Dick Barton and the Smash and Grab Raiders (BBC Audio) [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

I'm a fan of Dick Barton.

There I've admitted it.
I listened to my first CD set and was hooked.
Since then I've played quite a few and each and everyone has been wonderful entertainment- a real guilty pleasure but then dear reader I have confessed my guilty sins...
Right to the review.

If you have played and listened to other Dick Barton CD sets and enjoyed them then this edition will not be the exception- it is truly wonderful.

If you're new to Dick Barton and considering if this is worth a punt I can wholeheartedly say a yes and a big one at that.
You don't need to have listened to the others in the series first to be able to enjoy this story in all its glory.
My only advice if you are new to Dick Barton is to buy one of the cheapest editions first then I am sure that just like me you will seek out as many as the rest as you can and if you do I really envy your journey in listening to these wonderful recordings.

Now as a listener you really need to suspend your preconcieved Prejudiced views these shows were written when Britain ruled the waves and waived the rules.
Britain rather than English (for we have Jock a Scot to balance the upper class Dick with the working class Cockney- Cor Luv' a Duck Govnor' Snowie)

Johnny Foreigner was just that - exotic and deadly and well foreign!!

In this role we have the Fabulous Lolita a South American/Spanish sounding long haired beauty with a fabulous accent that even to day make my knees tremble with her Spanish Inflection!!.
She has an American Army deserting, thuglike Boyfriend, all Bronx accent, (Y'knows I luvs yah Babe') testerone fueled and Tommy Gun toteting to boot called Carlo (Boo Hiss) who is part of her breakaway gang along with another Cockney, a 'dumb' Welsh Thug with a history ' and an upper-class toff down on his uppers aristocrat, cut glass voiced and all out rotter don'tcha' Know? - and the Brains of the original gang evilly voiced (bigger Boo Hiss) style.
his voice is pure evil genius!!

Into this melange we have Dick Barton and Co chasing the robbers, getting rammed, knocked out, booby trapped etc etc etc (all brilliant btw).
Tommy Gums, Fire Hoes , boats on the Thames, Crooked Garages, Car Rams- the list goes on and on!! Brilliant stuff.

So you need to listen to this as one of the original audiences did back in the 1960s.
You knew you were going to be entertained well and have you imagination tested but if you listen like this as a person expecting to be entertained and yes delighted you will be just that- I was.

Each CD had 15 tracks with about 5 cliff hangers per side!!
Just how will Dick, Snowie and Jock escape? Well by this wonderful CD set and you too will find out and be royally entertained along the way!

This is my second Dick Barton CD set and I'm finding them highly addictive! Great value for money at little more than a tenner (Jan 2012) for a whopping 4 hours 6 minutes of non-stop action.

As you might expect from the title, this story is exactly what it says on the cover. However, the title itself gives no clue as to the devious, double-dealing robbers who, at the same time as trying to evade the snares set by Barton, are also continuously at odds with each other. The mutinous gang members are chased from one location to another and on this occasion include a vivacious young woman who is at least as scheming as the other gang members.

Barton and his pals are in almost constant danger of being shot at, hit over the head with blunt objects or of having their car rammed while giving chase to the villains - and that's only the start; in this story, the gang manage to stay one jump ahead of Barton more often than not!

This being my second purchase, I knew the format to expect: the CD is broken down into the original broadcast episodes with a recap at the end of each one and at the beginning of the next. The episodic format means that each segment must include overcoming the cliff-hanging situation from the previous episode and ending up in yet another before the end. Rather than becoming overly repetitive, this really adds to the enjoyment, especially as it includes the signature tune, too.

An added bonus is that towards the end, the story includes a fascinating insight into the art of voice impersonation. Overall, superb nostalgic fun from the old days of the valve radio!

This is a fine example of the excellent Radio thrillers of the Golden Age before Television took over the home entertainment audience in the early 1950's. This is a typical Dick Barton story with cliffhanging ends to each episode and improbable escapes early in the following one. Not a vintage story but a good example of the genre.