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The original London programmes are considered by the majority of collectors, to be the most valuable and desirable, especially those featuring Tim Curry. This is where Rocky Horror was born and continued for 7 years.
They are also the most basic and easy to reproduce. This unfortunately means unscrupulous people sell fakes to those who don't know how to tell them from the real thing.
There are a few key features that make them easier to distinguish from these rip-offs.
The earliest ones are now 45 years old, and were printed on reasonably cheap paper, that isn't acid-free, meaning that even those kept in ideal conditions, are no longer white. Even the best examples are off-white and slightly yellowed.
The paper they were printed on is no longer available, and so copies are generally higher grade paper.
The Theatre Upstairs ones are printed on very thin paper (thin enough that the wording can be seen from the opposite side) with an obvious grain. It was a "workshop production" and as cheaply produced as possible, this is reflected in the programmes, which were copied via a mimeograph machine, from hand typed master copies. The result is a black print on a white background (yellowed with age). They are never different colours.
The Classic Cinema and Kings Road programmes were the first professionally printed. The majority are on slightly shiny paper, but rarely some are matt, they are however all highly detailed. Fakes are often faded with less detail. The "Columbia" logo on the front is made from a series of tiny dots that cover the full image, which is usually not so in home-made copies. They are machine folded, which makes the creases sharp and precise, unlike hand folded copies. The placing of the wording is always the same, so if you compare a dubious copy with an original and the distance between the edge and the printing is more or less, beware. The printing is a crisp black, not weak or patchy, it doesn't scratch easily. Copies where the ink has shifted, will be fake.
Because there are so many of these fakes on the market, I won't be reproducing them in as high a detail as I could, as I don't wish to encourage further scams.
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RHS Original London Cast, Theatre Upstairs, June 1973 (Tim Curry as Frank, Jonathan Adams as Narrator) (15x 21cm 1 single sheet folded in half to form 4 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Theatre Upstairs, July 1973 (Tim Curry as Frank, Bob Hornery as Narrator) (15x 21cm 1 single sheet folded in half to form 4 pages) This programme was never used, as Jonathan Adams didn't take a break, as was feared.
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RHS Original London Cast, Theatre Upstairs, July 1973 (Tim Curry as Frank, Jonathan Adams as Narrator) (15x 21cm 1 single sheet folded in half to form 4 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Classic Cinema, August 1973 (Tim Curry as Frank, Pat Quinn as Magenta) (20x25cm – 1 single sheet folded in half to create 4 pages, plus one extra A4 size insert sheet)
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RHS Original London Cast, Classic Cinema, September 1973 (Tim Curry as Frank, Patricia Quinn as Magenta) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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Click on cast to enlarge |
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RHS Original London Cast, Classic Cinema, October 1973 (Tim Curry as Frank, Angela Bruce as Magenta) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Classic Cinema, October 1973 (Tim Curry as Frank, Angela Bruce as Magenta) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, November 1973 (Tim Curry as Frank, Angela Bruce as Magenta, Ben Bazell as Rocky) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre January 1974 (Tim Curry as Frank, Richard as Riff Raff, Ziggy Byfield as Eddie/Dr. Scott) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, February 1974 (Philip Sayer as Frank, Robert Longden as Riff, Jonathan Adams as Narrator) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, March 1974 (Philip Sayer as Frank, Robert Longden as Riff, Bob Hornery as Narrator) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, April 1974 (Philip Sayer as Frank, Robert Longden as Riff, Anna Nygh as Columbia) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, May 1974 (Philip Sayer as Frank, Robert Longden as Riff, Anna Nygh as Columbia) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages) First programme that lists the Ushers and Backing Vocalists
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, January 1975 (this is the second Ziggy Byfield as Frank programme) (Ziggy Byfield as Frank) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, March 1975 (Peter Blake as Frank, John Levitt as Riff, Ziggy Byfield as Eddie/Dr.Scott) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, July 1975 (Peter Blake as Frank, Shaughan Seymour as Eddie/Dr. Scott) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, August 1975 (Peter Blake as Frank, Leueen Willoughby as Usherette/Magenta, Anne-Louise Wakefield as Janet) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, September 1975 (Neil McCaul as Riff Raff, Peter Blake as Frank, Nigel Bowden as Rocky) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, July 1976 (Ziggy Byfield as Frank, Perry Bedden as Riff Raff) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, November 1976 (Ziggy Byfield as Frank Miles Fothergill as Rocky) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, May 1977 (Shaughan Seymour as Frank, Perry as Riff) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, September 1977 (Shaughan Seymour as Frank, Joanna Lloyd as Columbia) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, April 1978 (Larry Whitehurst as Frank, David Glyn Rogers as Riff) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Kings Road Theatre, August 1978 (Larry Whitehurst as Frank, Katherine drew as Magenta) (10x21cm – 1 single sheet folded twice to create 6 pages)
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All Comedy Theatre programmes feature the same cover and details
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RHS Original London Cast, Comedy Theatre, April 1979 (Peter Blake as Frank, Neil McCaul as Riff) (15x21cm A5 14 pages)
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RHS 1979 Souvenir Brochure & Libretto, Comedy Theatre, June 1979 (21x30cm A4 20 pages) Click cover to see inside
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RHS Original London Cast, Comedy Theatre, June 1979 (Neil McCaul as Frank, Pippa Hardman as Janet) (15x21cm A5 14 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Comedy Theatre, October 1979 (Neil McCaul as Frank, Tracey Ullman as Janet) (15x21cm A5 14 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Comedy Theatre, February 1980 (Daniel Abineri as Frank, Tracey Ullman as Janet) (15x21cm A5 16 pages)
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RHS Original London Cast, Comedy March 1980 (Daniel Abineri as Frank, Gary Martin as Rocky) (15x21cm A5 16 pages)
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RHS 1st British Tour Cast, 1979 (Daniel Abineri as Frank, Gary Martin as Rocky) (21x30cm A4 4 pages were added to the middle of the colour brochure) Click cover to see inside
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