Peter Copeland
Encyclopedia
Peter Michael Copeland was an English sound archivist.
From an early age he had a deep interest in collecting old gramophone records and in sound recording. In 1961 he joined the BBC World Service
as a Technical Operator in the Control Room at Bush House
, doing recording operations on disk and tape as well as Control Room routing. In 1964 he became a Studio Manager - operating studio mixing desks and playback equipment - at Broadcasting House, moving on to the BBC Regional studios at Bristol
in 1966 where he eventually became the principal Film Dubbing Mixer, responsible for, among many other things, the final mix on David Attenborough
's famous wildlife series Life on Earth.
During this time he also ran a small disc-cutting business on the side, under the name Gosport Sound Products (he grew up in Gosport
, Hampshire) - initially in his flat at Anerley, South London, and then in a small office in Bristol - doing long-playing disc copies of private recordings such as weddings (this was before the advent of cheap tape and cassette recorders) and disk mastering for subsequent pressings to be made.
As BBC Bristol was the home of the Natural History Unit
, he developed an interest in making birdsong and wildlife recordings: he once paid for a holiday in Australia by recording wildlife atmospheres during it and selling them to the BBC Sound Archive
.
In 1986 he left the BBC and took up the post of Conservation Manager and later become the Head of Sound Conservation at the National Sound Archive (now part of the British Library
) which essentially performs much the same functions for sound recordings as the Library does for books and other publications. He was instrumental in effecting the move to digital archiving using the new techniques which were becoming available: he also did extensive research into the highly specialized and complex area of accurate reproduction of old recordings - he probably knew more about the technical history of sound recording than anyone in the country.
He retired from the NSA (by then called the British Library Sound Archive) in 2002 on reaching the age of 60, but continued to act as a consultant until his death from a diabetes-related heart attack on 30 July 2006. He was still working on a Manual of Analogue Sound Restoration Techniques - a mammoth opus with sections on conversion to digital formats, noise reduction, correct methods of playing and equalizing 78rpm and other old recordings: the British Library has published this manual electronically on its website. His huge collection of rare and unusual gramophone records and other sound recordings has been donated to the British Library Sound Archive.
From an early age he had a deep interest in collecting old gramophone records and in sound recording. In 1961 he joined the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
as a Technical Operator in the Control Room at Bush House
Bush House
Bush House is a building between Aldwych and The Strand in London at the southern end of Kingsway. The BBC World Service occupies the Centre Block, North East and South East wings. The North West wing was formerly occupied by BBC Online until they relocated to BBC Media Village in 2005, with some...
, doing recording operations on disk and tape as well as Control Room routing. In 1964 he became a Studio Manager - operating studio mixing desks and playback equipment - at Broadcasting House, moving on to the BBC Regional studios at Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in 1966 where he eventually became the principal Film Dubbing Mixer, responsible for, among many other things, the final mix on David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
's famous wildlife series Life on Earth.
During this time he also ran a small disc-cutting business on the side, under the name Gosport Sound Products (he grew up in Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, Hampshire) - initially in his flat at Anerley, South London, and then in a small office in Bristol - doing long-playing disc copies of private recordings such as weddings (this was before the advent of cheap tape and cassette recorders) and disk mastering for subsequent pressings to be made.
As BBC Bristol was the home of the Natural History Unit
BBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Natural History Unit is a department of the BBC dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme, especially nature documentaries...
, he developed an interest in making birdsong and wildlife recordings: he once paid for a holiday in Australia by recording wildlife atmospheres during it and selling them to the BBC Sound Archive
BBC Sound Archive
The BBC Sound Archive is a collection of audio recordings maintained by the BBC and founded in 1936. Its recordings date back to the late 19th century and include many rare items including contemporary speeches by public and political figures, folk music, British dialects and sound...
.
In 1986 he left the BBC and took up the post of Conservation Manager and later become the Head of Sound Conservation at the National Sound Archive (now part of the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
) which essentially performs much the same functions for sound recordings as the Library does for books and other publications. He was instrumental in effecting the move to digital archiving using the new techniques which were becoming available: he also did extensive research into the highly specialized and complex area of accurate reproduction of old recordings - he probably knew more about the technical history of sound recording than anyone in the country.
He retired from the NSA (by then called the British Library Sound Archive) in 2002 on reaching the age of 60, but continued to act as a consultant until his death from a diabetes-related heart attack on 30 July 2006. He was still working on a Manual of Analogue Sound Restoration Techniques - a mammoth opus with sections on conversion to digital formats, noise reduction, correct methods of playing and equalizing 78rpm and other old recordings: the British Library has published this manual electronically on its website. His huge collection of rare and unusual gramophone records and other sound recordings has been donated to the British Library Sound Archive.
External links
- ARSC Newsletter obituary and appreciations by Nigel Bewley and George Brock-Nannestad, p. 10
- References in British Library documents
- Article by Prof. Sean Street
- BBC Radio 4's "Last Word' - page for edition including a tribute to Copeland.