not Goodbye

17 Lily (instrumental)

18 Nothing To Do Today

19 About The Rich Kid's House

20 The Rose In Me

21 West Ken Hen (take 1) (aka And The Girl Can Jig)

22 West Ken Hen (take 2) (aka And The Girl Can Jig)

23 In An Old-Fashioned Picture Book

24 Little White Flower (not overdubbed)

25 Good Morning Mr. Wind (not overdubbed)

26 Palais Girl (not overdubbed)

27 Riki Tiki Tavi