A Salford company is uncovering some of the best of Britain’s music history, digging out hundreds of unseen videos of iconic artists such as The Beatles.
The Media-City-based company, Dig Media, has taken on the role of restoring an archive of more than 600 videotapes, including footage of The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Salvador Dali, and countless other influential artists.
The collection of footage previously belonged to video artist Jack Henry Moore, an underrated figure within the 1960’s London Counterculture movement, who captured key moments from some of the biggest bands and artists of the era. He was also one of the first people in the world to own a video camera.
Fraser Millward the project manager for Dig said: “Jack’s collection was in danger of being completely lost when he sadly died in 2014 in Amsterdam. We offered to save the archive by taking it out of the Netherlands and bringing it to Salford where it could be preserved for future generations.”
The vast archive includes approximately 4000 artifacts including videotapes, audio reels, music posters, and rare LGBT ephemera, all of which are being restored and preserved by the company in order to document an important piece of cultural history.
EXCLUSIVE: Take a look at our rare archive material from the legendary Pink Floyd playing at Amsterdam Rock Circus in 1972. Filmed by #jackhenrymoore. Presented by Olivia May. #pinkfloyd #70s https://t.co/Z5W1QhVbx3
— Dig Media Archive (@DigMediaArchive) May 12, 2022
Oliver Mawson, a member of the Dig team said: “My first day consisted of stacking shelves with Jack Henry Moore’s old tapes, since then I have watched the bare archive shelves transform into a treasure trove of hidden gems that are now being shared with everyone.”
Fraser explained Dig’s aims for the future: “Our aims are to open up as much of the archive as possible so people can have the opportunity to see incredibly rare footage from the 60s, 70s, and 80s music and arts scene.”
To learn more about the Dig Media archive visit www.dig.media or follow them at @digmediaarchive on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you’d like to volunteer to work at Dig Media Archive’s offices in MediaCityUK, email socials@dig.media.
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