I have the best, most complete collection of Dave Allen material at the best quality available anywhere on Earth!

Dave Allen is the BEST "sit-down" comic ever! His jokes are funny, witty, silly and just plain GREAT! If you haven't heard of Dave Allen then you are TRULY missing out on some of the BEST humor this planet has to offer! The greatest Irish comedian that British television has ever produced. When asked what he had in his drinking glass (he always has a "high ball" next to his chair) "Is it whiskey, rye or scotch?" He simply replied ... "Yes."

At the height of his prowess he created, from 1971-79, Dave Allen at Large, which introduced his trademark solo joke-telling-while-sitting-on-a-stool-and-drinking routine. This standup routine by Allen led to handsomely mounted sketches that continued on the themes touched on in the preceding monologues.The comedian's trademark debunking of religious, especially Catholic, ritual throughout each episode made for minor controversy which, coupled with some quite frank material, earned the show a somewhat risqué reputation.

Typical routines included sketches showing the Pope (played by Allen) and his Cardinals doing a striptease on the steps of St Peter's, aggressive priests beating up their parishioners and other priests, priests who spoke like Daleks though electronic confessionals and an extremely excitable Pope who spoke in a Chico Marx type accent as he ordered Allen to "getta your bum outta Rome!" New seasons of the series, which was renamed Dave Allen in 1981, were made until 1990.

During the same period, Allen also made The Dave Allen Show in Australia (1975–1977) for Channel 9 in Australia. These 5 specials are now available on 3 DVD’s @ $25.00 with free postage to almost everywhere!

I have 33 episodes, all of approximately 45 minutes, of "Dave Allen at Large" and it looks like my copies are the very best available on DVD anywhere on Earth. These are all complete shows broadcast from 1971 to 1981. They are not available at my quality anywhere else. Beware of poor quality rip-offs.

All episodes were broadcast as approx 45 minute shows on Australian TV mostly without any ad breaks. Quality is great for these vintage shows. Even though shows were first converted from Beta tapes to VHS and now to DVD they have been converted with great care and the result is amazingly clear pictures with good sound considering the age of the material and that it is sourced from tape [all on Australian PAL system].

Much better pictures than anything sourced from the USA on old NTSC tapes as the original series was created on British PAL system. However the first 6 episodes from 1971 have been recently recorded in the UK and are of excellent full DVD quality [on disks 1, 2 and 3]. All episodes are in PAL format.

Don't believe my claims? Just buy any 1 disk at $12.00 including free postage to most countries with any two episodes and after you finish laughing you can then order the rest of the series from me. $6.00 will be deducted from the price of the full set of 16 DVD’s if you later buy them.  

The episode titles refer to the first sketch of each episode as there appears to be no useful episode guide anywhere. The years are approximate for some episodes as there is no date at the end of the show. Note: Disk 1 has 3 episodes.

Bargain Offer!!!

All 33 episodes on 16 quality brand name DVD's are only $69.00 with FREE postage to everywhere .

See below for an even better offer!

Please select BUY NOW and request an invoice from me. Please also check out the other Dave Allen ad in my store. A lot of new material is available in various specials. You may add extra disks to this order to save on postage by asking me to send you an amended invoice and including extra titles.  

Special offer = all 9 disks of Dave Allen's TV specials are just $66.00 with free postage to almost anywhere.  

Please select buy now and ask for the Specials Pack and I will send you an amended invoice.    

***Super Special Offer*** All 16 DVD's of Dave Allen at Large plus 9 DVD's of his TV specials - a total of 25 DVD's - for the incredible price of only USD115.00 with free postage to almost anywhere!!!!   

This is a unique offer only available in this store!  

Please select buy now and ask for the Dave Allen at Large plus Specials Pack and I will send you an amended invoice.    

The complete Dave Allen at Large consists of the following 16 DVD’s:-  

YEAR    DISK   #        OPENING SKETCH
1971    D1    1     Come In 99 - Are You Having Trouble 66
1971    D1   2     Conductor Floats Away
1971    D1    3     Driving Stake Thru Dracula

1971    D2    4     Doctor - Boo
1971    D2    5     You'Re The Worst Prompter

1971    D3    6     Police - We'Ve Lost Our Daddy
1972    D3    7     Jim'S Letter To Dear Mum

1972    D4    8     What A Lovely Little Baby
1972    D4    9     Do You Know Windsor Road

1972    D5    10   St. Pauls Letter To Corinthians
1972    D5    11   2 Guys - Dr Livingstone I Presume

1972    D6    12   Regimental Sgt Maj Jones
1973    D6    13   Dave Breaks Into His Tv Studio

1973    D7    14   Spys - Secret Knock & Codewords
1973    D7    15   Marco The Gangster And His Mother

1973    D8    16   P.O.W. Escape Committee - German
1973    D8    17   Cowboy - A Mans Gotta Do

1973    D9    18   Parliament - Appalling State Of Affairs
1975    D9   19   Pow Funeral Escape

1975    D10 20   James Bond On His Driving Test
1975    D10 21   Target Practice – Lavatory

1975    D11 22   Restaurant - Taste The Wine
1976    D11 23   Big T.V. Screen - It'S Like Being Watched

1976    D12 24   Females Frightened Of Spiders
1976    D12 25   Brushing Ferret Off My Shoulders

1976    D13 26   Do You Know Why You Laugh - Anxiety
1976    D13 27   Cheers To Audience And Big Screen

1976    D14 28   My Waistcoat Attracts A Vast Amount Of Comment
1978    D14 29   Nun Sticks Up Pope In Sedan Chair

1978    D15 30   Conductor With No Orchestra
1979    D15 31   Organisation Forces Dave To Do Another Show

1981    D16 32   Crowning Of New Pope - Somersaults
1981    D16 33   Operating Theatre - Patient Drowns  

Please also note that I only use quality brand name 16x DVD's that I have tested extensively. Then I burn each disk at only 8x for a better burn [according to expert testing]. Also I set Nero to verify each disk and finally I test play each DVD on a separate drive to my DVD Burner.

Also note the time it took me to convert this series from tape to DVD, a couple of weeks, with many, many retries required [when results were not perfect]. Finally I have to burn 16 disks at a time to complete this set which takes quite a few hours and you will see why I cannot sell this set for a lower price. You may buy with full confidence that there is no higher quality set of Dave Allen available anywhere else on Earth. Enjoy!  

I also have the following 7 TV specials and compilations [on 9 DVD’s]. Only my store has every minute of the remaining available Dave Allen material on video. Beware rip-offs elsewhere...

Dave Allen...On Life

With his trademark props - the stool and the whiskey glass - Dave Allen proves the essentials of great comedy are simply a microphone, an audience and an hour and a half of your time! Undoubtedly Dave Allen on Life showcases this most original stand-up comedian at his unsurpassable best. Handpicked by Dave, these classic monologues on the idiocy of life have been put together on video for the very first time and include over 20 minutes of footage never seen on TV before. [1 DVD]  

The Best of Dave Allen

A collection of the very best of Dave's sit down comedy and sketches from the 1970's and 1980's. . [1 DVD]  

Vintage Dave Allen

Another collection of the very best of Dave's sit-down comedy and sketches from the 1970's and 1980's. . [1 DVD]  

Unique Dave Allen

Dave talks about life and comedy and introduces some sit down comedy and sketches from the 1970's and 1980's. . [1 DVD]  

Dave Allen 1993 Special

This is Dave Allen Standup! No sketches just Dave standing at the microphone and performing as only he can. . [1 DVD]  

Dave Allen Christmas Special 1994 plus Dave Allen - Best of British Down Under

Some Dave Allen Standup and some classic sketches. [1 DVD]  

Dave Allen in Australia

These are a series of 5 specials recorded in Australia from 1975 to 1977. This is Dave at his peak and the material is similar in format to the Dave Allen at Large specials recorded for the BBC at this time. [On 3 DVD's]    

Any one DVD will be $12.00 including free postage to almost anywhere. Just select BUY NOW and ignore the amount and ask for an invoice for the titles that you want.    

***Bargain offer = all 9 DVD's of Dave Allens TV specials are just $66.00 with free postage to almost anywhere***    

Please select buy now and ask for the Dave Allen Specials Pack and I will send you an amended invoice.      

***Super Special Offer***

All 16 DVD's of Dave Allen at Large plus 9 DVD's of his TV specials - a total of 25 DVD's - for the incredible price of only USD115.00 [a huge discount] with free postage to almost anywhere! This is a unique offer only available in this store!!!

    Please select BUY NOW and ask for the Dave Allen Super Complete Pack of 25 DVD’s and I will send you an amended invoice.    

Make sure your player will play PAL disks [most will as will most computer drives].    

***Buyer Beware - there is another set of Dave Allen DVD's being sold in the USA. These are very poor copies recorded off a USA TV station. They are listed as being complete 44 episodes but they are just a fraction of my series advertised here. Also the 44 episodes @ approx 22 minutes each [not 30 min as advertised - really they are only 22 @ 45 minute] were chopped up for American television. 'Dave Allen at Large' originally was of course 45 minute shows as per my series. I have the complete uncut shows without long bouts of theme music for the numerous advertising breaks on US TV and my PAL copies are vastly superior quality.  

I originally recorded Dave Allen in the 1980's onto Beta tapes and then in the 1990's I converted the whole series of 33 @ 45 minute episodes to VHS. At the time I never even considered the fact that this material would never be released officially - obviously this is one series that the BBC should have released decades ago. Now in 2008 I have transferred the series to DVD. It is only after I purchased the USA copy of 44 @ 22min episodes [ie only 22 @ original 45 minute episodes] that I discovered that I had more original material and exactly as originally released at vastly higher quality than available in the USA. The series was originally produced on the UK PAL system which is the same as Australian PAL TV. I have expensive video equipment and take great care in both creating, storing and restoring my collection. My version of Dave Allen at Large is unquestionably the highest quality video available anywhere. Occasionally there is some minor sound imperfections but overall I am sure that anyone will be very pleased and impressed with my series. 99% of the video and audio in the 33 episodes from 1971 to 1981 are crisp and clear considering the extreme age of this TV material and the fact that it is sourced from tape.  

DAVE ALLEN - AT LARGE

Dave Allen (born David Tynan O'Mahoney in Tallaght, Ireland on 6 July 1936) was one of the comedy mainstays of BBC schedules throughout the 1970s and '80s. Sitting cross-legged on a high stool, a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other, Allen held forth on the absurdities of the human condition and the foibles of life for over twenty years.

Although he received his big break and ended his television career with ITV, it is the BBC shows, with their combination of stand-up (while seated) and sketches, that remain etched in the collective memory.The ex-journalist and would-be comic made his television debut on the talent show New Faces (BBC, 1959).

It was Australia, however, which gave him his first taste of television fame. On tour in 1963, he was offered a television spot, the result being the chat show Tonight with Dave Allen (Channel 9, 1963-64). He returned to Australia several times over the ensuing years to appear in television comedy specials and series.

Returning to Britain in 1964, Allen gradually became familiar to British viewers through appearances on such program as ITV's The Blackpool Show (tx. 24/7/1964), Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ITV, 1955-67; 1973-74) on 10 January 1965, and a semi-regular spot between 1965 and 1967 on The Val Doonican Show (BBC, 1965-69).

ITV presented Allen with his own comedy/chat series, Tonight with Dave Allen (ITV, 1967-69), for which he won the Variety Club's ITV Personality of the Year 1967.

Following The Dave Allen Show (BBC, 1969), a variety/comedy sketch series featuring guest stars and musical interludes, the soon-to-be popular format of Allen's solo stool routine interspersed with comedy sketches (either location filmed or studio shot) appeared with Dave Allen at Large (BBC, 1971-90), which became simply Dave Allen from 1981.

The targets of his self-penned humor, namely sex and religion (particularly Catholicism), would frequently bring both Allen and the BBC to the attention of society's moral guardians.

DAVE ALLEN, the Dublin-born comedian/actor who is making his Broadway stage debut as the star of An Evening With Dave Allen , has been described by the British press as "London's most notorious wit" and as "Great Britain's most literate and intelligent comic." A major television star in England, Australia and New Zealand, Allen's unique brand of humor has become familiar to millions of Americans in recent years through wide syndication of his popular BBC series "Dave Allen at Large."

Born David Tynan O'Mahony in July 1936, the son of a prominent Irish journalist, Dave Allen decided to become a professional entertainer at the age of 19. He spent the next four years touring the English provinces, working as a comedian and actor in theatres, nightclubs, pantomimes, vaudeville and, occasionally, on radio. In 1959 he made his first television appearance in a BBC production of "New Faces." "I was given three minutes, told to relax, take your time and, above all, be yourself," he recalls. "It turned out to be the longest and most terrifying three minutes of my life."

In 1961 he toured the provinces again, sharing a bill with a group of unknown musicians and singers -- The Beatles. The following year he toured South Africa with the legendary Sophie Tucker, whom he fondly remembers as "one of the most charming and delightful performers with whom I have ever worked."

In early 1963, while doing a nightclub and television tour of Australia, Allen was contacted to host a late night talk show on TV. What was to have been an eight-week season was extended to an 18-month engagement. "Tonight With Dave Allen" became one of the most successful television shows in Australia.

At the end of 1964, Allen returned to England where he was still virtually unknown as a performer. Within a month of his return, he appeared on the A.T.V. television show, "Sunday Night at the Palladium," again sharing the bill with The Beatles who, by this time had become his good friends and were beginning to attain international stardom.

Within a year of his return from Australia, Dave was offered one of the most coveted positions in television -- compared to the Palladium Show. In 1968 "Tonight With Dave Allen" premiered on British television. It quickly became just as popular in England as it had been in Australia. Dave became known for his personal involvement with his guests in funny, informative and sometimes extremely dangerous situations. "I think a great number of the viewers tuned in wondering if this would be the night they would see me kill myself," Allen says.

In mid 1969, he temporarily turned from comedy to focus his creative efforts on the making of documentary films. He traveled to the United States where he spent nine weeks filming a series for the BBC, entitled "Melting Pot," which explored the social changes taking place in America at the time.

In 1971, the BBC2 offered Allen the chance to do the type of comedy show he had wanted to create for years, a break from the usual format of the time. No singers, no dancers, no big bands, no chorus lines, no flashy show business paraphernalia. Just Dave on a bare stage, sitting on a long-legged stool, smoking a cigarette, glass in hand, talking directly into the camera, interspersed with short comedy sketches.   

The series, "Dave Allen at Large" became one of the top-rated shows on British television and stayed in that high-ranking position for seven years. It was also one of the few British comedy shows to be sold worldwide, including Iron Curtain nations.

 The following year, in 1972, Dave Allen realized a lifetime ambition by making his legitimate stage debut in The Royal Court's production of Edna O'Brien's play, A Pagan Place . The following season he returned to London's West End playing Mr. Darling and Captain Hook opposite Maggie Smith in Peter Pan at the London Coliseum.

After completing another TV series for the BBC2, Allen returned to Australia as one of the international cast of performers to appear at the long-awaited opening of the Sydney Opera House. This was followed by two television specials in Australia, and a concert tour of New Zealand.

In 1974 Dave Allen did extensive club tours of England and New Zealand, and for A.T.V. in England made two documentaries about eccentrics -- "In Search of the Great Eccentrics" and "Eccentrics at Play." "Initially, I thought these people eccentric but, after meeting them, talking to them and filming them, I came to the conclusion that if anyone was eccentric it was me. Surely sitting in traffic jams, or spending hours in a studio, where one never sees the light of day, or even worse, getting on a plane and flying over some of the most beautiful parts of the world without seeing any of it, must be termed eccentric, if not sheer lunacy!"

That same year, he had his first book published, A Little Night Reading , an anthology of horror and supernatural stories on subjects by writers of his choice. In 1975 Dave Allen recorded another television series for the BBC and made a rare stage appearance with a one-man show at the Royal Court Theatre, the proceeds of which were used for the repair of the theatre's roof which was collapsing! He subsequently went to New York where he participated in the ABC-TV "Salute to Sir Lew Grade" along with such other British stars as Julie Andrews, Peter Sellers, Tom Jones, and John Lennon.

This was followed by a one-man concert tour of Australia and a highly successful five-week engagement in Hong Kong. Over the next two years, Dave Allen made two new series of documentaries in England and the United States. He wandered through Britain looking for and often finding people with unusual pursuits, music pre-dating Christianity, obscure legends and little-known folklore. He made 14 programs in the United States on various aspects of the unusual side of American life.

In 1978 Dave Allen spent many months on the road with his one-man show, touring England's leading theatres and breaking attendance records on the way. In May of that year he starred in a BBC television spectacular which was chosen as the network's official entry at the Montreux Television Festival and where it won the coveted Silver Rose as the Best Comedy Programme. Dave was also nominated for an Emmy Award for the same special. In that same year, Dave Allen also made his television debut as a dramatic actor when he starred in a 90-minute play for London Weekend written by Alan Bennett.

The year 1978 finished on a high note with a ten-week SRO engagement at London's Vaudeville Theatre with his one-man show. Over the past few years, Dave Allen has presented his one-man comedy show throughout England, New Zealand and Australia with great success. In May of 1981 An Evening With Dave Allen was premiered in the United States during a successful two-week engagement at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston.

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Make sure your equipment will play PAL disks [most will]. No refunds but I will replace any faulty disks [replacement postage cost of USD$5 applies]. I verify and test all disks before shipping so all DVD's are shipped in perfect, brand new condition. Safe delivery to you at a reasonable postage cost is my first priority. I only use brand name quality disks that I have used and tested in my own collection.

You will never receive no name brand disks from me. Because I offer free shipping and packaging I will ship the disks safely using either cases or bubble wrap or padded envelopes. I do not print or write on the disks as many collectors prefer to label their own. I mark disk numbers on each disk for your convenience. I have a perfect Paypal and Ebay record. Payments via Paypal. You will love this series and it may never be available again elsewhere. However I hope my actions prod the series producer to finally release this series to a DVD box-set. Alternative postage options including insurance may be available at cost on request from you.  

Attention BBC or owners of Dave Allen Material.

Please advise me that this material has been officially released and I will cease all sales. This material is only offered for sale to interested Dave Allen fans on the basis that this fantastic material is not available officially anywhere and some of this material is over 35 years old!!!    

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Legal Disclaimer: ALL SALES ARE FINAL. Shipping Costs are included in the final sale price - NO HIDDEN COSTS OR FEES. I verify all items sold. This DVD will play on DVD systems worldwide. No transfer of copyright is given or implied. Limited licenses attribution available under as-is fair use policy. Seller makes no warranties and disclaims liability. Nothing in this listing is intended to reduce, limit, or restrict any rights arising from fair use, first sale or other limitations on exclusive rights. These Items are sold as collectors item only. Item comes without case on writable disks. Items are sold as is, no returns, no refunds. PayPal only. By purchasing you maintain that you have read all information, properly understood it (all your questions have been answered) and agree to this sale and its terms. If you do not agree, please do not bid. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION BEFORE YOU ORDER - THANK YOU. Your bid is a contract - Place an order only if you're serious about buying the item. If you order, you will enter into a legally binding contract to purchase the item from the seller.