Sinatra's 'Carousel' song gets airplay after 14 years

A radio station in the Western Isles of Scotland will make broadcasting history today when it gives the first airing of a long-forgotten recording by Frank Sinatra.

Sinatra sang an 11-minute version of "Soliloquy", from the musical Carousel, at his 73rd birthday party in 1988, but the song was never released.

Now, almost four years after his death, a professional recording of the performance is to be broadcast on Isles FM in Stornoway. The tape was unearthed by an American fan and sent to Rodney Collins, a veteran DJ and lifelong Sinatra fan. Mr Collins has spent the past 30 years in radio and used to present a Sinatra show on Radio Luxembourg and Millennium FM in London, before retiring to Lewis two years ago.

During his time as managing director of several radio stations across Britain, Mr Collins made numerous contacts with fans around the world, which led to him receiving the forgotten recording two weeks ago.

"This is a great honour for me," said the presenter yesterday. "It's truly a remarkable performance by Sinatra. Despite his age, his voice is still strong and powerful."

The recording, due to be broadcast this afternoon between 4.30pm and 6pm, is unlikely to be heard by more than 9,000 people but news of the broadcast has already reached fans across the world, causing the station to be inundated with calls. Mr Collins said: "Unfortunately, we are not on the internet so the only way anybody will hear the song is to be on Lewis. Since Sinatra's death, a lot of new recordings have come to light but what makes this one so important is that it was done professionally."

The recording was made at a birthday concert at Bally's nightclub in Atlanta in which Sinatra performed along with Sammy Davis Jnr in front of friends.

Mr Collins said: "It would be a hard song for anyone to sing for 11 minutes even if they were young, let alone a man in his late seventies.This is possibly one of the last professional recordings of him in concert."