Who are they?

In 1971 - not long after NASA put the first man on the moon - children's entertainer Captain Shoup had a flash of divine inspiration. A devout Christian, the Fremont, Ohio-based performer decided to use America's fascination with space travel as a way to spread the word of God, roping in his family to form The Christian Astronauts, a crew of explorers who headed out into the void "using the Bible as a flight manual".

Why should we care?

The Astronauts only cut one album for a small Christian record label, but the sublime Into The Blue is a work of amateur ingenuity, unintentional hilarity and indisputable charm. In the absence of professional recording equipment the Captain provides all the sound effects for his stellar quest - including growling into a microphone to simulate the sound of rockets as the gang's ship blasts off. The renowned ventriloquist also provides the voices for every member of the flight crew, swapping breathlessly between the high-pitched whine of Jerry and the creaky monotone of robotic co-pilot Loosenut. As well as a handful of haunting hymns from Sister Shoup, the album's packed with Bible stories and cute tales that equate Christianity with space travel - each delivered in the Captain's nasal, plaintive tones, often stumbling over his words - each lesson insisting listeners should "prepare themselves" in life and accept God's love or else risk missing their rocket ship to salvation.

Where are they now?

The Christian Astronauts disbanded in the late 70s, but not before playing gigs in churches across the US and shooting more than 300 episodes of the Beyond The Blue cable-TV show that was broadcast in the Washington area and starred a 7ft-tall robot made from cardboard boxes.

*CURRENTLY AVAILABLE: Into The Blue has been reissued on CD by Companion Records. Don't miss it. Companionrecords.com