Overview
Released in Australia in 1985 as Telmak TMAK 137, The Times of Our Lives presented a selection of historic speeches, news reports and interviews under the subtitle “20th Century Actualities Which Shaped History”. Conceived, researched, compiled and annotated by Glenn A. Baker, the album carried his 1985 copyright and was issued under an exclusive arrangement by Telmak Teleproducts.
Australian events appeared alongside international developments, combining political upheaval, wartime announcements, technological achievements and popular culture. The programme ranged from recordings associated with Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi to the abdication of Edward VIII, the Second World War, the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Moon landing. Australian material included Charles Kingsford Smith’s Southern Cross, the dismissal of the Whitlam government and Australia’s 1983 America’s Cup victory.
The Beatles were represented by spoken recordings from Darwin and Adelaide on 11 and 12 June 1964. Their inclusion placed the excitement surrounding the Australian tour within a broader historical narrative, documenting Beatlemania through the group’s own voices rather than a musical performance.
